W.Va. Poetry Out Loud winners
Carolyn Rose Garcia, WV Poetry Out Loud winner — Photo by Vic Burkhammer
Winners of the West Virginia Poetry Out Loud competition at the Cultural Center today:
Carolyn Rose Garcia, of Notre Dame High School, Harrison County, won with her delivery of Robert Pinsky’s poem “Shirt.” She will receive $200 and an all-expense paid trip to the nationals in Washington, D.C., on April 29.
Jasmine Lewis of Spring Valley High School, Wayne County, was runner-up with Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise.”
Jasmine Lewis, WV Poetry Out Loud runner-up — Photo by Vic Burkhammer
Congratulations, girls! Fourteen students from 11 counties participated in the finals, emceed by Oscar-nominated movie star Chris Sarandon, a Beckley native. What a wonderful event!
Thanks to all the students, teachers, and judges, to Jeff Pierson, director of arts for the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, to Stacy Kepple, Poetry Out Loud coordinator for the Division, and to all the volunteers and staff and to Chris Sarandon and every person who made this event so special.
There were video and sound staff in the back of the theater, and an official photographer there, so we should be able to see some of this event in the archives sometime.
West Virginia’s first lady Gail Manchin was there, too, to speak briefly to the crowd, to congratulate the finalists, and to schmooze a little.
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PRESS RELEASE: Poetry Foundation Collaborates with HBO on Classical Baby (I’m Grown Up Now): The Poetry Show
Latest installment of the Emmy-winning series debuts April 12
CHICAGO — The Poetry Foundation, in collaboration with HBO, is pleased to announce the premiere of Classical Baby (I’m Grown Up Now): The Poetry Show, a television special for kids and their families about poetry. The latest installment of HBO’s acclaimed Classical Baby series transports viewers into the world of literary arts, planting the seeds for a new generation to become lifelong lovers of poetry. Featuring classic poems by some of the world’s greatest poets-including William Shakespeare, Langston Hughes, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Gertrude Stein, William Carlos Williams, Christina Rossetti, and Federico García Lorca — the program premieres on Saturday, April 12, at 5:30 p.m. Central Standard Time, exclusively on HBO.
“We’re certain that young children-and their parents-who are introduced to poetry via this enchanting program will be captivated by the beauty and wonder of the art form,” said John Barr, president of the Poetry Foundation. “Our research confirms that a positive experience with poetry early in life is the best way to create a lifelong reader of poetry.”
An HBO original program produced in association with the Poetry Foundation, Classical Baby (I’m Grown Up Now): The Poetry Show introduces audiences to timeless poetry through animation and song. Featuring the voices of performers Andy Garcia, John Lithgow, Elizabeth Mitchell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Susan Sarandon, and Jeffrey Wright, and poets Langston Hughes, Gertrude Stein, and William Carlos Williams, Classical Baby (I’m Grown Up Now): The Poetry Show consists of approximately a dozen short segments presenting well-known poems-and some surprises-in a delightful format. Between each segment, children-ranging in age from 4 to 9-offer commentary and muse on the meaning and mystery of poetry.
Poems featured in the program include the following:
* “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost; read by Susan Sarandon
* “The Swing” by Robert Louis Stevenson; sung by Beverly Gile and Frances Archer
* “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos Williams; recited by Finn, age 7
* “Grassy Grass Grass” by Woody Guthrie; performed by Elizabeth Mitchell
* “The Owl and the Pussycat” by Edward Lear; read by John Lithgow
* “Sonnet XVIII” by William Shakespeare; read by Jeffrey Wright
* “Mariposa” by Federico García Lorca; recited by Andy Garcia in Spanish with English subtitles
* “This Is Just to Say,” written and read by William Carlos Williams
* “April Rain Song,” written and read by Langston Hughes
* “A Very Valentine,” written and read by Gertrude Stein
* “Who Has Seen the Wind?” by Christina Rossetti; read by child Maria Molloy
* “How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning; read by Gwyneth Paltrow
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About HBO’s Classical Baby
Designed to introduce the whole family to masterpieces of classical music, painting, dance, and now poetry, the Emmy and Peabody award-winning Classical Baby series is the brainchild of director-producer Amy Schatz. On April 17, HBO Family and HBO Video will release Classical Baby (I’m Grown Up Now): The Poetry Show on DVD.
About the Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine and one of the largest literary organizations in the world, exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. The Poetry Foundation seeks to be a leader in shaping a receptive climate for poetry by developing new audiences, creating new avenues for delivery, and encouraging new kinds of poetry through innovative literary prizes and programs. For more information, please visit www.poetryfoundation.org.
April 8th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Terrific! Will we be able to hear the students read?
Next, here is a copy of an e-mail notice I received from Chis Green at Marshall U.
He speaks of a marvelous piece of poetry programming at WV Public Radio.
Phyllis Wilson Moore…
“Dear Coal Poets:
I’ve watched this project come to fruition over the last year and-a-half, and it is worthy. This is poetry about coal & history in its most powerful and accessible rendering. Do let your family & friends know about it, because if they are connected to coal, they will feel like they’re hearing a part of their own family history.
~Chris”
———–Chris’s notice also includes the following information…
“On Behalf Of kate long
Please pass the word: 9 PM on Thursday, April 10, West Virginia Public Radio will broadcast an hour-long production of Diane Gilliam Fisher’s Kettle Bottom poems, woven with music and historical context. Funded by the WV Humanities Council.
The Kettle Bottom poems are set in Winco, a Mingo County coal camp in 1921, during the West Virginia mine wars. With almost no promotional budget, this remarkable book hit the American Booksellers Assn top 10 poetry books list.
You can tune in from anywhere at www.wvpubcast.org. Click on the Streaming icon, and, after a short announcement, you’re connected to whatever is broadcasting on West Virginia Public Radio.
On WVPR, poems will be read by West Virginians who know the history, including: Denise Giardina, Elaine Purkey, Alan Freeman, John Morris, Pete Kosly, Ruby Suter, Merry Hanning, Laura Hatfield, Becky Kimmons, Bill Kimmons, John Lilly, and Diane Gilliam herself. Produced/narrated by Kate Long.
This program will make a strong classroom resource for English, history, sociology, social work, etc. A re-broadcast is planned for May 22 at 9 PM, then next October.”
End of the message from Chis Green