POETRY OUT LOUD COMPETITION AT THE BAMA THEATRE

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
The Arts Council
Contact: Kevin Ledgewood
205-758-5195, x6
pr@tuscarts.org

POETRY OUT LOUD COMPETITION AT THE BAMA THEATRE

(Tuscaloosa) The District 3 Regional Finals for the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Project will be held on Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. at Tuscaloosa’s Bama Theatre. Participating students are from schools in Jefferson, Shelby and Tuscaloosa counties. Winners will compete for a spot in the State Finals to be held in Montgomery in 2013 and the chance to participate in the final round in Washington, D.C.

The Poetry Out Loud competition is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts (nea.gov), The Poetry Foundation and the Alabama State Council on the Arts (www.arts.state.al.us/). It is administrated in the West Alabama area by The Arts Council of Tuscaloosa.

Poetry Out Loud is a contest that encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage. After successful pilot programs in Washington, D.C., and Chicago, Poetry Out Loud was launched in high schools nationwide in the spring of 2006 with tens of thousands of students participating. POL has grown every year with over 365,000 students competing in 2011-2012.

ASCA is also sponsoring an additional portion of the competition in which students will recite their original poetry. The students’ original works will be printed in a chapbook published locally by Slash Pine Press. Winners from both competitions will be announced that afternoon.

The competition is open to the public and admission is free. For specific information about Poetry Out Loud, contact Sharron Rudowski at 205-758-5195, ext. 4. Visit www.poetryoutloud.org for detailed information about the program on the national level.

The Bama Theatre is located at 600 Greensboro Avenue in downtown Tuscaloosa. For more information about The Arts Council or Bama Theatre, patrons should LIKE the Facebook page “The Arts Council – Bama Theatre – Cultural Arts Center” and follow tuscarts on Twitter. Call 205-758-5195 or visit tuscarts.org for further information.

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