Westerville Student Wins 2013 Ohio Poetry Out Loud Contest, Advances to Nationals
by Elizabeth Weinstein
Ohio's eighth annual Poetry Out Loud state competition was held Saturday, March 16 in the Matesich Theatre at Ohio Dominican University. Taribo Osuobeni (right; photo by Todd Callentine), a senior at Westerville Central High School in Westerville, won the competition with his recitations of On Quitting, by Edgar Allen Guest; No Coward Soul is Mine, by Emily Bronte; and The Craftsman by Marcus B. Christian. As the winner of the state finals, Osuobeni received a $300 prize, his school gets $500 for the purchase of poetry books, and he will receive an all-expense-paid trip to compete in the Poetry Out Loud national finals in Washington, D.C., from April 28-30, 2013.
More than 6,000 students from 56 schools around Ohio participated in Poetry Out Loud competitions this year. After classroom-level and then school-wide contests, 37 students competed in the final event. They performed classic and contemporary poems for a five-person panel of poetry and performance experts. Students were awarded points for accuracy, physical presence, voice and articulation, level of difficulty and other criteria.
The top three students also received cash prizes:
First runner-up Amelia Brownstein, a senior from Bexley High School in Bexley, received $200 and $200 for her school library. Second runner-up, Stewart Silver, a junior from Upper Arlington High School in Upper Arlington, received $100 with $50 for his school library. Three other students received honorable mentions: Rachel Strahorn, a junior from Chaminade Julienne High School in Dayton; Sarah Schoultz, a sophomore from Centennial High School in Columbus; and Dezi Lowry, a junior from Purcell Marian High School in Cincinnati.
Click here for a complete list of student participants.
A total of $50,000 in scholarships and school stipends will be awarded to the winners at the Poetry Out Loud national finals, including a $20,000 cash prize for the national champion. Ohio has an outstanding track record of competition at the national level. Ohio champion Jackson Hille was the first national Poetry Out Loud winner in 2006. And in 2009, Ohio champion Mido Aly was among the top five national finalists.
This year's Poetry Out Loud state competition was hosted by Ohio Arts Council board member Sharon Howard from the Dayton Development Coalition. Howard joined Ohio Arts Council Executive Director Julie Henahan to pass out awards to the top six finalists. Each finalist received plaques from Passion Works Studio in Athens and an autographed copy of Weather, a collection of poems by Cleveland poet Dave Lucas, who shared his original poems between rounds in the state competition. Lucas received the 2012 Ohioana Book Award, co-sponsored by Ohio's Poetry Out Loud, for Weather and is the co-founder and co-director of the popular Market Garden Brewery Reading Series in Cleveland.
Poetry Out Loud is presented by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation in partnership with the Ohio Arts Council. The Ohio Poetry Out Loud finals are presented in partnership with Thurber House and the Ohioana Library Association. Poetry Out Loud is a program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance and competition. Through Poetry Out Loud, students master public-speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage.
Visit www.poetryoutloud.org for more information on this national program and the Ohio Arts Council website for more information on the Ohio program.
About the Ohio Arts Council:
The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.
About the National Endowment for the Arts:
The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts - both new and established - bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education.
About Poetry Out Loud:
Poetry Out Loud is a program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance and competition. Through Poetry Out Loud, students can master public-speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage.
About the Poetry Foundation:
The publisher of Poetry magazine, the Poetry Foundation is an independent library organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It has embarked on an ambitious plan to bring the best poetry before the largest possible audiences.
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