Tonisha Jones Represents Delaware in National Finals of Poetry Out Loud

(Wilmington, Delaware–February 29, 2008) Competing among eleven students from schools throughout Delaware, Tonisha Jones from Middletown High School became the winner of the state Poetry Out Loud contest held at the Schwartz Center for the Arts on February 28. Her recitation of Still I Rise by Maya Angelou, A Fixed Idea by Amy Lowell, and Revenge by Letitia Elizabeth Landon earned her high marks with the judges. The second place winner was Conor McGiffin from Dover High School, and the third place winner was Jonathan Duerr from Polytech High School.

For her winning presentation, Tonisha Jones receives $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip with a chaperone to Washington to compete for the national championship on April 28-29, 2008. Middletown High School receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The Poetry Foundation will be awarding up to $50,000 in scholarships and school stipends at the National Finals, with at least a $20,000 college scholarship for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion. The second place finalist Conor McGiffin will receive $100, with $200 for Dover High School library.

The state Poetry Out Loud competition, sponsored by the Delaware Division of Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. The Division of the Arts congratulates each of the student participants in last night’s competition: 

Tonisha Jones, 11^th Grade, Middletown High School

Conor McGiffin, 10^th Grade, Dover High School

Jonathan Duerr, 12^th Grade Polytech High School

Castell Abner, III, 10^th Grade, Concord High School

Alessandra “Sasha” Daniels, 9^th Grade, Delmar High School

Kara Dent, 11^th grade, Cab Calloway School for the Arts

Julia Quattro, 12^th Grade, Padua Academy

Shaquille K. Nocks, 9^th Grade, Sussex Central High School

John Poehlmann, 12^th Grade, St. Elizabeth’s High School

Sarah Varnell, 11^th Grade, Mount Sophia Academy

Justin Vigliotta, 10^th Grade, Hodgson Vo-tech High School

About the Delaware Division of the Arts

The Delaware Division of the Arts (DDOA), a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to promoting and developing the arts throughout the state. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council (DSAC), the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life.

For more information about this national initiative, visit www.poetryoutloud.org.