Youth Summit

We had a great time at the Channel Islands YMCA Youth Summit on Saturday. Poetry Out Loud students read at two different points during the day. Before lunch, Jacob Drewisch read Tom Clark's "Terminator Two" and "Thoughtless Cruelty" by Charles Lamb. Stacy Hill also read and Garrett Brannonn finished with a stunning rendition of "The Ballad of Birmingham" by Dudley Randall, done in sing-song style. The whole house, which was slightly distracted, got silent for the reading! Garrett also performed Joy Harjo's "Eagle Poem," with drum accompaniment for the closing of the day. Wonderful job students! Wonderful event! We were proud to participate!

Information for Students Participating in the Monday Event

We will be able to include everyone who signed up in the event. Please prepare 4 or5 minutes worth of poetry. This schedule is approximate. Please keep track of where we are. You may need to read 5-10 minutes earlier or later. A schedule with names on it will be at the Poets in the Schools table for you to check when you get there.

10:00 San Marcos student
10:04 San Marcos student
10:08 San Marcos student
10:12 sid# 504092
10:16 initials TH (DP class period 2)
10:20 initials BK (DP class period 2)
10:24 sid# 506361
10:28 sid#402792
10:32 sid# 503802
10:36 sid# 504240
10:40 sid# 405196
10:44 sid# 504573
10:48 sid# 509627
10:52 sid#504395
10:56 sid# 512521
11:00 sid# 503809
11:04 sid# 504088
11:08 sid# 504367
11:12 sid# 504197
11:16 sid# 504237
11:20 sid# 402242
11:24 sid# 503823
11:28 sid# 504614
11:32 sid# 270507
11:36 initials SE (Dos Pueblos 4th period)
11:40 intials NZ (Dos Pueblos 4th period)
11:44 initials SA (Dos Pueblos 4th period)
11:48 initials AK (Dos Pueblos 4th period)

Here is all the information you need to know:

* You are reading in the Davidson gallery. (There will be volunteers directing people where to go as you enter.)
* The students from San Marcos have places on the buses. The Dos Pueblos students are carpooling.
* Each student should prepare 4-5 minutes worth of material.
* Poems may be chosen from the Poetry Out Loud anthology that can be found online at www.poetryoutloud.org. Or you may read any poem that has been published and that is written in Spanish, particularly those by Mexican poets. Mrs. Vanderheide's students may also recite the poem they are doing for their classroom memorization project.
* Poems need not be memorized; you may read them, although you are welcome to recite them from memory if you like.
* Dress is casual.

Poetry Month Readings

Poetry Out Loud participants will be reading at the following events.

April First Thursday
Thursday, April 5th, 5:30-7:30 at Artamo Gallery and the Book Den

http://www.santabarbaradowntown.com/go.asp

Todo Tamayo
Monday, April 16th, 10:00-12:00 at Santa Barbara Museum of Art

Youth Summit
Saturday, April 28th, 1:20-1:30 at the Sunken Gardens behind the Courthouse

Santa Barbara Poetry Out Loud in the News

Preview in Independent
http://www.independent.com/artsandentertainment/2007/03/plugging_in_poetry.html

Winners Announced
http://www.independent.com/artsandentertainment/2007/03/poet_stacy_hill_1.html

Mention in Poetry Matters
http://www.independent.com/artsandentertainment/2007/03/poetry_matters_1.html

April Month Readings
http://www.independent.com/artsandentertainment/2007/03/3_reasons_to_wax_poetic_at_1st.html

In addition, the preview article from the Independent was picked up by The Dana Foundation's Arts Education in the News, a national newspaper. It was the cover story (above the fold) for the March issue. (Are we thrilled or what?) Check back here for the link; the newspaper is not yet available on line.

Also check out the mention of Poetry Month readings in Santa Barbara Season's on page 79. We're one of the Editor's Picks!

Thanks to Everyone who Participated in Poetry Out Loud Last Friday!

We are still basking in the glow from Friday's competition!

Every student who participated showed up %100! We got goosebumps just listening to you! In that sense, as Ray Tatar said at the event, every participant was a winner.

Here are the local winners for this year:

Third Runner-Up: Wei Jiang
Second Runner-Up: Garrett Brannon
First Runner-Up: Cayla Clark
First Place: Stacy Hill

Congratulations to all! Good luck at the state competition on March 23rd, Stacy!

Thank you also to the musical performers and audience members who got up and performed poems and lyrics! What a wonderful, multi-cultural happening!

Information for Students Participating in Friday's Competion

If you are participating in the competition on Friday night, please remember the following:

* you need to arrive and check in with Beth Taylor-Schott by 6:45. If you arrive after 6:45, we may have given your spot to a runner-up. We will need you to turn in your copies of your poem (see below) and fill out evaluation forms before you take your seat.

* you need to bring 2 copies of your poem with you. One is for the accuracy judge, the other is for your prompter

* you may provide your own prompter. If you do not bring a prompter with you, the poet who taught your class will prompt for you. Your prompter will come up to the front when it is your turn and will sit in a space provided in the front row.

* the Mural Room will open at 6:30. Please feel free to come at that time to test the sound system. The room is generally open during the day if you just want to get a feel for the room or practice your poem there. The sound system will not be available until the evening of the event.

* you will sit in the audience until it is your turn to recite, so be sure to have someone save you a seat while you are checking in.

*Good Luck! We've seen the school winners perform and we know that you are all going to do a fabulous job!

First Santa Barbara Poetry Out Loud Competition

Press Release:

Poetry Out Loud: National Poetry Recitation Contest Comes to Santa Barbara

For the last several of months, students at five local high schools have been preparing for the district-wide poetry memorization and recitation contest to be held at 7:00 pm on March 9^th in the Mural Room at the Santa Barbara Courthouse. The winner of the local contest will go on to the state competition in Sacramento on March 23. The California winner will join other state champions at the national competition in Washington DC. Winners at all levels are awarded prizes and travel money. The first-place national prize is a $20,000 scholarship.

Poetry Out Loud is an initiative of the Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding comes from the California Arts Council, the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission, and local donors, including the Robert and Christine Emmons Foundation and Chaucer’s Bookstore. The program has received enthusiastic support from Santa Barbara High School District, the South Coast Writing Program, and local high school teachers. Santa Barbara Poets in the Schools Christine Kravetz and David and Beth Taylor-Schott have been providing classroom instruction in poetic interpretation, tone, articulation and delivery.

This is the third year of the contest and the first year that Poetry Out Loud is available in California outside of Sacramento. Santa Barbara County is one of 11 counties in California that are participating. The vision for the program, which is modeled on the National Spelling Bee, is to have it available to all high school students throughout the state.

Students from five high school campuses have participated in the program. Representatives from La Cuesta Continuation School, Dos Pueblos and San Marcos High Schools will represent their campuses at the citywide competition. Eight to twelve students will recite a single poem each. Works to be recited have been selected from a wide range of material; choices include works from the Romantic poet John Keats to a contemporary poem by Shirley Lim.

Santa Barbara Poet Laureate Barry Spacks, poet Christopher Buckley, and actor Richard Dysart will act as judges for the competition. Students will be judged on accuracy, physical presence and posture, voice projection and articulation, appropriateness of dramatization, level of difficulty, evidence of understanding, and overall performance.

Poet in the Schools Perie Longo will act as emcee for the event, which will be recorded by the local educational channel. In addition, music will be provided by the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony and the audience will be invited to participate by reciting their own memorized poems. A reception will follow the announcement of the winner.

More information about the program can be found at www.poetryoutloud.org.