COLUMBIA, S.C. – Competing for the chance to advance to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals in Washington, D.C. this April, students from high schools throughout the state competed in one of three regional competitions—Lowcountry, Midlands and Upstate— Feb. 9 – Feb. 24. Three finalists from each contest are advancing to the state competition, which takes place at 1 p.m. March 8 at the Columbia Museum of Art, during the 2008 South Carolina Poetry Out Loud State Finals and S.C. Teacher/Student Conference.
Winners of the Lowcountry Regional POL Contest are:
Ashley Blanchard, Timberland High School, Berkeley County
Helene Huber, Ashley Hall, Charleston County
Iesha Moultrie, Berkeley High School, Berkeley County
Winners of the Midlands regional POL contest are:
Brittany Brown, Lamar High School, Darlington County
Nick Jenkins, Fox Creek High School, Edgefield County
Kaneisha Payton, Spring Valley High School, Richland County
Winners of the Upstate regional POL contest are:
Katrina Leonhart, James F. Byrnes High School, Spartanburg County
Amy Li, Riverside High School, Greenville County
A'derrica Roseboro, York Comprehensive High School, York County
The state champion will receive $200, a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books for their school library, and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the National Endowment of the Arts’ Poetry Out Loud National Finals in April. A state runner up will also receive $100 and their library will receive a $200 poetry book stipend.
The state judges are Richard Garcia and Vera Gomez. The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the S.C. Arts Commission and the USC's South Carolina Poetry Initiative. For more information, contact Susanna Brailsford at the S.C. Arts Commission at SBrailsford@arts.sc.gov or 803-734-8639.
About S.C. Arts Commission
The South Carolina Arts Commission is the state agency charged with creating a thriving arts environment that benefits all South Carolinians, regardless of their location or circumstances. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission is celebrating 40 years of increasing public participation in the arts by providing services, grants and leadership initiatives in three areas: arts education, community arts development and artist development. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina and by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com or call (803) 734-8696.