Union County High School Student Elliott Davidson is 'Poetry Out Loud' State Champion

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Elliott Davidson, a junior at Lewisburg Area High School in Union County is Pennsylvania's 2014 "Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest" champion. Davidson will now go on to compete in the national contest in Washington, D.C.

The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts hosted the competition at the Governor's Residence in Harrisburg. Governor Tom Corbett, along with First Lady Susan Corbett, chair of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, welcomed 14 students from across the state to the Residence.

"Governor Corbett and I are honored to host the finals for Pennsylvania's Poetry Out Loud competition. Today celebrates the talent and commitment of Pennsylvania's high school-aged students," said Susan Corbett. "They inspire us with their recitations and the insights they bring to words on a page. We join the Council on the Arts in congratulating this year's finalists and the parents, teachers and principals who supported them in this endeavor."

Davidson will represent Pennsylvania at the national championship to be held in Washington, D.C. April 28-30. The state champion will receive $200 from The Poetry Foundation and an expense-paid trip to compete in the national championship, which will award a total of $50,000 in scholarships and school stipends, with at least one $20,000 college scholarship.

Second place went to Anna Voelker, a senior at Hampton High School in Allegheny County.

Davidson and Voelker were among 14 regional finalists chosen from among 10,000 high school-aged students who participated in this year's competition across the Commonwealth. It is facilitated through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

Each student memorized and performed three poems selected from print and online poetry anthologies. Students were judged on voice and articulation, physical presence, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding, level of difficulty, overall performance and accuracy.

The 12 other regional finalists competing today were:

• Ean Ammerman, Grade 12, Sullivan County School District-Sullivan County
• Lydia Berry, Grade 12, Altoona Area School District, Blair County
• Catherine Bloom, Grade 12, Carlisle Area School District, Cumberland County
• KiraJayne Nahree Burkhauser, Grade 10, Hermitage School District, Mercer County
• Serene DeSeta, Grade 12, Abington Heights School District, Lackawanna County
• Rachel Krunszyinsky, Grade 12, Greensburg Salem School District-Westmoreland County
• Joseph Kukula, Grade 12, Blairsville-Saltsburg School District, Indiana County
• Aaron Preston, Grade 11, Reading School District-Berks County
• Tatiana Purnell, Grade 11, Mercersburg Academy, Franklin County
• Pratiti Roy, Grade 12, State College Area School District, Centre County
• Nirvikar Singh, Grade 10, William Penn Charter School, Philadelphia County
• Alexa Vaghenas, Grade 10, Stroudsburg Area School District, Monroe County

The panel of judges for the state championship included performers, poets and cultural and business leaders from across the state:

• Bill Bova, a government affairs liaison with Greenlee Partners, formerly on-air host and vice president of programming with Pennsylvania Cable Network;
• Kim Bridgford, poet and director of the West Chester Poetry Center and the distinguished West Chester University Poetry Conference;
• Shannon DeVito, actor, singer, songwriter and comedian who has performed in movies and television, off-Broadway, and with regional theatres;
• David "DJ" Gress, the 2013 Poetry Out Loud state champion, now a freshman at Pennsylvania State University;
• Lawrence E. Moore, Jr., program director for Dauphin County's Department of Parks & Recreation, and producer of award-winning arts and cultural programs;
• O. David Dietz, the arts and humanities consultant for the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Sally M. Flaherty, acting division chief, social studies education advisor for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, served as accuracy judges;
• Jewel Jones-Fulp, senior program associate and office manager for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts served as recitation prompter; and
• Jeffrey Gabel of Gettysburg, founding executive director of the historic Majestic Theater and PCA member, served as master of ceremonies.

Created by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation, the "Poetry Out Loud" contest encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance and competition.

The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts is a state agency under the Governor's Office that works to foster the excellence, diversity and vitality of the arts in Pennsylvania and to broaden the availability and appreciation of those arts throughout the state. The council formed the Pennsylvania Arts in Education Partnership in 1995 to enhance efforts to foster educational excellence through participation in the creative process in schools and community settings.

For more information about the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, visit www.pacouncilonthearts.org or call 717-787-6883. For further information on Poetry Out Loud, visit www.poetryoutloud.org.

Media contact: Heather Doughty, 717-787-1517

SOURCE Pennsylvania Council on the Arts