Over a dozen high school students representing schools and libraries across Southwest Louisiana will come together on Friday, February 17^th, to compete for top honors at Poetry Out Loud’s annual Southwest Louisiana Regional Competition in the Central School Theater at 6 p.m. The students who compete at the Regional level have already made it through the first round of competition at their schools or local library. The program is facilitated regionally by the Arts and Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana.

Judges for the Regional Competition include: J. Bruce Fuller, poet and author of 28 Blackbirds at the End of the World; Sherry Perkins, president of the Bayou Writers Group; Mindy Schwarzauer of O’Carroll Group; and Jason Martinez of IberiaBank. Last year, the Louisiana State Champion, David Douglas, came from Washington-Marion High School, and he will serve as a special guest judge.

Poetry Out Loud began in 2005 when the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation came together to yield a program that would challenge high school students to study and memorize poetry in a competitive setting while building public speaking skills, confidence, and character.

The top three students at the Regional Competition will not only win prizes but will also go on to compete with students from across Louisiana at the State Competition in Baton Rouge, and the state winner will receive a cash prize and a stipend for his or her school for the purchase of poetry books. The National Competition will be held in Washington D.C. and will award over $50,000 in prizes and stipends, including a $20,000 cash prize for the National Champion.

For students to compete at Regionals, the schools must have registered their own Poetry Out Loud competition with the Arts Council earlier this year. For more information on Poetry Out Loud or the Regional Competition, contact the Arts Council office at (337) 439-2787 or visit www.artsandhumanitiesswla.org.