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    Duanesburg High School students bring poetry to life
Anny Miner to move on to regional Poetry Out Loud Competition
 
For more information contact:
Communications Specialist  Audrey Hendricks
518-895-5350, ext. 236
ahendric@
gw.neric.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture of the three finalists in the Poetry Out Loud Contest accompanied by contest facilitator and English teacher Donna Prescott

The three finalists in the school-wide Poetry Out Loud contest are pictured above along with English teacher and contest facilitator Donna Prescott.

Jan. 15, 2008 – Congratulations to all nine Duanesburg High School students who engaged an audience full of their peers, school staff and family members with poetry they memorized and performed for the school-wide Poetry Out Loud Contest on Wednesday, Jan. 9.

“Every single recitation was superb—just wonderful,” said English teacher and contest facilitator Donna Prescott. “I love this time of year, I love hearing the students recite poetry.”

Junior Anny Miner was selected as the school-wide winner, while sophomores Mitch Martin and Steven Boyd placed second and third, respectively.

Miner presented a moving rendition of Charlotte Smith’s “Oh, Hope! thou soother sweet of human woes” and Tony Hoagland’s “Beauty.”

“It gave me chills,” said board member and judge Bridget Holmes about Miner’s rendition of “Beauty.”

When she was a freshman, Miner was selected as a classroom winner, but declined moving forward to the school-wide competition at that time.

“She just blew me away,” recalled Prescott about Miner’s recitation of Ann Taylor’s “The Star,” just two years ago.

The Duanesburg finalists were selected by the judges, Holmes, music teacher Mira Ordon and local poet Judy Prest, based on the complexity of the poems chosen and the ease and naturalness in reciting.

Martin recited “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost and “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll, while Boyd recited “Harlem” by Langston Hughes and “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks.

This is the third year that Duanesburg students have participated in the national poetry contest, which begins at the classroom level. There students select two poems to memorize and recite from the extensive Poetry Out Loud anthology and Web site. Students compete by classrooms and then the classroom winners move on to the school-wide competition.

This year, Miner must participate in a regional competition at the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. in order to move on to the state competition. Three capital region finalists will be selected for the state competition, scheduled for Thursday, March 13 at 6 p.m. at the New York State Museum in Albany. The state champion will participate in the National Finals on April 29 in Washington, DC where a total of $50,000 in scholarships and school stipends will be awarded.

Presented in partnership with New York State Art Alliance, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, the National Poetry Out Loud Contest encourages high school students to learn about poetry through memorization, performance and competition. It helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage.


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