California Poetry Out Loud - 2014 State Finals

2014 State Finals

California Poetry Out Loud

March 23, 2014

4:00 p.m.

The Sheraton Grand Hotel

March 24, 2014

8:00 a.m.

The California State Senate Chamber

at the Capitol

Past Champions California Poetry Out Loud

2006 Ken Huffman

Sacramento County

2007 Karen Hong

Sonoma County

2008 Roshawnda Bettencourt

Placer County

2009 Spencer Klaven

Santa Barbara County

2010

Morgan Brown Monterey County

2011

Robert Marchand Monterey County

2012 Corbin Gomez

El Dorado County

2013 Arwa Arwan

Monterey County

Schedule of Events

March 23

Sheraton Grand Hotel, Sacramento

1:00 Check-in at registration table at the Sheraton Grand Hotel

2:00 Falor Room: County champions’ warm-up, photos

4:00 Magnolia Ballroom: Welcome by Kristin Margolis,

California Poetry Out Loud Coordinator

4:15 Introduction of Judges

4:20 Certificates presented

4:30 Round One

7:00 Dinner

March 24

Senate Chamber, State Capitol

7:15 Falor Room: Voice/Performance Warm-Ups

7:30 Champions escorted to the Senate Chamber

7:50 Champion photos at microphone in Senate

8:10 Welcome: Kristin Margolis, Competition Moderator

8:15 Round Two

Presentation of “Hero Award”

10:40 Intermission (time approximate)

10:55 Group photo; announcement of Round Three participants

11:00 Round Three

12:15 Winners announced, awards presented, photos taken

Welcome to the 9th Annual California Poetry Out

Loud Recitation Contest!

California Poetry Out Loud is the largest Poetry Out Loud competition in the nation, and 2014 is our largest contest yet. Thirty-five California counties participated in Poetry Out Loud this year. One of the county champions here today will be chosen to represent California in the national finals and be flown to Washington D.C. next month, courtesy of the National En-dowment for the Arts, to compete against win-ners from all the other states and U.S. territo-ries. It’s an exciting and tense couple of days for us here at the California Arts Council—our favorite two days of the year! We couldn’t be prouder of the exceptional young people we honor today in Sacramento.

The students whose competition you are about to witness are all out-standing. Over forty thousand California high school students participate in California Poetry Out Loud, and of those forty thousand, only thirty-five have made it to the state finals. At this level, the judges have the toughest job in the room.

We are grateful to the generous friends who enable us to enrich the ex-perience of the state finalists who have worked so diligently to excel. This year, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the National En-dowment for the Arts, and Christopher Coppola’s PAH Nation have do-nated additional funds for travel, hotel rooms, a celebratory dinner, awards, and a priceless opportunity for the county champions to get to know each other. It is these sponsors who help us transform the state finals into the celebratory event the finalists deserve.

The California Arts Council is pleased to partner with the National En-dowment for the Arts in producing California Poetry Out Loud. We great-ly appreciate the dedication and hard work of the local arts councils, district offices of education, high school teachers, California Poets in the Schools, parents, and—most of all—the tens of thousands of participat-ing students. We thank our sponsors, our expert panel of judges, all those who made Poetry Out Loud possible, and California Arts Council staff member Kristin Margolis, who so ably and enthusiastically leads the program.

We’re delighted to welcome you to this extraordinary event.

Craig Watson Director California Arts Council

Alameda County champion

California Poetry Out Loud 2014

School Oakland Military Institute

Poem 1 The Albatross by Kate Bass

Poem 2 The Affliction of Richard by Robert

Bridges (Pre)

Poem 3 The Layers by Stanley Kunitz (25)

Teacher Natalie Garcia

Page 6

El Dorado County champion

School Charter University Preparatory

Poem 1 Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold

(Pre)

Poem 2 Monet Refuses the Operation by Lisel

Mueller

Poem 3 A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest,

and the Road Unknown by Walt

Whitman (Pre) (25)

Teacher Kate Wells

"I feel that the Poetry Out Loud competition is a great opportunity

for me to show the passion I have for the literary arts and gives me

a sense of joy while representing my school in a creative and artful

way."

“I am thankful for the opportunity to be able to bring life and emotion

to these poems through the venue of Poetry Out Loud.”

Dylan Romero

Connor Ricketts

California Poetry Out Loud 2014 Page 7

Contra Costa County champion

School Las Lomas High

Poem 1 The Destruction of Sennacherib by Lord

Byron (George Gordon) (Pre) (25)

Poem 2 Miniver Cheevy by Edwin Arlington `

Robinson

Poem 3 The Poet at Seventeen by Larry

Levis

Teacher Wendy Reeves-Hampton

Humboldt County champion

School Northcoast Preparatory and

Performing Arts Academy

Poem 1 Requests for Toy Piano by Tony

Hoagland

Poem 2 The Maid’s Lament by Walter Savage

Landor (Pre)

Poem 3 Reverie in Open Air by Rita Dove

(25)

Teacher Jean Bazemore

Nicolas Krell

Victoria Baca

"To me, the arts mean expression. I’ll always remember Mom’s sto-

rytelling that taught me how to get my point across with words. I’ll

never forget Dad’s use of The Temptations to teach me that song

lyrics and rhythm help bring sense to unexplainable emotions. I’m

forever grateful to my drama teacher, Ms. Margie, who used acting

to help me tap into freedom in one of its most concentrated forms. I

thank God for my English teachers who introduce me to beautiful

words that have the power to make you feel.”

"I am constantly in awe of the incredible tactility words can possess;

poetry is terribly indulgent in that way. And this opportunity to share

and enjoy that indulgence at such a scale is truly marvelous."


School Big Pine Unified School District

Poem 1 Invictus by William Ernest Henley

(Pre) (25)

Poem 2 Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy (Pre)

(25)

Poem 3 Cold Blooded Creatures by Elinor

Wylie (25)

Teacher Tim Steele

Page 8

Inyo County champion

Lake County champion

School Lower Lake High School

Poem 1 Enough by Suzanne Buffam (25)

Poem 2 The End of the World by Dana Gioia

(25)

Poem 3 A Noiseless Patient Spider by Walt

Whitman (Pre) (25)

Teacher Lori White

Jacie Baker

“To me, the arts mean that I can step onto a stage, stand in front of an

audience, and whether its singing, acting, or dancing...for a moment in

time I relax. I lose myself in my performance and in doing so I don't

think about all the schoolwork I have or the work I need to do after

that's over. My worries melt away and I am simply at peace.”

"Happiness cannot be bought, it must be found through trying some-

thing new."

Robert Hamilton


School Hanford West High School

Poem 1 The Pulley by George Herbert (Pre)

(25)

Poem 2 The More Loving One by W.H. Auden

(25)

Poem 3 The Spider and the Fly (Pre) by

Mary Howitt

Teacher Elizabeth Kamerin

Page 9

Kings County champion

Lassen County champion

School Lassen High School

Poem 1 Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold

(Pre)

Poem 2 Her Kind by Anne Sexton (25)

Poem 3 April Love by Ernest Dowson

Teacher Tom Ready

Taylor Lindeman

“... I adore how poetry becomes a part of you as a human. I live for

the moments where poems I have internalized become a part of my

day. Moments when I see the poem that was written two hundred

years ago has significance today, in my life, will always hold

a majestic beauty to me.”

“Poetry Out Loud and The Arts in general are my life. I love perform-

ing, and Poetry Out Loud has given me a great opportunity to share

my passion with a whole new audience. It doesn’t matter whether it

is acting, singing, or sharing poetry, I love performing and I am nev-

er afraid to stand out. “

Mellissa Carpentieri


Los Angeles County champion

Marin County champion

School San Gabriel High School

Poem 1 A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest,

and the Road Unknown by Walt

Whitman (Pre) (25)

Poem 2 Constantly Risking Absurdity (#15)

by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Poem 3 High Noon at Los Alamos by Eleanor

Wilner

Teacher Katie Burkhart

School Marin School of the Arts

Poem 1 Ode for the American Dead in Asia

by Thomas McGrath

Poem 2 On Monsieur’s Departure by Queen

Elizabeth I (Pre) (25)

Poem 3 Baudelaire by Delmore Schwartz

Teacher Sue Sommer

Alex Luu

"Poetry Out Loud has helped me learn my voice and express my

emotions through reciting poetry and also inspiring me to write my

own. This competition has immersed me in an atmosphere full of

other talented reciters who appreciate poetry as much as I do. I've

had an unforgettable experience as a participant and competitor in

Poetry Out Loud."

"Recitation makes otherwise inaccessible, somewhat mysterious

language tangible ... whenever you expose yourself by way of poet-

ry, poetry spits the world's fears and joys right back at you. It is, in

essence, the art of storytelling."

Shayna Maci Warner


Madera County champion

School Yosemite High School

Poem 1 Old Ironsides by Oliver Wendell

Holmes (Pre) (25)

Poem 2 The Mower by Philip Larkin (25)

Poem 3 Self-Inquiry Before the Job Interview

by Gary Soto

Teacher Kelly Solomon

Mendocino County champion

School Developing Virtue Girls Secondary

School

Poem 1 My Grandmother’s Love Letters by

Hart Crane

Poem 2 A Poison Tree by William Blake (Pre)

(25)

Poem 3 Dressing My Daughters by Mark

Jarman

Teacher Mack Bostick

Jocelyn Boe

Joanne Ho

“Poetry Out Loud is an outlet of your expressive soul.”

“Art is a physical expression of the human soul; indefinable, yet es-

sential to our very being.”

Monterey County champion


Modoc County champion

School Surprise Valley High School

Poem 1 The Star by Ann Taylor, Jane Taylor

(Pre) (25)

Poem 2 Bilingual/Bilingue by Rhina P.

Espaillat (25)

Poem 3 Catch a Little Rhyme by Eve Merriam

(25)

Teacher David M. Schulz

School Pacific Grove High

Poem 1 Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor

Coleridge (Pre)

Poem 2 An Arundel Tomb by Philip Larkin

Poem 3 Abandoned Farmhouse by Ted

Kooser (25)

Teacher Larry Haggquist

Alexis LameBull

Haley Walker

"When I'm standing up there, I want people to see into the world

within the poem."

“I believe every piece of art--whether a song, painting or poem-- tells

a story and communicates a message. To me, poetry is beautiful be-

cause it allows people to connect to one another on a profoundly emo-

tional level.”


Mono County champion

School Mammoth Lakes Academy

Poem 1 Their Bodies by David Wagoner (25)


Poem 3 The Sun Rising by John Donne (Pre)

Teacher Eva Poole Gilson

Napa County champion

School Justin-Siena High School

Poem 1 Echo by Christina Rossetti (Pre) (25)

Poem 2 The animals in that country by

Margaret Atwood Poem 3 The Destruction of Sennacherib by

Lord Byron (George Gordon)

Teacher Laura Weakley

Delia Biscorner

Kate Wilson

"It can be hard to express your emotions without embarrassment or

fear of ridicule. Through the words of others, I can relate my experi-

ences, feelings and thoughts to my audience: expressing love, appre-

ciation, fear, sadness, and anger in a way I would not otherwise be

able to.”

“Art reveals the souls of people. It is what makes us different from other animals, and the reason the difference is a positive one.”


Nevada County champion

Placer County champion

School Nevada Union

Poem 1 Abandoned Farmhouse by Ted

Kooser (25)

Poem 2 The Farmer by W.D. Ehrhart (25)

Poem 3 The Charge of the Light Brigade by

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Pre)

Teacher Steve Hansen

School Placer High School

Poem 1 a song in the front yard by

Gwendolyn Brooks (25)

Poem 2 Caged Bird by Maya Angelou

Poem 3 The Definition of Love by Andrew

Marvell (Pre)

Teacher Brittaney Haydon

Maya Thomas

“To me, Poetry Out Loud is a way of expressing myself. I can be me,

the real me, without fear of judgment from others. The arts are a

way I can tell my story in ways that I never thought I could, and I am

forever grateful for the experience.”

Wyatt Price

“I love the way I've gained a deeper level of understanding poetry by

working with Poetry Out Loud. I've learned how to express myself

through poetry, something I've never done before.”


Riverside County champion

Orange County champion

School Canyon High School

Poem 1 I Am the People, the Mob by Carl

Sandburg (25)

Poem 2 Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field one

Night by Walt Whitman (Pre)

Poem 3 Greed by Philip Schultz

Teacher David Heck

School Xavier College Preparatory High

School

Poem 1 The Listeners by Walter De La Mare

Poem 2 Song of the Powers by David Mason

Poem 3 Love (III) by George Herbert (Pre)

(25)

Teacher Lori Davis

Nima Ostowari

“Reciting poetry acts as the means to the end goal of finding an out-

let for artistic expression. The Poetry Out Loud competition provides

me with such an outlet to which I can display and convey the mean-

ings of certain poems.”

"Poetry Out Loud has opened my eyes to the real meaning and

beauty of poetry, and I not only enjoy reciting poetry now, but also

find a lot of pleasure in watching others perform it."

Kristinely Afable


School John F. Kennedy High School

Poem 1 Angels by B. H. Fairchild (25)

Poem 2 Song: Go and catch a falling star by

John Donne (Pre)

Poem 3 Eddie Priest’s Barbershop & Notary

by Kevin Young

Teacher David Phanthai

Page 16

Sacramento County champion

San Francisco County champion

School Lowell High School

Poem 1 Thoughtless Cruelty by Charles

Lamb (Pre)

Poem 2 Buick by Karl Shapiro (25)

Poem 3 The Definition of Love by Andrew

Marvell (Pre)

Teacher Susan Terence

“Participating in Poetry Out Loud has unlocked emotions that I could

never articulate. Art is our universal dialect, this competition is refin-

ing my abilities to communicate it.”

Jbrill Kyser

Yael Vainberg

"My house could burn down, my heart could get broken, or my trust

could be crumpled, but one thing for sure is I will always have my

song, my poem."


School Valley Center High School

Poem 1 Fishing on the Susquehanna in July

by Billy Collins

Poem 2 Dirge Without Music by Edna St.

Vincent Millay (25)

Poem 3 Invictus by William Ernest Henley

(Pre) (25)

Teacher Crystal Rienick

Page 17

San Diego County champion

San Luis Obispo County champion

School Paso Robles High School

Poem 1 The Delta by Bruce Bond

Poem 2 Hartley Field by Connie Wanek

Poem 3 The Fair Singer by Andrew Marvell

(Pre) (25)

Teacher Aaron Cantrell

Alec Wingfield

“I think poetry and the arts are the key components of what it means

to be human; without them, there is no humanity. It’s our equivalent

to the force of a Jedi and in my opinion it can be just as powerful.”

“To me Poetry Out Loud means keeping the arts alive for today’s

youth. It means maintaining that sense of sacredness. Poetry is still

one of the purest forms of expression.”

Kaelie Rush


Santa Barbara County champion

Siskiyou County champion

School Weed High School

Poem 1 One Art by Elizabeth Bishop (25)

Poem 2 Revenge by Letitia Elizabeth Landon

(Pre)

Poem 3 The Properly Scholarly Attitude by

Adelaide Crapsey

Teacher Caroline Hopper

School Pioneer Valley High School

Poem 1 Queens Cemetery, Setting Sun by

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Poem 2 Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy (Pre)

(25)

Poem 3 Sanctuary by Jean Valentine (25)

Teacher Ben Rothstein

"The arts provide me an opportunity to step into another person's

experience, while at the same time, expressing my own. ... I love all

aspects of art; it allows me to express who I am and who I want to

be. Poetry Out Loud has given me a platform, with which I can crea-

tively display my abilities and passion for the significance of the

stage."

“Poetry, to me, is a reminder that expressing thoughts and emotions

is important. Poetry reminds me that I have the divine right to ex-

press myself; through poetry my soul is tangible and declares itself in

a voice that people will remember. Through poetry I can truly be

heard.”

Jessica Osborn

Elizabeth Ebrahimy


Santa Clara County champion

Solano County champion

School Benicia High School


Holmes (Pre) (25)

Poem 2 I Am! by John Clare (Pre) (25)

Poem 3 All This and More by Mary Karr

Teacher Kim Thompson

School Live Oak Academy

Poem 1 Broken Promises by David Kirby (25)

Poem 2 The Speakers by Weldon Kees (25)


Holmes (Pre) (25)

Teacher Holly Coty

Ann Klingelhafer

"Poetry Out Loud allows me to explore the world of literature, to

expand my imagination, and to be able to share my world with oth-

ers around me."

“Poetry Out Loud is an amazing opportunity to explore the way being

spoken can change the feeling of a piece, can emphasis the soul con-

tained in the simple words. Poetry to me is the expression of the

heart and soul through words, spoken or written, and I have discov-

ered the power that vocal expression can add to an already amazing

poem.”

Joshua Bjurman


Sonoma County champion

Sutter County champion

School Montgomery High School


Poem 2 Movement Song by Audre Lorde

Poem 3 Echo by Christina Rosetti (Pre) (25)

Teacher Donna Holmes

School Marysville Charter Academy for the

Arts

Poem 1 Israfel by Edgar Allan Poe (Pre)

Poem 2 Pity the Beautiful by Dana Gioia (25)

Poem 3 Valentine by Elinor Wylie

Teacher Ruth Atkins

Gabrielle Mathews

"The Arts are about finding even the dustiest parts of yourself and

making them shine bright."

“To me, the arts are all about telling stories. I grew up on stories, and

I want to dedicate my life to sharing them.”

Kaitlyn Sackett


Stanislaus County champion

Tuolumne County champion

School Enochs High School

Poem 1 In Love, His Grammar Grew by

Stephen Dunn (25)

Poem 2 War Ballad by Stanley Moss

Poem 3 The World Is Too Much With Us by

William Wordsworth (Pre) (25)

Teacher Chris Hayden

School Connections Visual & Performing Arts

Academy

Poem 1 The Bearer by Hayden Carruth

Poem 2 The Woman at the Washington Zoo

by Randall Jarell

Poem 3 A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest and

the Road Unknown by Walt Whitman

(Pre) (25)

Teacher Rick Foster

Kathryn Harlan-Gran

“The arts are mediums of expression that can reach everyone, re-

gardless of differences in personality or background. They allow us to

better understand ourselves and one another.”

"It is through language that the souls of the people are kept hungry

for knowledge and it is through words that the greatest civilizations

are magnificently built, but, for me, it is only through the harmoniza-

tion of words and artistic expression that I am set free."

Teresa Woods


School El Camino High School at Ventura

College

Poem 1 Immortal Autumn by Archibald

MacLeish (25)

Poem 2 Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats

(Pre)


Teacher Louise Hewitt

Ventura County champion

Page 22

Yuba County champion

School Lindhurst High School

Poem 1 End of the World by Dana Goia (25)

Poem 2 End of Summer by Stanley Kunitz

Poem 3 The Albatross by Kate Bass (25)

Teacher Jonathan Kinsman

Miranda Mize

Sierra Van Houten

“Poetry Out Loud has been one of the best opportunities I have had

so far in high school. I have learned so much about these amazing

poets and have been given the opportunity to read so many beautiful

poems. My understanding and therefore appreciation for these poems

has grown so much through this competition. This has been such an

amazing experience, and I couldn’t be more honored to be amongst

this superb group of people.”

“Poetry Out Loud is not a competition. It's a social gathering. Being

able to see other kids grow nervous and fan themselves before step-

ping out on stage is something I can relate to. It's easier to feel other

competitors on a much more personal level since we all share a huge

passion for poetry.”


Yolo County champion

School Esparto High School

Poem 1 Solitude by Ella Wheeler Wilcox (Pre) (

25)

Poem 2 [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]

by e. e. cummings (25)

Poem 3 I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain (340) by

Emily Dickinson (Pre) (25)

Teacher Diana Rowland

EllaRose Eldon

“Poetry Out Loud is a way for young people to challenge themselves

outside of school in an environment that is both academic and crea-

tive.”

Musicians Mike McMullen, Saxophone Doug Pauly, Guitar

Photographer Jay R. Hart

Brought to you by...

Poetry Out Loud is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts

and the Poetry Foundation, in partnership with U.S. state arts agencies.

California Poetry Out Loud is managed by the California Arts Council.

Additional support for California Poetry Out Loud 2014 was provided by

the National Endowment for the Arts, The William and Flora Hewlett

Foundation, and PAH Nation.

Judges

Accuracy Judge Brandon Cesmat’s writing appears in jour-

nals such as Perigee, Weber: the Contemporary West and Other Voices International. His most recent books are Light in All Directions (Poetic Matrix) and When Pigs Fall in Love (Caernarvon). He was the poetry editor for A Year in Ink, Vol. 5: San Diego Writers, Ink. He teaches liter-ature & writing at CSU San Marcos and is a past president of California

Poets in the Schools.

Prompter Jennifer Swanton Brown published her first po-

em in the Palo Alto Times when she was in the fifth grade. She complet-ed her Master of Liberal Arts at Stanford University in 2012, with a the-

sis on the domestic poetry of Eavan Boland. Jennifer has been a poet/teacher with California Poets in the Schools since 2001 and joined their Board of Directors in March 2013. Her poems have been published in multiple local journals, including Caesura and The DQM Review. In Octo-ber 2013, Jennifer became the second Poet Laureate of the City of Cu-pertino. You can follow her Poem-A-Day project “A Lane of Yellow” on Tumblr (http://laneofyellow.tumblr.com/) and other Cupertino Poet Lau-reate news at http://cupertinopoetlaureate.org.

Frances Phillips is program director for arts and the Creative

Work Fund at the Walter and Elise Haas Fund in San Francisco. She was executive director of Intersection for the Arts (1986-94)—San Francis-co’s oldest alternative arts space—and director and assistant director of the Poetry Center and American Poetry Archives at San Francisco State University (1980-86). She teaches Creative Writing at San Francisco State University. Phillips is the author of three small press books of po-etry from Kelsey Street Press and Hanging Loose Press. She served as a reviewer and poetry review editor for The Hungry Mind Review and also has published book reviews in Montemora, Poetry Flash, The San Jose Mercury News, The Washington Post, and other publications.

http://laneofyellow.tumblr.com/

http://cupertinopoetlaureate.org

Christopher Coppola was appointed to the California Arts Council

by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2013. He is the Director of the Film Department at the San Francisco Art Institute. As President of Christopher R. Coppo-la Enterprises, he has been a champion of, and leader in, digital media for over a decade. In 2006 he created Project Accessible Hollywood (PAH), a nonprofit organization that brings digital empowerment to un-derserved communities and individuals worldwide. PAH seeks to educate “everyday” people on using simple digital media to express themselves artistically. To date, Coppola has held forty-four free digital media festi-vals, called PAH-fests, across the U.S. and abroad. Each PAH-fest brings technology, education and community engagement while supporting artistic expression through a digital storytelling competition. Since 1987 he has directed eight feature films and numerous television shows as well as developing and producing content for alternative distribution and interactive platforms. Coppola’s company also produces a reality show series, “The DigiVangelist,” which features Coppola seeking out the lat-est innovations in creative technology while keeping the heart and soul of the human endeavor intact.

Juan Felipe Herrera was appointed as California’s Poet Laureate

in 2012 by Gov. Jerry Brown. He is the first Hispanic writer to serve in the post. The son of migrant workers from Mexico, Mr. Herrera earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, a Mas-ter of Arts in Social Anthropology from Stanford University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa. He was elected to the Board of Chancellors for the Academy of American Poets in 2011, was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry in 2010, won the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry in 2009, in 2008, the PEN USA Award and two Latino Hall of Fame Awards in 2002 and 2000. Author of 29 books, he is Professor in the Department of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside.

Notes

facebook.com/californiaartscouncil

@CalArtsCouncil

#POL14

Documents

California Poetry Out Loud - 2014 State Finals