By Susan Mann
Caribbean Net News US Virgin Islands Correspondent
Email: susan@caribbeannetnews.com
ST THOMAS, USVI: Family, friends, her English teacher, poetry coach, and members of the US Virgin Islands Council on the Arts, were in the audience Wednesday night when 16-year-old Shawntay A. Henry of the United States Virgin Islands won first place with her poetry recitations and received the title of 2008 Poetry Out Loud National Champion.
Henry was awarded a $20,000 scholarship prize and her school, Charlotte Amalie High, will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books for its library. The April 29th, 2008 National Poetry Out Loud Finals were held at George Washington University in Washington, DC.
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| Shawntay A. Henry |
Henry was among 12 finalists and 52 state champions from around the country who participated in the third national poetry recitation contest, sponsored by the National Arts Endowment and the Poetry Foundation.
"Poetry was never something I thought I'd get involved with, but I realized I had a hidden talent," said Henry, a 10th grader from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
Henry capped her performance with a thoughtful recitation of "Frederick Douglass" by Robert E. Hayden.
Henry advanced to National Champion from a field of competition that involved more than 1,500 high schools and 200,000 high school students across the country. In the competition,
Shawntay read a total of three poems as the judges narrowed the field of contestants.
Special guest judges presided over the competition, including Garrison Keillor, host of the radio show "A Prairie Home Companion;" Pulitzer-Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey, novelist and journalist Leslie Schwartz, Poetry Daily editor Don Selby, 2007 Poetry Out Loud National Champion Amanda Fernandez, and memoirist, activist, and poet Luis Rodriguez. Well known National Public Radio personality Scott Simon, host of “Weekend Edition”, served as master of ceremonies.
Territory Governor John deJongh offered hearty congratulations to the gifted young orator.
“Ms. Henry emerged the top winner from a field of 52 contestants as she displayed her well-honed skills in reciting classic and contemporary poems. Her bringing home the top prize of $20,000 in scholarship money is testament to how well Shawntay and her coach prepared for the two-day competition,” deJongh said.
The Chief Executive said he is hoping that with a national winner in the Virgin Islands, other students will get involved and participate in learning about great poetry. Last night’s competition in the nation’s capitol marked the first time the Virgin Islands participated in the contest.
The Governor said that a welcome home ceremony awaits Ms Henry when she arrives at Cyril E. King Airport on Thursday night.
A three-minute clip of Shawntay's winning performance can be heard at npr.org.
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