Arlington School District

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: March 26, 2008

Contact: Melissa Smith, Community Relations

802.375.2589, ext 147 ~ smithme@bvsu.org

Arlington Student Receives Poetry Honors

Arlington, Vt.,--Zeba Amir, a senior at Arlington Memorial High School (AMHS), placed second in the 2008 Vermont State Poetry Out Loud (POL) Competition. Amir, who received first place honors at her high school POL competition, will be expected to represent Vermont in the national competition in Washington, DC, if the first-place recipient is unable to do so.

Poetry Out Loud is a national recitation contest created by the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation in partnership with State Art Agencies. The mission of POL is to “help students master public speaking skills, build self confidence and learn about their literary heritage.”

During the competition, students recite three poems of various style, time period and voice. Selected poems must be chosen from the POL’s official Anthology of works including poetry by Lewis Carroll, Emily Dickinson and Dylan Thomas. Students are then judged on their evidence of understanding, level of difficulty, appropriateness of dramatization, voice projection and articulation and physical presence and posture.

Amir, who is an international student visiting from New Delhi, India, chose three distinct poems to recite: “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou, “It was not Death, For I stood Up” by Emily Dickenson and “Rough Music” by Deborah Digges. Amir said she chose poems with messages she could relate to that were written in the feminine voice and showed the inner strengths of women.

Those affiliated with the state POL competition praised Amir’s efforts. Geof Hewitt, of the Vermont Department of Education, said, “Ms. Amir projected enthusiasm and great understanding of three challenging poems. Her performances were lively and clear, almost as if she were channeling the poets in the exciting moments of creation.” Morgan Irons, with the Vermont Arts Council, offered, “Zeba made excellent choices for the poems she learned . . . she showed the audience the true meaning of the term ‘by heart.’ It was Zeba’s emotional connection to her material, and her ability to share that connection with her audience in a beautifully nuanced, and well paced delivery that made for one of the most moving performances of the event.”

For more information about the AMHS Poetry Out Loud program, contact English teacher Hank Barthel at barthelh@bvsu.org. You can visit the AMHS website at www.arlingtonmemorialhs.org. The Arlington School District mission is to create a safe, caring and respectful environment of academic excellence where students are uniquely challenged to reach their potential at the K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 levels.

PHOTO: Shown here are Arlington Memorial High School English teacher Linda Carman-Reid and student Zeba Amir, second-place recipient of the 2008 Vermont State Poetry Out Loud Competition.