California Poetry out loud2011 California State Competition

March 20, 2011 Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel

&

March 21, 2011Senate Chambers, State Capitol

Sacramento, California

We are proud and excited to welcome you to the 2011 California Poetry Out Loud championship! This year, for the first time, due to the number of participating counties, the event is taking place over two days. The first round is being held Sunday, March 20 at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel and the final rounds on Monday, March 21 in the historic Senate Chambers at the State Capitol.

The growth of Poetry Out Loud in California has been phenomenal. Since the competition was first held in Sacramento County in 2006, the program has expanded to include thirty-four counties in 2011. California’s Poetry Out Loud State Champions include: 2006-Ken Huffman, Sacramento County; 2007-Karen Hong, Sonoma County; 2008-Roshawnda Bettencourt, Placer County; 2009-Spencer Klaven, Santa Barbara County; and 2010-Morgan Brown, Monterey County.

Each year, generous grants from Target have enabled us to enrich the experience of our state finalists. Target has provided hotel rooms, dinner, prizes, and an opportunity for the students to get to know each other prior to the final contest. The students’ travel costs were underwritten by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. And funding from the National Endowment for the Arts will send our winner to Washington,

DC next month to compete in the 2011 National Finals.

The California Arts Council (CAC)is pleased to partner with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation in producing California Poetry Out Loud. We greatly appreciate the dedication and hard work of the local arts councils, district offices of education, high school teachers, California Poets in the Schools, parents, and most of all the thousands of participating students - more than any other state in the nation. We thank our sponsor, Target, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, our expert panel of judges, all those who made Poetry Out Loud possible, and CAC staff member Kristin Margolis, who has so ably and enthusiastically led the program.

So sit back, relax and enjoy California’s Poetry Out Loud finalists ... I know you’ll be as inspired and impressed as I am by these gifted high school poetry performers.

Welcome to the 6th California Poetry Out Loud Recitation Contest!

Interim DirectorCalifornia Arts Council

Sunday, March 20, 2011 Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel

2:00 Check-in at Registration Table

2:30 Warm-up & photos

3:30 Welcome: Moderator Kristin Margolis Literary Arts Specialist, California Arts Council

3:45 Introduction by Josie S. Talamantez Chief of Programs, California Arts Council

3:47 Introduction of Judges by Marilyn Nielsen Interim Director, California Arts Council

3:50 Round One

6:00 Dinner

7:15 Malissa Feruzzi Shriver, Chair, California Arts Council Marilyn Nielsen, Interim Director, California Arts Council

Monday, March 21, 2011 Senate Chambers, The Capitol

8:00 Student Pictures at Microphone

8:20 Welcome: Moderator Kristin Margolis Literary Arts Specialist, California Arts Council

8:30 Introduction by Josie S. Talamantez Chief of Programs, California Arts Council

8:32 Introduction of Judges by Marilyn Nielsen Interim Director, California Arts Council

8:40 Round Two

10:40 Intermission

10:55 Announcement of Round Three Participants

11:00 Round Three

12:00 Winners Announced, Photos, Awards Presentation

The National Endowment for the Arts added two criteria to the California State Finals regarding poem selection:

1) one of the poems must be pre-20th century (denoted by P); and 2) one of the poems must be 25 lines or fewer (denoted by 25).

Competing California High Schools

Alameda WINNER

Student Sam WarrickSchool The College Preparatory SchoolPoem 1 “The Unknown Citizen” by W.H. AudenPoem 2 “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen Poem 3 “Concord Hymn” by Ralph Waldo Emerson (P & 25) Teacher Dr. Jeff Peterson

RUNNER-UP

Student Michelle Yang School Oakland Military InstituteTeacher Ms. Garcia & Joan Setka

Contra CostaWINNER

Student Mark ReifenheiserSchool Mt. Diablo High SchoolPoem 1 “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (P)Poem 2 “Famous” by Naomi Shihab Nye (25) Poem 3 “Mrs. Caldera’s House of Things” by Gregory Djanikian Teacher Kit Helen

RUNNER-UP

Student Denica Garcia School Salesian High Teacher Maureen Cary

El DoradoWINNER

Student Rebecca ShieldsSchool Oak Ridge High SchoolPoem 1 “Nocturne” by Li-Young Lee (25) Poem 2 “Ah! Why, Because the Dazzling Sun” by Emily Jane Brontë (P) Poem 3 “Difference” by Stephen Vincent Benét (25) Teacher Mark Coovelis

RUNNER-UP

Student Serena Mora School Ponderosa High SchoolTeacher Rachelle Hodson

FresnoWINNER

Student Chukwunonso Nonny OkweloguSchool Clovis West Poem 1 “Black Boys Play the Classics” by Toi Derricotte (25)Poem 2 “The Man with the Hoe” by Edwin MarkhamPoem 3 “Thoughtless Cruelty” by Charles Lamb (P)Teacher Andriana Cisneros

RUNNER-UP

Student Lisa LumeyaSchool Roosevelt High Teacher Mrs. Fansler

HumboldtWINNER

Student Terra AshbrookSchool North Coast Preparatory and Performing Arts Academy Poem 1 “Difference” by Stephen Vincent Benét(25)Poem 2 “Fairy-tale Logic” by A.E. Stallings (25) Poem 3 “Shall earth no more inspire thee” by Emily Jane Brontë (P) Teacher Jeanne Bazemore

RUNNER-UP

Student Thomas Sullivan School North Coast Preparatory and Performing Arts AcademyTeacher Jeanne Bazemore

InyoWINNER

Student Tyler HoltSchool Big Pine High SchoolPoem 1 “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (P) Poem 2 “After Working Sixty Hours Again for What Reason” by Bob Hicok Poem 3 “Ways of Talking” by Ha Jin (25) Teacher Mr. Tim Steele

RUNNER-UP

Student Sorcha Fatooh School Bishop High School, BishopTeacher Jeff Perry

KingWINNER

Student Cabrilla McGinnSchool Hanford West High SchoolPoem 1 “A Psalm of Life” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (P) Poem 2 “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost (25) Poem 3 “Insomnia and the Seven Steps to Grace” by Joy Harjo Teacher Carol Goiburn

RUNNER-UP

Student Agnes Coll School Hanford West High SchoolTeacher Carol Goiburn

LakeWINNER

Student Rebecca SiresSchool Lower Lake High School

Poem 1 “To the Ladies” by Lady Mary Chudleigh (P & 25) Poem 2 “The World Is Too Much With Us” by William Wordsworth (P)Poem 3 “For the young who want to” by Marge PiercyTeacher Robin Schrive

RUNNER-UP

Student Hallie SullivanSchool Lower Lake High SchoolTeacher Jeremy Stock

Los AngelesWINNER

Student Sophia Breanna BradySchool Herbert Hoover High School Poem 1 “Before the Birth of One of Her Children” by Anne Bradstreet (P) Poem 2 “a song in the front yard” by Gwendolyn Brooks (25) Poem 3 “Who Understands Me but Me” by Jimmy Santiago Baca Teacher Deborah Fox

RUNNER-UP

Student Paige PelonisSchool Millikan High SchoolTeacher Erin Hill

MaderaWINNER

Student Erica GrantSchool Yosemite High School Poem 1 “The Tyger” by William Blake (P) Poem 2 “Under the Vulture-Tree” by David Bottoms (25) Poem 3 “It was not Death, for I stood up” by Emily Dickinson (P & 25)Teacher Rebecca Hardison

RUNNER-UP

Student Kazia Hart School Yosemite High SchoolTeacher Rebecca Hardison

MarinWINNER

Student Douglas PardellaSchool Redwood High Poem 1 “I Am the People, the Mob” by Carl Sandburg (25)Poem 2 “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson (P & 25)Poem 3 “Scary Movies” by Kim AddonizioTeacher Virginia Ferguson

RUNNER-UP

Student Jeremie MasselouxSchool San Rafael High SchoolTeacher Kim Rosen

MendocinoWINNER

Student Camila BiaggiSchool Pacific Community Charter SchoolPoem 1 “Two Guitars” by Victor Hernández CruzPoem 2 “Truth Serum” by Naomi Shihab Nye (25) Poem 3 “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley (P) Teacher Blake Moore & Carolyn Cooke

RUNNER-UP

Student Xochil Goretsky School Mendocino High SchoolTeacher Karen Lewis & Blake Moore

ModocWINNER

Student Jennifer MuellerSchool Surprise Valley High SchoolPoem 1 “Sadie and Maud” by Gwendolyn Brooks (25)Poem 2 “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (P) Poem 3 “The Spider and the Fly” by Mary Howitt (P)Teacher Mrs. Tozier

RUNNER-UP

Student Samantha BlackwoodSchool Modoc HighTeacher Miran Reynolds

Mono WINNER

Student Erica RobinsonSchool Mammoth High SchoolPoem 1 “Planetarium” by Adrienne RichPoem 2 “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died” by Emily Dickinson (25 & P) Poem 3 “Video Blues” by Mary Jo Salter (25) Teacher Mr. Cooper

RUNNER-UP

Student Madilyne Case School Coleville High SchoolTeacher Ms. Linda Sisneros

MontereyWINNER

Student Robert MarchandSchool Pacific Grove High SchoolPoem 1 “Buick” by Karl Shapiro (25) Poem 2 “Chicago” by Carl SandburgPoem 3 “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold (P) Teacher Larry Haggquist

RUNNER-UP

Student Ryan Walker School Pacific Grove High SchoolTeacher Larry Haggquist

NapaWINNER

Student Stella PaladoSchool American Canyon High School

Poem 1 “Beautiful Wreckage” by W.D. Ehrhart (25)Poem 2 “The Chimney Sweeper: When my mother died I was very young” by William Blake (P)Poem 3 “a song in the front yard” by Gwendolyn Brooks (25)Teacher JoAnn Augustine, Nancy Hale

RUNNER-UP

Student Whitney Davis School New Technology High SchoolTeacher Margaret Dennett

NevadaWINNER

Student Nicole BushSchool Nevada Union High SchoolPoem 1 “Full Moon” by Elinor Wylie (25) Poem 2 “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold (P)Poem 3 “The Illiterate” by William Meredith (25) Teacher Michael Cartan

RUNNER-UP

Student Annie Aguilar School Nevada Union High SchoolTeacher Alli Minch

OrangeWINNER

Student Feby BoediartoSchool Oxford AcademyPoem 1 “Holy Sonnets: Batter my heart, three-person’d God” by John Donne (P & 25)Poem 2 “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley (P)Poem 3 “Eagle Poem” by Joy Harjo (25) Teacher Kasey Spencer

RUNNER-UP

Student Jillian ManalangSchool Oxford AcademyTeacher Mrs. D. Erickson

PlacerWINNER

Student Charet BoltonSchool Roseville High School Poem 1 “a song in the front yard” by Gwendolyn Brooks (25) Poem 2 “Strange Meeting” by Wilfred Owen Poem 3 “The Paradox” by Paul Laurence Dunbar (P) Teacher Stuart Smith

RUNNER-UP

Student Skyler SouzaSchool Colfax High School Teacher John Deaderick

RiversideWINNER

Student Nkem EhiemereSchool Nuview Bridge Early College High SchoolPoem 1 “I’m a Fool to Love You” by Cornelius EadyPoem 2 “Sonnet XV: When I Consider everything that Grows” by William Shakespeare (P)Poem 3 “Video Blues” by Mary Jo Salter (25)Teacher Sybel Alger

RUNNER-UP

Student Luke PickingSchool Palm Desert High SchoolTeacher Alissa Marshall

SacramentoWINNER

Student Brittany WiltzSchool Natomas Charter SchoolPoem 1 “Early Affection” by George Moses Horton (25 & P)Poem 2 “Who Understands Me but Me” by Jimmy Santiago BacaPoem 3 “Song of the Powers” by David MasonTeacher Elaine DeWolfe

RUNNER-UP Student Ahshay KobeltSchool Elk Grove High SchoolTeacher Ellie Van-Kuecher

San BernardinoWINNER

Student James SmithSchool Yucaipa High SchoolPoem 1 “The Death of Allegory” by Billy CollinsPoem 2 “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” by James Weldon JohnsonPoem 3 “A Dream Within a Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe (P & 25)Teacher Kate Flowers

San Diego WINNER

Student Lauren OwensbySchool Valley Center High SchoolPoem 1 “The Spider and the Fly” by Mary HowittPoem 2 “When I was Fair and Young” by Queen Elizabeth I (P)Poem 3 “I Am the People, The Mob” by Carl Sandburg (25)Teacher Linda Saffiote

RUNNER-UP

Student Mariah MendozaSchool Valley Center High SchoolTeacher Craig Adams

San FranciscoWINNER

Student Abigail Schott-RosenfieldSchool Ruth Asawa School of the ArtsPoem 1 “[in Just-]” by E. E. Cummings (25) Poem 2 “The Sun Rising” by John Donne (P)Poem 3 “The Widow’s Lament in Springtime” by William Carlos WilliamsTeacher Joan Gelfand

RUNNER-UP

Student Polina LitvakSchool Lowell High SchoolTeacher Susan Terence

San Luis Obispo WINNER

Student Kaden HowardSchool Lopez Continuation High School Poem 1 “Alone”by Edgar Allan Poe (25 & P)Poem 2 “Cartoon Physics, part 1” by Nick FlynnPoem 3 “Dog” by Lawrence FerlinghettiTeacher Cathy Dahl-Kunkel

RUNNER-UP

Student Jake O’ConnorSchool San Luis Obispo High SchoolTeacher Mike Godfrey

Santa BarbaraWINNER

Student Courtney CambronSchool Dos Pueblos High School Poem 1 “Since There Is No Escape” by Sara Teasdale (25)Poem 2 “Famous” by Naomi Shihab NyePoem 3 “The Paradox” by Paul Laurence Dunbar (P)Teacher Sarah Gleason

RUNNER-UP

Student Haley PetersonSchool Dos PueblosTeacher Sarah Gleason

SiskiyouWINNER

Student Keven CassellsSchool Mount Shasta High School Poem 1 “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll (P)

Poem 2 “Abandoned Farmhouse” by Ted Kooser (25)Poem 3 “Annabelle Lee” by Edgar Allan PoeTeacher Sue Villarreal

RUNNER-UP

Student Ty BradfordSchool Etna High SchoolTeacher Madelina Ayers

SolanoWINNER

Student Lindsay BlackieSchool Benicia High SchoolPoem 1 “Becoming a Redwood” by Dana GioiaPoem 2 “The Tyger” by William Blake (25)Poem 3 “To Autumn” by John Keats (P)Teacher Christine Mani

RUNNER-UP

Student Elise RobersonSchool Benicia High SchoolTeacher Kim Thompson

SonomaWINNER

Student Phebe HongSchool Santa Rosa High SchoolPoem 1 “Weighing In” by Rhina P. Espaillat (25)Poem 2 “Without Regret” by Eleanor WilnerPoem 3 “Ah! Why, Because the Dazzling Sun” by Emily Jane Brontë (P)Teacher William Lyons

RUNNER-UP

Student Joey AbregoSchool Montgomery High SchoolTeacher Donna Holmes

StanislausWINNER

Student Rebecca Kim MearsSchool Modesto High SchoolPoem 1 “A Dream Within a Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe (P & 25)Poem 2 “Dulce Et Decorum Est” by Wilfred OwenPoem 3 “Ode for the American Dead in Asia” by Thomas McGrathTeacher Leilani Johnson

RUNNER-UP

Student Kathryn Harlan-GranSchool Enochs High SchoolTeacher Chris Hayden

Sutter WINNER

Student Molly GroverSchool CORE CamptonvillePoem 1 “Ah! Why, Because the Dazzling Sun” by Emily Jane Brontë (P)Poem 2 “Immortal Autumn” by Archibald MacLeish (25)Poem 3 “England in 1819” by Percy Bysshe ShelleyTeacher Ellie Palmer

RUNNER-UP

Student Margaret GroverSchool CORE CamptonvilleTeacher Ellie Palmer

TuolumneWINNER

Student Jonathon BermeaSchool Sonora Union High SchoolPoem 1 “To the Desert” by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (25)Poem 2 “Onions” by William MatthewsPoem 3 “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold (P)Teacher Maggie Hodson

RUNNER-UP

Student Rebecca AndersenSchool Connection Visual and Performing Arts AcademyTeacher Daniel Atkins

VenturaWINNER

Student Frank de la TorreSchool Providence High SchoolPoem 1 “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley RandallPoem 2 “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar (25 & P)Poem 3 “I Am” by John Clare (25 & P)Teacher Craig Rosen

RUNNER-UP

Student Andrew AllenSchool Royal High SchoolTeacher Jean Svoboda

Yuba WINNER

Student Ocil HerrejonSchool Lindhurst High SchoolPoem 1 “Amor Mundi” by Christina Rossetti (25 & P)Poem 2 “The Legend” by Garrett HongoPoem 3 “Her Kind” by Anne Sexton (25)Teacher Michael Zysk

The energy of California Poetry Out Loud is increasing exponentially throughout our State. High school students, teachers, poets, and parents are all becoming passionate about the spoken word and about their own literary heritage. Recitation and performance are major new trends in poetry. There has been a resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as seen in the slam poetry movement and the immense popularity of hip-hop music. Califor-nia Poetry Out Loud builds on this momentum by inviting the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theater into California classrooms.

The California Arts Council has partnered with the National En-dowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation to support the expansion of California Poetry Out Loud, which encourages the state’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. This exciting program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.

poetry out loud

The California Arts Council promotes learning through the arts and applauds all the col-laborating organizations for making this event possible. The responsibility to give students the very best education possible rests in all of us. The power of community collaboration can serve to reach each campus and give teachers the resources they need to do their best.

California Poetry Out Loud is not only about poetry, it is also about bringing people to-gether in support of the arts in our state. The talent and dedication of all of the partners involved enabled the state of California to reach the largest number of schools in the nation according to National Endowment for the Arts statistics for 2011.

Thank you, everyone, for all you have done to make this program so successful!

thank you . . .

Judging Evaluation

PHYSICAL PRESENCEThis category evaluates the physical nature of the recitation. Consider the con-testant’s posture, use of eye contact, and body language.

VOICE AND ARTICULATION This category evaluates the auditory nature of the recitation. Consider the stu-dent’s volume, speed, use of voice inflection, and proper pronunciation. At the State Finals, contestants will use a microphone.

Qualities of a strong recitation: All words will be pronounced correctly, and the volume, speed, pacing, and phrasing will greatly enhance the poem. Pac-ing will be varied where appropriate. Scores will be lowered as a recitation falls short on one or more of these elements.

DRAMATIC APPROPRIATENESS Above all, recitation is about conveying a poem’s sense with one’s voice. It is not a theatrical enactment. Theatrical performances distract the audience and the judges from understanding and enjoying the poem. Subtle dramatization must enhance the audience’s understanding of the poem; it should never over-shadow the poem’s language.

LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY This category evaluates the comparative difficulty of the poem, which is the re-sult of several factors. A poem with difficult content conveys complex, sophisti-cated ideas, which the student will be challenged to grasp and express. A poem with difficult language will have complexity of diction and syntax, meter and rhyme scheme, and shifts in tone or mood. Poem length is also a factor in dif-ficulty. Every poem is a different combination of content, language, and length, and the judges should score accordingly.

Contest Structure

Poetry Out Loud uses successive competitions at the local, state, and national levels. Be-ginning at the classroom level, winners advance to the school-wide competition, district competition, then to the county, state and ultimately to the national finals.

EVIDENCE OF UNDERSTANDING This category evaluates whether the performer exhibits an understanding of the poem in his or her recitation.

Qualities of a strong recitation: The meaning of the poem will be powerfully and clearly conveyed to the audience. The student will display an interpre-tation that deepens and enlivens the poem. Meaning, messages, allusions, irony, tones of voice, and other nuances will be captured by the performance. A low score will be awarded if the interpretation obscures the meaning of the poem.

OVERALL PERFORMANCE This category evaluates the overall success of the recitation, taking into ac-count the above criteria, the diversity of poem selection, and any other factors that may impact a judge’s perception of the student’s performance.

ACCURACY A separate judge will mark missed or incorrect words during the recitation, with small deductions for each. If the contestant relies on the Prompter, points also will be subtracted from the accuracy score. Eight points will be added to each of the com-petitor’s evaluation sheets for a perfect recitation.

TARGET

$100 Target gift card for the 1st place winner.

$75 Target gift card for the 2nd place winner.

$50 Target gift card for the 3rd place winner.

$25 Target gift cards for the 31 finalists.

Pre-competition dinner reception for county winners and guests.

Hotel rooms for the 34 county winners and judges.

California Poetry: From the Gold Rush to the Present (edited by Dana Gioia, Chryss Yost, & Jack Hicks)

Poetry Out Loud buttons.

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS (NEA)Each winner at the state level will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip toWashington. DC to compete for the national championship. The state winner’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. A runner-up in each state will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library. The NEA awards $50,000 total in scholarships and school stipends at the National Finals forthe winners.

MID ATLANTIC ARTS FOUNDATIONTravel stipend for county champions to compete in state finals in Sacramento.

CALIFORNIA POETS IN THE SCHOOLSCalifornia Poets in the Schools’ 45th Anniversary Statewide Poetry Anthology.

sponsors & prizes

judges

ROSHAWNDA “RO” BETTENCOURT Roshawnda is currently a junior attending California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). She was the 2008 California Poetry Out Loud Champion. Since then, she has been reciting poetry all over California, and attending various conferences as a solo per-formance spoken word artist. Her poetry has been published in What the World Hears, a California Poets in the Schools anthology. As a student, she is part of the Theater Arts program at CSUS. Ro played the role of Gabriela in the production of References to Salva-dor Dali Make Me Hot!, participates in the annual CSUS Vagina Monologues, and recent-ly earned herself a full scholarship to CSU Summer Arts program. Ro hopes to continue spreading the magic the spoken word and make an impact on youth who have yet to see the power of poetry. Whether recited or written, it can make its way to the heart.

BERNARD BOUDREAUXBernard Boudreaux currently holds the position of Group Manager of Community Re-lations for Target Corporation. His responsibilities include the supervision of commu-nity involvement programs embracing grants and resource contributions in education, arts, and social services, as well as sponsorships, community outreach initiatives, vol-unteerism and reputation management for Target stores in the western United States, in addition to select national initiatives. Boudreaux, who has held several positions in his 20+ year career at Target Corporation, currently serves on the board of directors for The Association of Corporate Contributions Professionals (ACCP), the nation’s leading independent organization providing services and support for corporate contributions, community relations, and employee volunteer managers.

Target Corporation contributes 5 percent of its income to schools and nonprofit agen-cies in the communities where it operates, which equates to over $3 million every week. Forbes ranked Target Corporation as “America’s Most Generous Corporation” for the past three consecutive years, while Fortune has ranked Target as one of “America’s Most Admired Companies.” In 2006 Target was the corporate recipient of Newsweek Maga-zine’s first “Giving Back Awards” for “hitting the Bullseye when it comes to giving time, talent, and cash.”

MALISSA FERUZZI SHRIVER Ms. Feruzzi Shriver serves as Chair of the California Arts Council. The professional painter, writer, and owner of Feruzzi Fine Arts has been involved in the arts for 28 years, first as a professional actor and member of Screen Actors Guild, and as a professional artist working in oils, specializing in both originals and recreations of old master paint-ings. She studied painting and sculpture at the University of California, Los Angeles. Feruzzi Shriver is a board member of the California Music Project, a nonprofit organiza-tion created to support music education programs for California K-12 schools.

DIANE LUBY LANE Diane Luby Lane is Founder/Executive Director of Get Lit-Word Ignite, Los Angeles’ leading nonprofit presenter of literary performance, education and teen poetry pro-grams, and the Get Lit Players, an award-winning classic teen poetry troupe, who per-form for over 10,000 teens each year. Get Lit partners with the Magic Poetry Bus, the of-ficial project of California Poet Laureate Carol Muske-Dukes. Lane is author of Words of Women, a compendium of original monologues for women published around the world and has appeared in numerous films, televisions shows and national commercials. Her critically acclaimed one-woman show, Deep Sea Diving (AKA Born Feet First), has toured high schools and colleges across America with poet Jimmy Santiago Baca. In recognition of her work as an educator and creator of Get Lit’s ground-breaking literacy curriculum, Lane received the James Patterson Page Turner Award for promoting literacy and the KNX Hero Award.

AL YOUNGWidely translated and acclaimed, Al Young’s 22 books include poetry (Something About the Blues: An Unlikely Collection of Poetry, Coastal Nights and Inland Afternoons: Poems 2001-2006, The Sound of Dreams Remembered: Poems 1990-2000, Heaven: Poems Col-lected 1956-1990), fiction (Seduction By Light, Sitting Pretty, Who Is Angelina?), and mu-sical memoirs (Mingus Mingus: Two Memoirs, Drowning in the Sea of Love, Kinds of Blue, Things Ain’t What They Used to Be, Bodies & Soul.) From 2005 through 2008 he served as Poet Laureate of California. Other honors include NEA, Fulbright, and Guggenheim Fellowships. Jazz Idiom: The Jazz Photography of Charles L. Robinson (Heyday Books) re-ceived the 2009 PEN/Oakland Award. The Sea, The Sky, And You, And I, a poetry & jazz CD (featuring bassist Dan Robbins), came out in 2009 from Bardo Digital. Al Young is currently the Visiting Writer at California College of the Arts, San Francisco.

Performing MusiciansDoug Pauly - guitar

Rob Lautz - vibraphoneKerry Kashiwagi - bass

PhotographersBrian Baer

http://brianbaerphotos.com/bio.html

Lorie ShelleySenate Photographer

accuracy judge

BRANDON CESMATBrandon Cesmat’s most recent book is When Pigs Fall in Love & Other Stories. He is also the author of Light in All Directions, Driven into the Shade and Ice Drum. He is a past president of California Poets in the Schools (CPITS) and teaches literature and writing at CSU San Marcos. Cesmat performs poetry on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border as a member of the bi-national poetry collective Acanto y Laurel.

Prompter

SUSAN HERRON SIBBETSusan Herron Sibbet has worked as Poet in Residence with California Poets in the Schools for twenty-five years in San Francisco, where she and her husband have lived in a flat next to Argonne Community Garden, along with their children, dogs, cats, and various small reptiles. She has a Masters in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, and has been a Bunting Fellow, an Affiliate Artist with the Headlands Center for the Arts, and a founding member of Sixteen Rivers Press, a Bay Area poetry collective. She has served on the Board of Directors of CPITS for many years. Her books of poems include Burnt Toast and Other Recipes, Suspensions, and No Easy Light, pub-lished by Sixteen Rivers Press in 2004.

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