Hawaii State Champion Nicholas Amador places second in the National Poetry Out Loud Competition in Washington, DC

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Hawaii State Champion Nicholas Amador places second in the National Poetry Out Loud Competition in Washington, DC
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Hawaiʻi State Champion Nicholas Amador places second in the National Poetry Out Loud Competition in Washington, DC

Punahou senior Nicholas Amador, Hawaii's Poetry Out Loud state champion for 2018, placed second in the national finals in Washington, DC, on April 25, 2018. Nicholas recited "Snow Day" by Billy Collins, "Two Guitars" by Victor Hernandez Cruz and "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus. The Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA) congratulates Nicholas and Punahou School's Poetry Out Loud coordinator Lara Cowell for this prestigious achievement. The SFCA also thanks the Honolulu Theatre for Youth for their Poetry Out Loud partnership, which supports Hawaii's participation. Nicholas is a fan of musical theater and wants to direct and write plays in the future. This is Nicholas' third year as Hawaiʻi State Champion, as well as the third year that he has placed in the top three nationally.

Hawaiʻi students have placed in the top three nationally four times. Nicholas took third place in 2016, second place in 2017, and former Mid-Pacific Institute student Kellie Anae took third place in 2006. The competition helped Anae earn a scholarship to Louisiana State University, who says "this event helps young voices come alive through poetry."

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation have partnered with U.S. state arts agencies (including Hawaii's State Foundation on Culture and the Arts) to support Poetry Out Loud, a free high school program that encourages the nation's youth to lean about great poetry through memorization and recitation. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and and learn about their literary heritage.

After successful pilot programs in Washington, D.C. and Chicago, Poetry Out Loud was launched in high schools nationwide in the spring of 2006 and has grown to involve millions of students across the country. Poetry Out Loud satisfies more than half of the NCTE English Language Arts Standards. In addition to memorizing and performing great poems, students will have the opportunity to discuss poems and to write poetry of their own. The program guide includes optional lesson plans for the teacher, as well as all other elements the teacher needs to implement the program.

Additional information about Poetry Out Loud is available at www.poetryoutloud.org (http://www.poetryoutloud.org/about). Hawai‘i high school teachers interested in participating next year can contact:

Vivien Lee

Arts Program Specialist

State Foundation on Culture and the Arts

(808) 586-0768

vivien.lee@hawaii.gov

The mission of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts is to promote, perpetuate, preserve and encourage culture and the arts as central to the quality of life of the people of Hawai‘i. SFCA funding is provided by the State of Hawai‘i (https://portal.ehawaii.gov/) and the National Endowment for the Arts (http://arts.gov/) .

Social media hashtags: #POL18, #poetryoutloud2018

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Poetry Out Loud and National Endowment for the Arts logos: http://www.poetryoutloud.org/competition/download-graphics

State Foundation on Culture and the Arts logos:

http://sfca.hawaii.gov/about-us/logos-pr-information

Nicholas Amador. Photo credit: State Foundation on Culture and the Arts

About the Hawai`i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts

The Hawai`i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA) was founded in 1965 as the official arts agency of the State of Hawai`i. The mission of the SFCA is to promote, perpetuate, preserve and encourage culture and the arts as central to the quality of life of the people of Hawai‘i. SFCA funding is provided by the State of Hawai`i and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The HSFCA is administratively attached to the Department of Accounting and General Services(Hawai‘i Revised Statutes Chapter 9).

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First Friday Hawaii News Item

Hawaii State Champion Nicholas Amador places second in the National Poetry Out Loud Competition in Washington, DC

First Friday Hawaii
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