{"id":1606,"date":"2013-04-27T10:02:34","date_gmt":"2013-04-27T18:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kathleenflenniken.com\/blog\/?p=1606"},"modified":"2013-04-27T12:40:28","modified_gmt":"2013-04-27T20:40:28","slug":"poetry-out-loud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/kathleenflenniken.com\/blog\/?p=1606","title":{"rendered":"Poetry Out Loud"},"content":{"rendered":"

ArtsWA joins other state arts agencies in partnering with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation to support\u00a0Poetry Out Loud<\/em>,<\/a> a poetry recitation competition that encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. By participating in the program, students also master public speaking skills and build self confidence. Each state hosts a competition annually, culminating in a national competition among the state winners.<\/p>\n

Langston Ward<\/strong> of Mead High School, in Spokane, won the Washington State Poetry Out Loud finals on March 9<\/a> and has moved on to the national finals this coming Monday and Tuesday, April 29 and 30, in Washington D.C. \u00a0He will recite\u00a0“The Gift” by Li-Young Lee, “The Bad Old Days” by Kenneth Rexroth, and “A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown” by Walt Whitman. Watch a video of Langston’s performance of the Whitman poem below. \u00a0This is the second state championship for Ward, who represented Washington state in the 2012 national finals. He placed in the top nine students nationally last year.<\/p>\n

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Langston Ward recites\u00a0\u00a0“A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown” by Walt Whitman:<\/strong><\/p>\n