The Arkansas Arts Council is proud to announce Tucker Dowler, of Sheridan, as this year’s Arkansas Poetry Out Loud state champion.
“Tucker Dowler, this year’s winner at the Arkansas Poetry Out Loud competition, is the real deal,” said Matt Boyce, arts in education programs manager for the Arkansas Arts Council. “Our independent panelists were impressed with Tucker’s stage presence, accuracy, interpretation, confidence and overall mastery and skill.”
Poetry Out Loud is the state’s only poetry recitation competition for high school students. Students compete at the school, district and state level before going to the national stage in Washington, D.C.
Dowler is a senior at Sheridan High School. He is an avid enjoyer of poetry and drama alike and has loved the arts since he was “old enough to misquote Shakespeare.” Although theater first lit his love for the stage, he has found the truest expression through verse.
The poems he performed for Arkansas Poetry Out Loud were:
- The Glories of Our Blood and State by James Shirley
- Early Affection by George Moses Horton
- Backdrop addresses cowboy by Margaret Atwood
Dowler competed against nine other high school students this past Saturday, March 2, at Ron Robinson Theatre in Little Rock. He earned a $500 cash prize and travel costs to attend the National Poetry Out Loud competition. As the state champion, he has the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., where he will represent Arkansas on the National Poetry Out Loud competition between April 30 and May 2. He could earn up to $20,000.
Leah Stallcup, a sophomore at Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, earned the alternative champion title during the Arkansas Poetry Out Loud event. Stallcup, of Fayetteville, came to ASMSA to further her education and develop her passions. She aspires to become a veterinarian and enjoys studying chemistry and biology. She loves poetry, writing and making music. As the state alternate, Stallcup earned a $300 cash stipend for ASMA to purchase poetry materials.
Arkansas Poetry Out Loud, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation and the Arkansas Arts Council, is a free, poetry program for high school students. The program encourages the nation’s youth to learn about poetry through memorization and recitation and helps students build self-confidence, develop public-speaking skills and learn literary history.
For more information about the program, email [email protected] or visit www.arkansasarts.org.