Students from eleven area high schools will compete at the 5th annual Southwest Missouri Regional "Poetry Out Loud" Recitation Competition on Tuesday, February 8th at 6:30 pm at The Creamery Arts Center, 411 Sherman Parkway across from Hammons Field. Hosted by Springfield Regional Arts Council, the event is free and open to the public. Students will compete from Springfield Glendale, Kickapoo and Central; as well as Branson, Republic, Dixon, Lakeland, Nixa, Waynesville, West Plains and Stockton high schools. The event will be emceed by Randy Stewart, Fine Arts Producer for KSMU; judges for the event include Carter Cramer, Professor of English Emeritus Missouri State University; Louise Knauer, SRAC board member and Senior Vice President of Communications and Marketing for The Community Foundation of the Ozarks; Brett Miller, Professor of Communications, Southwest Baptist University at Bolivar; Marcus Cafagna, Associate Professor of English, Coordinator of Creative Writing at Missouri State University; and Accuracy Judge, Amanda Rehani, Director of Finance at the Springfield Regional Arts Council. The winning student at this regional event will advance to the state level where each state winner receives $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington DC to compete at the National Finals as well as a $500 stipend for their schools for the purchase of poetry books. In addition to the scholarship awards and school stipends given at the national competition, the national champion will receive a $20,000 college scholarship award. Poetry Out Loud is a collaboration of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, in partnership with state and regional art agencies. The local competition is a collaboration of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Missouri Arts Council, Missouri Association of Community Arts Agencies, the Poetry Foundation, and the Springfield Regional Arts Council. Contact the Arts Council at 862-ARTS (2787) or visit www.springfieldarts.org for more information.
