Mississippi Arts Commission: News

Rosa Scott High School Student wins

Poetry Out Loud State Finals

DATE:          March 18, 2010  

CONTACT:    Susan Dobbs, Public Relations Director

601/359-6031, sdobbs@arts.state.ms.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

JACKSON— The Mississippi Arts Commission is proud to announce that John Uzodinma, a freshman at Rosa Scott High School in Madison, was the winner of the State Finals of the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest.  The competition, presented in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation, is part of a national program to encourage high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance and competition.     John will be representing Mississippi at the National Finals in Washington D.C. on April 26-27, 2010.

 John performed outstanding recitations of “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes and “Ma Rainey” by Sterling A. Brown, at the statewide competition held on Thursday, March 11, 2010 at Mississippi Public Broadcasting in Jackson.  In the final round, John recited “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence.  John enjoys playing the violin, the trumpet, and reciting poetry.  He hopes to attend the Julliard School to pursue his musical studies. He recently seated eighth chair trumpet in the prestigious Mississippi Lion’s Band which will compete this summer in Australia.

 The runner-up this year was Kristen Dupard, a sophomore at Ridgeland High School.  Kristen recited “We Wear the Mask,” by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “For My People,” by Margaret Walker.  In the final round Kristen recited “The Mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks.  Kristen plans to attend The University of Alabama at Birmingham as a Pre-Med major. Her goal is to become an oncologist. 

 The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, bringing arts to all Americans and providing leadership in arts education.  Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the largest national funding organization of the arts.

The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture.  One of the largest literary organizations in the world, it exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience.

The Mississippi Arts Commission is a state agency, funded by the Mississippi Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation, The Phil Hardin Foundation, The Mississippi Endowment for the Arts at the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson and other private sources.  MAC is the official grants-making and service agency for the arts in Mississippi. The agency serves as an active supporter and promoter of arts in community life and in arts education.

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