Putnam City West High School senior Jessica Sims is the state winner of the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Sims performed If by Rudyard Kipling, Scary Movies by Kim Addonizio and It Couldn't Be Done by Edgar Albert Guest in state competition in March.
As the state winner, Sims received $200 and an all-expense paid trip to the national finals in Washington, D.C., to compete for a $20,000 scholarship. By virtue of Sims's win at the state level, Putnam City West will receive $500 for the purchase of poetry books.
Sims is president of Putnam City West’s choir and vice president of the drama club. She plans to attend Oklahoma City University to study musical theater.
Sims’ win is the second in a row for Putnam City West. The state Poetry Out Loud winner last year was Putnam City West student Alli Ward.
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation have partnered with arts agencies in each state – in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Humanities Council and the Oklahoma Arts Council – to support Poetry Out Loud, which encourages the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. The program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage. Nationally, more than 200,000 students across the nation participated in Poetry Out Loud this year.