Poetry Out Loud 2011 – finalists and interviews

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Arizona School for the Arts, Phoenix

Carly Bates
Carly is a junior at Arizona School for the Arts. She enjoys playing the piano and clarinet and being a member of the jazz band. This is her first time competing in Poetry Out Loud past the school level.

Recited:
A Dream Within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe
Hysteria by Dionisio D. Martinez (NO RIGHTS)

Flagstaff High School, Flagstaff

Reid Carter
Reid Carter is a senior at Flagstaff High School. He is not certain about many of his future plans, but he is positive that he wants to work as some sort of writer. His interests are writing, swimming, writing, debating, poetry and more writing.

Recited:
I Am Offering this Poem by Jimmy Santiago Baca
Battle-Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe

Freedom Christian Academy, Queen Creek

Travis Marino
Travis is 16 years old, in 10th grade and attends Freedom Christian Academy. He has played competitive basketball for six years and was awarded MVP in 2010. Travis has participated in a dramatic presentation of “Drama on the High Seas” for his school and loves to write fictional novels as well as poems.

Recited:
A Dream Within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe
The Tyger by William Blake

Kingman High School, Kingman

Grace Barker
Grace Barker
To Grace, poetry is something beautiful and expressive, that gives insight into life; that is why she enjoys writing her own poetry. Grace loves to read and write; she loves music and her family. Grace hopes to spend her future as a doctor; she plans to attend a 4 year university where she can study pre- medicine, and create a future where she can help others.

Recited:
Flirtation by Rita Dove
Her Kind by Anne Sexton

Mountain View High School, Mesa

Lindsey Bulloch
Lindsey Bulloch is a senior at Mountain View High School in Mesa, Arizona. Throughout her life, Lindsey has been involved in over thirty theatrical productions, some of which include playing “Jasmine” in Disney’s Aladdin, “Belle” in Beauty and the Beast, and “Cinderella” in Cinderella. She also enjoys dancing, reading, and singing classical and jazz music. Lindsey is a straight “A” student with a love of learning and of teaching. She plans to major in broadcasting/journalism.

Recited:
Revenge by Letitia Elizabeth Landon
The Lamb by Linda Gregg

Sedona Red Rock High School, Sedona

Alina Burniston-Perez **FINALIST**
Alina is an aspiring pianist. She enjoys sculpting, running and playing volleyball. She also loves bunnies and delicious food.

Recited:
On the Death of Richard West by Thomas Gray
Memory As a Hearing Aid by Tony Hoagland
The Properly Scholarly Attitude by Adelaide Crapsey

St. Gregory College Preparatory, Tucson

Steffi McNerney **WINNER**
Steffi has always been passionate about literature and art, and poetry is the ultimate expression of both. She loves the power and emotional impact of poetry and the insights it brings about the world. She is absolutely thrilled to represent St. Gregory this year and hopes to impact someone else through the poems she has chosen.

Recited:
The Days Gone By by James Whitcomb Riley
The Uniform by Marvin Bell
The Meaning of the Shovel by Martin Espada (NO RIGHTS)

Tucson High Magnet School, Tucson

Naomi Blackwell **RUNNER-UP**
Naomi Blackwell was born in Hamburg, Germany, and is currently a senior at Tucson High who hopes to attend college after she graduates. She is a member of the Poetry and Spoken Word club at her school and enjoys writing poetry as well as reading it.

Recited:
Alone by Edgar Allan Poe
Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen
Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Tucson High Magnet School, Tucson

Samantha Neville **FINALIST**
Samantha was born in Tucson Arizona at UMC in 1995. Over the course of her education she has acquired a love of literature and performance. She enjoys playing the piano, learning Romance languages, writing, reading books on Greek Mythology, and running. She is currently a freshman at Tucson High.

Recited:
Chorus Sacerdotum by Fulke Greville
I Am the People, the Mob by Carl Sandburg
Nocturne by Li-Young Lee

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