For Immediate Release: Office of Gov. John Hickenlooper Colorado Creative Industries Division Sheila Sears, 303-892-3852 sheila.sears@state.co.us COLORADO CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ANNOUNCES SAMUEL OPOKU AS THE 2012 POETRY OUT LOUD STATE CHAMPION Thornton High School senior wins back-to-back state championships, will compete at Nationals in Washington D.C., May 13-15, 2012

DENVER. Tuesday, March 27, 2011 —From a competitive field of more than 28 students across the state, Samuel Opoku from Thornton High School in Thornton, Colorado received the title of 2012 Poetry Out Loud Colorado State Champion at the state finals held in Lakewood, CO on March 20, 2012. The first runner-up was Philip Shimel from Liberty High School in Colorado Springs, CO.

20l2 Poetry Out Loud State Champion, Sam Opoku and his teacher, Michael Kilduff

One of Opoku’s winning selections was “Early Affection” by poet George Moses Horton (1798-1883), a four stanza 24-line poem. The poet was considered a genius of his time and became the first African American to publish a book—and the only one to publish it while still in slavery.

Regarding his participation in and success winning Poetry Out Loud Colorado state championships back-to-back, Opoku remarked, “I see every day as an opportunity to change the world and would be extremely satisfied if I could accomplish that through the beautiful art of poetry.”

Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country. Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure. Beginning at the classroom level, winners advance to a school-wide competition, then to the state competition, and ultimately to the National Finals in Washington, DC. More than 365,000 students from 2,255 high schools took part in the 2011 Poetry Out Loud program.

State Finals contestants recited works they selected from an anthology of more than 680 classic and contemporary poems. The anthology, a website (www.poetryoutloud.org), a teacher’s guide, and media samples of poetry recitation were created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation as free educational resources for high school students and teachers.

The Colorado State Champion Samuel Opoku received an award of $200 and an all- expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC, to compete for the national championship. Samuel Opoku’s school received a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. First runner-up Philip Shimel
received $100, with $200 for his school library. All eight students competing in the final round of recitation received scholarships to participate in Lighthouse Writer’s Youth Poetry Workshop.

Guest judges who are experts in poetry and performance presided over the competition. Judges evaluated student performances on criteria including physical presence, evidence of understanding, level of difficulty, and accuracy. David Mason, Colorado’s Poetry Laureate served as emcee, and Garrick Davis, of the National Endowment for the Arts, was in attendance.

Samuel Opoku finished among the final twelve competitors at the National Competition in 2011. He will compete again May 13-15, 2012 in Washington D.C.

For more information about the Colorado Poetry Out Loud program, visit www.coloradocreativeindustries.org

About Colorado Creative Industries
Part of the state Office of Economic Development, Colorado Creative Industries sees a future where Colorado is a premiere “Creative Economy” with a strong brand identity, a Top 10 reputation, and significant and sustained investment in the creative sector, and where Creative entrepreneurs and enterprises will flourish.

About the Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. For more information, please visit www.poetryfoundation.org

About the National Endowment for the Arts
Congress established the National Endowment for the Arts in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector. To join the discussion on how art works, visit the NEA at arts.gov.