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Klemin wins 2013 Poetry Out Loud competition; Sheldon runner up
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Lower Lake High School sophomore won top honors in the annual Poetry Out Loud contest.
Taylor Klemin won the competition – sponsored for the fifth year by the Lake County Arts Council – which encourages youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. Sadie Sheldon, also a sophomore, was runner up.
This program encourages students to master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage.
Michele Krueger, a poet-teacher with California Poets in the Schools, is facilitating the program’s fifth year in Lake County.
During the competition at Lower Lake High School on Friday, Feb. 8, students competed for the Lake County Poetry Out Loud championship and the opportunity to capture the crown and advance to the state finals next month in Sacramento, according to an arts council report.
In addition to Sheldon and Klemin, competitors included seniors Conner Babcock and Louisa Correa, junior Sylvia Manners, and sophomores Travis Martin and Cheyanne Cacy.
They recited poems by authors Edith Wharton, Kenneth Patchen, Countee Cullen and others.
Held in the Lower Lake library campus, two of Lori White's English honors classes took up the gauntlet to memorize iconic poems spanning several centuries in a very brief period.
Mindful of the judging criteria, these talented students honed their skills and electrified the audience with their powerful interpretations.
Klemin will join more than 50 other county champions in Sacramento March 24-25 for an exciting weekend of competition, with the winner progressing to the national finals in Washington, D.C.
After successful pilot programs in Washington, DC, and Chicago, Poetry Out Loud was launched in high schools nationwide in the spring of 2006 with tens of thousands of students participating.
Poetry Out Loud has grown every year, with more than 365,000 students competing in 2011-2012, and 50 counties participating in California's 2013 competition.
This program is made possible through the California Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.