2011 California Poetry Out Loud Program

California Poetry Out Loud 2011 California State Competition March 20, 2011 Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel

& March 21, 2011 Senate Chambers, State Capitol Sacramento, California

Welcome to the 6th California Poetry Out

Loud Recitation Contest!

We are proud and excited to welcome you to the 2011 California Poetry Out Loud championship! This year, for the first time, due to the number of participating counties, the event is taking place over two days. The first round is being held Sunday, March 20 at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel and the final rounds on Monday, March 21 in the historic Senate Chambers at the State Capitol.

The growth of Poetry Out Loud in California has been phenomenal.

Since the competition was first held in Sacramento County in 2006, the program has expanded to include thirty-four counties in 2011. California’s Poetry Out Loud State Champions include: 2006-Ken Huffman, Sacramento County; 2007-Karen Hong, Sonoma County; 2008-Roshawnda Bettencourt, Placer County; 2009-Spencer Klaven, Santa Barbara County; and 2010-Morgan Brown, Monterey County.

Each year, generous grants from Target have enabled us to enrich the experience of our state finalists. Target has provided hotel rooms, dinner, prizes, and an opportunity for the students to get to know each other prior to the final contest.

The students’ travel costs were underwritten by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. And funding from the National Endowment for the Arts will send our winner to Washington,

DC next month to compete in the 2011 National Finals.

The California Arts Council (CAC) is pleased to partner with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation in producing California Poetry Out Loud. We greatly appreciate the dedication and hard work of the local arts councils, district offices of education, high school teachers, California Poets in the Schools, parents, and most of all the thousands of participating students - more than any other state in the nation. We thank our sponsor, Target, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, our expert panel of judges, all those who made Poetry Out Loud possible, and CAC staff member Kristin Margolis, who has so ably and enthusiastically led the program.

So sit back, relax and enjoy California’s Poetry Out Loud finalists ... I know you’ll be as inspired and impressed as I am by these gifted high school poetry performers.

Interim Director California Arts Council

Sunday, March 20, 2011 Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel 2:00 Check-in at Registration Table 2:30 Warm-up & photos 3:30 Welcome: Moderator Kristin Margolis

Literary Arts Specialist, California Arts Council 3:45 Introduction by Josie S. Talamantez

Chief of Programs, California Arts Council 3:47 Introduction of Judges by Marilyn Nielsen

Interim Director, California Arts Council 3:50 Round One 6:00 Dinner 7:15 Malissa Feruzzi Shriver, Chair, California Arts Council

Marilyn Nielsen, Interim Director, California Arts Council

Monday, March 21, 2011 Senate Chambers, The Capitol 8:00 8:20

8:30

8:32

8:40 10:40 10:55 11:00 12:00

Student Pictures at Microphone Welcome: Moderator Kristin Margolis Literary Arts Specialist, California Arts Council Introduction by Josie S. Talamantez Chief of Programs, California Arts Council Introduction of Judges by Marilyn Nielsen Interim Director, California Arts Council Round Two Intermission Announcement of Round Three Participants Round Three Winners Announced, Photos, Awards Presentation

Competing California High Schools The National Endowment for the Arts added two criteria to the California State Finals regarding poem selection: 1) one of the poems must be pre-20th century (denoted by P); and 2) one of the poems must be 25 lines or fewer (denoted by 25).

Alameda WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Sam Warrick The College Preparatory School “The Unknown Citizen” by W.H. Auden “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen “Concord Hymn” by Ralph Waldo Emerson (P & 25) Dr. Jeff Peterson

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Michelle Yang Oakland Military Institute Ms. Garcia & Joan Setka

Contra Costa WINNER

Student Mark Reifenheiser School Mt. Diablo High School Poem 1 “The Charge of the Light Brigade”

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (P) Poem 2 “Famous” by Naomi Shihab Nye (25) Poem 3 “Mrs. Caldera’s House of Things” by Gregory Djanikian Teacher Kit Helen RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Denica Garcia Salesian High Maureen Cary

El Dorado WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Rebecca Shields Oak Ridge High School “Nocturne” by Li-Young Lee (25) “Ah! Why, Because the Dazzling Sun” by Emily Jane Brontë (P) “Difference” by Stephen Vincent Benét (25) Mark Coovelis

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Serena Mora Ponderosa High School Rachelle Hodson

Fresno WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Chukwunonso Nonny Okwelogu Clovis West “Black Boys Play the Classics” by Toi Derricotte (25) “The Man with the Hoe” by Edwin Markham “Thoughtless Cruelty” by Charles Lamb (P) Andriana Cisneros

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Lisa Lumeya Roosevelt High Mrs. Fansler

Humboldt WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Terra Ashbrook North Coast Preparatory and Performing Arts Academy “Difference” by Stephen Vincent Benét(25) “Fairy-tale Logic” by A.E. Stallings (25) “Shall earth no more inspire thee” by Emily Jane Brontë (P) Jeanne Bazemore

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Thomas Sullivan North Coast Preparatory and Performing Arts Academy Jeanne Bazemore

Inyo WINNER

Student Tyler Holt School Big Pine High School Poem 1 “The Charge of the Light Brigade”

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (P) Poem 2 “After Working Sixty Hours Again for What Reason”

by Bob Hicok Poem 3 “Ways of Talking” by Ha Jin (25) Teacher Mr. Tim Steele RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Sorcha Fatooh Bishop High School, Bishop Jeff Perry

King WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Cabrilla McGinn Hanford West High School “A Psalm of Life” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (P) “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost (25) “Insomnia and the Seven Steps to Grace” by Joy Harjo Carol Goiburn

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Agnes Coll Hanford West High School Carol Goiburn

Lake WINNER

Student School

Rebecca Sires Lower Lake High School

Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

“To the Ladies” by Lady Mary Chudleigh (P & 25) “The World Is Too Much With Us” by William Wordsworth (P) “For the young who want to” by Marge Piercy Robin Schrive

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Hallie Sullivan Lower Lake High School Jeremy Stock

Los Angeles WINNER

Student Sophia Breanna Brady School Herbert Hoover High School Poem 1 “Before the Birth of One of Her Children”

by Anne Bradstreet (P) Poem 2 “a song in the front yard” by Gwendolyn Brooks (25) Poem 3 “Who Understands Me but Me” by Jimmy Santiago Baca Teacher Deborah Fox RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Paige Pelonis Millikan High School Erin Hill

Madera WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Erica Grant Yosemite High School “The Tyger” by William Blake (P) “Under the Vulture-Tree” by David Bottoms (25) “It was not Death, for I stood up” by Emily Dickinson (P & 25) Rebecca Hardison

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Kazia Hart Yosemite High School Rebecca Hardison

Marin WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Douglas Pardella Redwood High “I Am the People, the Mob” by Carl Sandburg (25) “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson (P & 25) “Scary Movies” by Kim Addonizio Virginia Ferguson

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Jeremie Masseloux San Rafael High School Kim Rosen

Mendocino WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Camila Biaggi Pacific Community Charter School “Two Guitars” by Victor Hernández Cruz “Truth Serum” by Naomi Shihab Nye (25) “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley (P) Blake Moore & Carolyn Cooke

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Xochil Goretsky Mendocino High School Karen Lewis & Blake Moore

Modoc WINNER

Student Jennifer Mueller School Surprise Valley High School Poem 1 “Sadie and Maud” by Gwendolyn Brooks (25) Poem 2 “The Charge of the Light Brigade”

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (P) Poem 3 “The Spider and the Fly” by Mary Howitt (P) Teacher Mrs. Tozier

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Samantha Blackwood Modoc High Miran Reynolds

Mono WINNER

Student Erica Robinson School Mammoth High School Poem 1 “Planetarium” by Adrienne Rich Poem 2 “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died”

by Emily Dickinson (25 & P) Poem 3 “Video Blues” by Mary Jo Salter (25) Teacher Mr. Cooper RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Madilyne Case Coleville High School Ms. Linda Sisneros

Monterey WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Robert Marchand Pacific Grove High School “Buick” by Karl Shapiro (25) “Chicago” by Carl Sandburg “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold (P) Larry Haggquist

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Ryan Walker Pacific Grove High School Larry Haggquist

Napa WINNER

Student School

Stella Palado American Canyon High School

Poem 1 “Beautiful Wreckage” by W.D. Ehrhart (25) Poem 2 “The Chimney Sweeper: When my mother died I was very young”

by William Blake (P) Poem 3 “a song in the front yard” by Gwendolyn Brooks (25) Teacher JoAnn Augustine, Nancy Hale RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Whitney Davis New Technology High School Margaret Dennett

Nevada WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Nicole Bush Nevada Union High School “Full Moon” by Elinor Wylie (25) “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold (P) “The Illiterate” by William Meredith (25) Michael Cartan

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Annie Aguilar Nevada Union High School Alli Minch

Orange WINNER

Student Feby Boediarto School Oxford Academy Poem 1 “Holy Sonnets: Batter my heart, three-person’d God”

by John Donne (P & 25) Poem 2 “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley (P) Poem 3 “Eagle Poem” by Joy Harjo (25) Teacher Kasey Spencer RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Jillian Manalang Oxford Academy Mrs. D. Erickson

Placer WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Charet Bolton Roseville High School “a song in the front yard” by Gwendolyn Brooks (25) “Strange Meeting” by Wilfred Owen “The Paradox” by Paul Laurence Dunbar (P) Stuart Smith

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Skyler Souza Colfax High School John Deaderick

Riverside WINNER

Student Nkem Ehiemere School Nuview Bridge Early College High School Poem 1 “I’m a Fool to Love You” by Cornelius Eady Poem 2 “Sonnet XV: When I Consider everything that Grows”

by William Shakespeare (P) Poem 3 “Video Blues” by Mary Jo Salter (25) Teacher Sybel Alger RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Luke Picking Palm Desert High School Alissa Marshall

Sacramento WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Brittany Wiltz Natomas Charter School “Early Affection” by George Moses Horton (25 & P) “Who Understands Me but Me” by Jimmy Santiago Baca “Song of the Powers” by David Mason Elaine DeWolfe

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Ahshay Kobelt Elk Grove High School Ellie Van-Kuecher

San Bernardino WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

James Smith Yucaipa High School “The Death of Allegory” by Billy Collins “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” by James Weldon Johnson “A Dream Within a Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe (P & 25) Kate Flowers

San Diego WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Lauren Owensby Valley Center High School “The Spider and the Fly” by Mary Howitt “When I was Fair and Young” by Queen Elizabeth I (P) “I Am the People, The Mob” by Carl Sandburg (25) Linda Saffiote

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Mariah Mendoza Valley Center High School Craig Adams

San Francisco WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Abigail Schott-Rosenfield Ruth Asawa School of the Arts “[in Just-]” by E. E. Cummings (25) “The Sun Rising” by John Donne (P) “The Widow’s Lament in Springtime” by William Carlos Williams Joan Gelfand

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Polina Litvak Lowell High School Susan Terence

San Luis Obispo WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Kaden Howard Lopez Continuation High School “Alone”by Edgar Allan Poe (25 & P) “Cartoon Physics, part 1” by Nick Flynn “Dog” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti Cathy Dahl-Kunkel

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Jake O’Connor San Luis Obispo High School Mike Godfrey

Santa Barbara WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Courtney Cambron Dos Pueblos High School “Since There Is No Escape” by Sara Teasdale (25) “Famous” by Naomi Shihab Nye “The Paradox” by Paul Laurence Dunbar (P) Sarah Gleason

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Haley Peterson Dos Pueblos Sarah Gleason

Siskiyou WINNER

Student School Poem 1

Keven Cassells Mount Shasta High School “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll (P)

Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

“Abandoned Farmhouse” by Ted Kooser (25) “Annabelle Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe Sue Villarreal

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Ty Bradford Etna High School Madelina Ayers

Solano WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Lindsay Blackie Benicia High School “Becoming a Redwood” by Dana Gioia “The Tyger” by William Blake (25) “To Autumn” by John Keats (P) Christine Mani

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Elise Roberson Benicia High School Kim Thompson

Sonoma WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Phebe Hong Santa Rosa High School “Weighing In” by Rhina P. Espaillat (25) “Without Regret” by Eleanor Wilner “Ah! Why, Because the Dazzling Sun” by Emily Jane Brontë (P) William Lyons

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Joey Abrego Montgomery High School Donna Holmes

Stanislaus WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Rebecca Kim Mears Modesto High School “A Dream Within a Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe (P & 25) “Dulce Et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen “Ode for the American Dead in Asia” by Thomas McGrath Leilani Johnson

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Kathryn Harlan-Gran Enochs High School Chris Hayden

Sutter WINNER

Student Molly Grover School CORE Camptonville Poem 1 “Ah! Why, Because the Dazzling Sun”

by Emily Jane Brontë (P) Poem 2 “Immortal Autumn” by Archibald MacLeish (25) Poem 3 “England in 1819” by Percy Bysshe Shelley Teacher Ellie Palmer RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Margaret Grover CORE Camptonville Ellie Palmer

Tuolumne WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Jonathon Bermea Sonora Union High School “To the Desert” by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (25) “Onions” by William Matthews “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold (P) Maggie Hodson

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Rebecca Andersen Connection Visual and Performing Arts Academy Daniel Atkins

Ventura WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Frank de la Torre Providence High School “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar (25 & P) “I Am” by John Clare (25 & P) Craig Rosen

RUNNER-UP

Student School Teacher

Andrew Allen Royal High School Jean Svoboda

Yuba WINNER

Student School Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3 Teacher

Ocil Herrejon Lindhurst High School “Amor Mundi” by Christina Rossetti (25 & P) “The Legend” by Garrett Hongo “Her Kind” by Anne Sexton (25) Michael Zysk

poetry out loud The energy of California Poetry Out Loud is increasing exponentially throughout our State. High school students, teachers, poets, and parents are all becoming passionate about the spoken word and about their own literary heritage. Recitation and performance are major new trends in poetry. There has been a resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as seen in the slam poetry movement and the immense popularity of hip-hop music. California Poetry Out Loud builds on this momentum by inviting the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theater into California classrooms.

The California Arts Council has partnered with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation to support the expansion of California Poetry Out Loud, which encourages the state’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. This exciting program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.

thank you . . .

The California Arts Council promotes learning through the arts and applauds all the collaborating organizations for making this event possible. The responsibility to give students the very best education possible rests in all of us. The power of community collaboration can serve to reach each campus and give teachers the resources they need to do their best.

California Poetry Out Loud is not only about poetry, it is also about bringing people together in support of the arts in our state. The talent and dedication of all of the partners involved enabled the state of California to reach the largest number of schools in the nation according to National Endowment for the Arts statistics for 2011.

Thank you, everyone, for all you have done to make this program so successful!

Contest Structure Poetry Out Loud uses successive competitions at the local, state, and national levels. Beginning at the classroom level, winners advance to the school-wide competition, district competition, then to the county, state and ultimately to the national finals.

Judging Evaluation PHYSICAL PRESENCE This category evaluates the physical nature of the recitation. Consider the contestant’s posture, use of eye contact, and body language.

VOICE AND ARTICULATION This category evaluates the auditory nature of the recitation. Consider the student’s volume, speed, use of voice inflection, and proper pronunciation. At the State Finals, contestants will use a microphone.

Qualities of a strong recitation: All words will be pronounced correctly, and the volume, speed, pacing, and phrasing will greatly enhance the poem. Pacing will be varied where appropriate. Scores will be lowered as a recitation falls short on one or more of these elements.

DRAMATIC APPROPRIATENESS Above all, recitation is about conveying a poem’s sense with one’s voice. It is not a theatrical enactment. Theatrical performances distract the audience and the judges from understanding and enjoying the poem. Subtle dramatization must enhance the audience’s understanding of the poem; it should never overshadow the poem’s language.

LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY This category evaluates the comparative difficulty of the poem, which is the result of several factors. A poem with difficult content conveys complex, sophisticated ideas, which the student will be challenged to grasp and express. A poem with difficult language will have complexity of diction and syntax, meter and rhyme scheme, and shifts in tone or mood. Poem length is also a factor in difficulty. Every poem is a different combination of content, language, and length, and the judges should score accordingly.

EVIDENCE OF UNDERSTANDING This category evaluates whether the performer exhibits an understanding of the poem in his or her recitation.

Qualities of a strong recitation: The meaning of the poem will be powerfully and clearly conveyed to the audience. The student will display an interpretation that deepens and enlivens the poem. Meaning, messages, allusions, irony, tones of voice, and other nuances will be captured by the performance.

A low score will be awarded if the interpretation obscures the meaning of the poem.

OVERALL PERFORMANCE This category evaluates the overall success of the recitation, taking into account the above criteria, the diversity of poem selection, and any other factors that may impact a judge’s perception of the student’s performance.

ACCURACY A separate judge will mark missed or incorrect words during the recitation, with small deductions for each. If the contestant relies on the Prompter, points also will be subtracted from the accuracy score. Eight points will be added to each of the competitor’s evaluation sheets for a perfect recitation.

sponsors & prizes Target $100 Target gift card for the 1st place winner. $75 Target gift card for the 2nd place winner. $50 Target gift card for the 3rd place winner. $25 Target gift cards for the 31 finalists.

Pre-competition dinner reception for county winners and guests.

Hotel rooms for the 34 county winners and judges.

California Poetry: From the Gold Rush to the Present (edited by Dana Gioia, Chryss Yost, & Jack Hicks) Poetry Out Loud buttons.

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Each winner at the state level will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington. DC to compete for the national championship. The state winner’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. A runner-up in each state will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library. The NEA awards $50,000 total in scholarships and school stipends at the National Finals for the winners.

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Travel stipend for county champions to compete in state finals in Sacramento.

California Poets in the Schools California Poets in the Schools’ 45th Anniversary Statewide Poetry Anthology.

judges Roshawnda “Ro” Bettencourt Roshawnda is currently a junior attending California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). She was the 2008 California Poetry Out Loud Champion. Since then, she has been reciting poetry all over California, and attending various conferences as a solo performance spoken word artist. Her poetry has been published in What the World Hears, a California Poets in the Schools anthology. As a student, she is part of the Theater Arts program at CSUS. Ro played the role of Gabriela in the production of References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot!, participates in the annual CSUS Vagina Monologues, and recently earned herself a full scholarship to CSU Summer Arts program. Ro hopes to continue spreading the magic the spoken word and make an impact on youth who have yet to see the power of poetry. Whether recited or written, it can make its way to the heart.

Bernard Boudreaux Bernard Boudreaux currently holds the position of Group Manager of Community Relations for Target Corporation. His responsibilities include the supervision of community involvement programs embracing grants and resource contributions in education, arts, and social services, as well as sponsorships, community outreach initiatives, volunteerism and reputation management for Target stores in the western United States, in addition to select national initiatives. Boudreaux, who has held several positions in his 20+ year career at Target Corporation, currently serves on the board of directors for The Association of Corporate Contributions Professionals (ACCP), the nation’s leading independent organization providing services and support for corporate contributions, community relations, and employee volunteer managers.

Target Corporation contributes 5 percent of its income to schools and nonprofit agencies in the communities where it operates, which equates to over $3 million every week.

Forbes ranked Target Corporation as “America’s Most Generous Corporation” for the past three consecutive years, while Fortune has ranked Target as one of “America’s Most Admired Companies.” In 2006 Target was the corporate recipient of Newsweek Magazine’s first “Giving Back Awards” for “hitting the Bullseye when it comes to giving time, talent, and cash.”

Malissa Feruzzi Shriver Ms. Feruzzi Shriver serves as Chair of the California Arts Council. The professional painter, writer, and owner of Feruzzi Fine Arts has been involved in the arts for 28 years, first as a professional actor and member of Screen Actors Guild, and as a professional artist working in oils, specializing in both originals and recreations of old master paintings. She studied painting and sculpture at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Feruzzi Shriver is a board member of the California Music Project, a nonprofit organization created to support music education programs for California K-12 schools.

Diane Luby Lane Diane Luby Lane is Founder/Executive Director of Get Lit-Word Ignite, Los Angeles’ leading nonprofit presenter of literary performance, education and teen poetry programs, and the Get Lit Players, an award-winning classic teen poetry troupe, who perform for over 10,000 teens each year. Get Lit partners with the Magic Poetry Bus, the official project of California Poet Laureate Carol Muske-Dukes. Lane is author of Words of Women, a compendium of original monologues for women published around the world and has appeared in numerous films, televisions shows and national commercials. Her critically acclaimed one-woman show, Deep Sea Diving (AKA Born Feet First), has toured high schools and colleges across America with poet Jimmy Santiago Baca. In recognition of her work as an educator and creator of Get Lit’s ground-breaking literacy curriculum, Lane received the James Patterson Page Turner Award for promoting literacy and the KNX Hero Award.

Al Young Widely translated and acclaimed, Al Young’s 22 books include poetry (Something About the Blues: An Unlikely Collection of Poetry, Coastal Nights and Inland Afternoons: Poems 2001-2006, The Sound of Dreams Remembered: Poems 1990-2000, Heaven: Poems Collected 1956-1990), fiction (Seduction By Light, Sitting Pretty, Who Is Angelina?), and musical memoirs (Mingus Mingus: Two Memoirs, Drowning in the Sea of Love, Kinds of Blue, Things Ain’t What They Used to Be, Bodies & Soul.) From 2005 through 2008 he served as Poet Laureate of California. Other honors include NEA, Fulbright, and Guggenheim Fellowships. Jazz Idiom: The Jazz Photography of Charles L. Robinson (Heyday Books) received the 2009 PEN/Oakland Award. The Sea, The Sky, And You, And I, a poetry & jazz CD (featuring bassist Dan Robbins), came out in 2009 from Bardo Digital. Al Young is currently the Visiting Writer at California College of the Arts, San Francisco.

accuracy judge Brandon Cesmat Brandon Cesmat’s most recent book is When Pigs Fall in Love & Other Stories. He is also the author of Light in All Directions, Driven into the Shade and Ice Drum. He is a past president of California Poets in the Schools (CPITS) and teaches literature and writing at CSU San Marcos. Cesmat performs poetry on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border as a member of the bi-national poetry collective Acanto y Laurel.

Prompter Susan Herron Sibbet Susan Herron Sibbet has worked as Poet in Residence with California Poets in the Schools for twenty-five years in San Francisco, where she and her husband have lived in a flat next to Argonne Community Garden, along with their children, dogs, cats, and various small reptiles. She has a Masters in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, and has been a Bunting Fellow, an Affiliate Artist with the Headlands Center for the Arts, and a founding member of Sixteen Rivers Press, a Bay Area poetry collective. She has served on the Board of Directors of CPITS for many years. Her books of poems include Burnt Toast and Other Recipes, Suspensions, and No Easy Light, published by Sixteen Rivers Press in 2004.

Performing Musicians Doug Pauly - guitar Rob Lautz - vibraphone Kerry Kashiwagi - bass

Photographers Brian Baer http://brianbaerphotos.com/bio.html Lorie Shelley Senate Photographer

Check off the ARTS

on your state tax return!

If every taxpayer donated $1 to the California Arts Council, there would be

$15 million dollars for the arts for children & communities.

california arts council 1300 I street, suite 930 sacramento, ca 95814 www.cac.ca.gov