The national “Poetry Out Loud” competition, an event for high school students that encourages them to learn about great poetry, will be held at Farmingdale State College on Friday, February 27, (snow date is 3/13) in the Little Theatre in Roosevelt Hall (snow location is the Campus Center). The event will take place from 6 – 8 p.m. The public is invited free of charge, and refreshments will be served.
The competition is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and state arts agencies. Ten SUNY schools will be holding events throughout New York State. Students must memorize and recite one of 800 poems provided by “Poetry Out Loud.” Student poets will compete for cash prizes, and winning students on the state level will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete for the national championship. More than 100 students and family members are expected to attend the event. Participating schools include:
Syosset HS
Locust Valley HS
Deer Park HS
Valley Stream Memorial JHS
Bethpage HS
Wellington C. Mepham HS
Judges include Farmingdale State’s Professor Emeritus Dr. Charles Ades Fishman, a nationally recognized expert in Holocaust literature and poet; Cynthia Shor, Executive Director, Walt Whitman Birthplace Association; Dr. Noel H. Brathwaite, FSC Assistant Professor of English; and Amy Swauger, Director at Teachers & Writers Collaborative. Score keeper will be Graduate Student Jordan Teague.
Farmingdale students have agreed to volunteer at the competition and to perform during the judges’ deliberation.
The program’s goals are to help students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.
