REBECCA CRUSE
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR SDAC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 18, 2014

LITTLE WOUND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WINS POL, ON TO NATIONALS
PIERRE, S.D. – Shivalo Soldier Wolf, a junior at Little Wound High School, won the state Poetry Out Loud competition, Monday, in Sioux Falls. Soldier Wolf will travel to Washington, D.C., to represent South Dakota at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals April 28-30.

Soldier Wolf won a $200 cash award, and his school will receive $500 to be used for poetry books, in addition to his trip to the national finals.

Seven students from high schools across South Dakota competed for the title. Second place in the competition went to Keana Jackson, a senior at Rosholt High School. Jackson was awarded $100 cash, and her school will receive $200 for the purchase of poetry books.

Four teachers were also awarded for their efforts in the classroom through Poetry Out Loud. Sharon Prendergast, Sisseton High School, and Daniel Snethen, Little Wound High School, were recognized as Poetry Out Loud Teachers of the Year and each received a $300 cash award.  Kim Davidson, Rosholt High School, and Amanda Nelson, Sioux Falls Lincoln High School each received honorable mentions in the category and $200 cash.

Poetry Out Loud is a recitation program and competition that urges the teaching of poetry as an oral art form in high schools. Schools that participate in Poetry Out Loud enter students into a preliminary round, from which the state finalists are chosen. Poetry Out Loud was created in partnership by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, with the collaboration of State Arts Agencies. Through Poetry Out Loud, students master public-speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage.

In South Dakota, POL is a program administered by the South Dakota Arts Council, an office of the state Department of Tourism, in partnership with South Dakotans for the Arts and South Dakota Public Broadcasting.