Shumway — Sameayah Pehlke is one of two southwest Washington performers heading to the state finals of the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest.
The Vancouver School of Arts and Academics 10th-grader will be one of 13 students competing in the state competition, which takes place March 7 in Tacoma. The other winner from the southwest region is Emelie Pennington-Davis of Trout Lake School.
The competition is a partnership between the Washington State Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation. Pehlke was one of 10 students in the regional competition, where she performed “Testimonial” by Rita Dove and “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou.
At the state competition, Pehlke will have to perform three poems from a list of more than 700 choices, and will be judged on voice and articulation, evidence of understanding, level of difficulty and accuracy.
Should Pehlke advance, the national competition takes place April 28-29 in Washington, D.C., where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed.
