North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA) is pleased to announce Emily Gilsrud of Wahpeton High School, as the 2019 State Champion and first place winner of the North Dakota State Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. Christian Walth of Bismarck High School received second place honors. Placing third was Maria Kalb of St. Mary’s Central High School in Bismarck. Emily Gilsrud will advance to the National Finals in Washington, DC on April 30-May 1, 2019, where a total of $50,000 in cash and school stipends will be awarded. This year’s North Dakota Poetry Out Loud State Finals competition took place on Monday, February 25, at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum in Bismarck, ND.
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation partner with state arts agencies in all fifty states to sponsor the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. Since 2005, Poetry Out Loud (POL) has grown to reach more than 3 million students and 50,000 teachers from 10,000 schools in every state, Washington, DC, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Approximately 27,500 ND students have participated in POL for the past 12 years with our State Champions proudly representing ND at the National Competition in Washington, DC.
Poetry Out Loud addresses most state ELA standards and can easily be integrated into existing curriculum. By incorporating memorization and performance in the classroom, POL sets the stage for students to deepen their understanding of figurative language, word relationships and the nuances within word meanings. In addition, students learn about great poetry, explore their literary heritage, and gain confidence in public speaking skills. To support teachers in this effort, North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA) offers up to $2,000 in non-matching grant funds for poet visits to schools registered in the POL Program. See Poets in Schools Grant for more information.
Any school or homeschool group in North Dakota that includes students in grades nine through twelve qualifies for POL. Public, private, alternative, independent, as well as homeschool groups or organizations and school-sponsored afterschool programs, are encouraged to participate.
For further information on Poetry Out Loud, visit or http://www.ndpol.com; or www.poetryoutloud.org; or contact Rebecca Engelman at (701) 328-7593 or via email at rengelman@nd.gov.