News Release
Putnam City West Senior Named State Champion
March 9, 2007
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Carla Walker, Director of Development & Public Affairs
Oklahoma Humanities Council
(405) 235-0280 • carla@okhumanitiescouncil.org
** Digital images available by email **
Oklahoma City, OK—The Oklahoma Humanities Council announced that Jessica Sims, a senior at Putnam City West High School, won the state finals competition for the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest held on March 7 in Oklahoma City.
The Oklahoma Humanities Council facilitated the competition in partnership with the Oklahoma Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation. As the state finalist, Sims will receive an all-expenses-paid trip with a chaperone to compete in the national finals in Washington, D.C. in April. The national Poetry Out Loud champion will receive a $20,000 college scholarship.
“This competition helped me appreciate poetry more than I did,” said Sims. “I learned poetry can be fun. I am excited to be going to nationals. I can’t wait to meet new people who enjoy poetry as much as I do.”
Five students represented their schools in this year’s state finals, including: Elena Hight of Bishop McGuinness High School; Caitlin Schudalla of Mount St. Mary High School; 2nd runner-up Alanna Velasquez of Moore High School; 1st runner-up Raymond Weilacher of Catoosa High School; and winner Jessica Sims of Putnam City West High School.
As the state winner of the competition, Sims will receive $200, and her school will receive $500 for the purchase of poetry books. First runner-up Raymond Weilacher will receive $100, with $200 for his school library, all funded by the Poetry Foundation and NEA.
Stephen Young, Program Director of the Poetry Foundation, attended the event and said the contest was designed to capture the imagination of high school students and instill a lifelong love of poetry. According to NEA Chairman Dana Gioia, the program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.
The Oklahoma state contest began last year as a pilot program in the Oklahoma City metro area and expanded this year to include high schools in Tulsa and Northeast Oklahoma. Contestants began the competition at the classroom level, reciting poems from an anthology of more than 400 classic and contemporary works. More than 1600 students participated this year.
Oklahoma Humanities Council Executive Director Ann Thompson said that every high school in the state will be eligible to participate in next year’s competition. She noted that Poetry Out Loud is an example of the organization’s commitment to providing quality programming in the humanities.
“Learning from others’ lives is a key component of humanities education,” said Thompson, “and we’re pleased to be a partner with the Oklahoma Arts Council in bringing Poetry Out Loud to Oklahoma. The students who competed this year exemplified the power of teaching poetry. In addition to outstanding performances, it was apparent that each student fully grasped the meaning of each poet’s work.”
Judges for the competition included Fran Ringold, former Oklahoma Poet Laureate and editor of Nimrod International Journal, University of Tulsa; Jennifer Kidney, Director of Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma and Oklahoma Connections; Jim Chastain, attorney, poet, and contributor to the Oklahoma Gazette; Jeanne Hoffman Smith, Oklahoma Humanities Council Board Member and community supporter of poetry and film projects; Felicia Godwin, instructor of English at Cameron University; and Carla Walker, Director of Development and Public Affairs for the Oklahoma Humanities Council.
For more information on the Poetry Out Loud competition, contact OHC Director of Programs David Pettyjohn at (405) 235-0280, david@okhumanitiescouncil.org or visit www.poetryoutloud.org.
About the Contestants and Their Poetry
Elena Hight — Bishop McGuinness High School
Elena is editor of her school literary magazine and is active in Politics Club, National Honor Society, music, and acting. Her selections for recitation included:
A Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late Famous General by Jonathan Swift
Unknown Girl in the Maternity Ward by Anne Sexton
Break of Day in the Trenches by Isaac Rosenberg
Caitlin Schudalla — Mount St. Mary High School
Caitlin is a four-time all-stater in acting and, upon graduation, hopes to attend an in-state university to pursue acting and professional writing. Her selections for recitation included:
Epitaph by Katherine Philips
Gitanjali 35 by Rabindranath Tagore
The Lake Isle of Innisfree by William Butler Yeats
Alanna Velasquez — Moore High School
Alanna is in the U.S. Sea Cadet Corps and is a member of Drama Club. Her selections for recitation included:
The Spider and the Fly: An Apologue by Mary Howitt
Ballad of Birmingham by Dudley Randall
Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe
Raymond Weilacher — Catoosa High School
Raymond is passionate about filmmaking. He is president of the Spanish Club, an Eagle Scout, and has a black belt in martial arts. His selections for recitation included:
Preludes by T.S. Eliot
Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson
Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe
Jessica Sims — Putnam City West High School
Jessica is president of the school choir and vice president of Drama Club. She plans to attend Oklahoma City University to study musical theater. Her selections for recitation included:
If by Rudyard Kipling
Scary Movies by Kim Addonizio
It Couldn’t Be Done by Edgar Albert Guest
About the Oklahoma Humanities Council
The Oklahoma Humanities Council is an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide meaningful public engagement in the humanities—disciplines that promote justice and tolerance by helping people to make powerful connections, recognize commonalities, and engage in civic life.
About the Oklahoma Arts Council
The state agency for the arts in Oklahoma has a mission “to lead, cultivate, and support a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education and economic vitality for all Oklahomans.”
About the National Endowment for the Arts
Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the NEA is the largest national funder of the arts.
About the Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience.
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