PIV/LVP Poetry Recitation Contest for Canadian High Schools Announces Judges for Pilot Finals

TORONTO – March 15, 2011 – Scott Griffin, Founder of Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie (PIV/LVP) is pleased to announce that novelist Karine Glorieux, actor and Governor General’s Literary Award–winning writer Robert Lalonde, Soulpepper Theatre founding artist Diana Leblanc, Governor General’s Literary Award–winning poet Dennis Lee, Griffin Poetry Prize–winning poet Karen Solie, and Governor General’s Literary Award–winning poet Élise Turcotte will judge the 2011 Poetry In Voice Recitation Contest Finals on April 12, 2011Albert Schultz, Soulpepper Theatre’s founding Artistic Director, will host the evening’s competition, to be held at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto’s historic Distillery District. Admission is free for students and $10 for adults.

When announcing the competition last November, Scott Griffin commented: “Poetry is a language that should be spoken in the cafés, the streets, and especially the classrooms of the nation.” Poetry In Voice is a national bilingual poetry recitation contest for Canadian high school students. In the fall of 2010, Poetry In Voice launched a pilot program involving 12 Ontario high schools:

  • Bayridge Secondary School (Kingston)
  • Cawthra Park Secondary School (Mississauga)
  • Collège Notre-Dame (Sudbury)
  • Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute (Toronto)
  • London Central Secondary School (London)
  • Lockerby Composite School (Sudbury)
  • R.H. King Academy (Scarborough)
  • South Carleton High School (Richmond, Ottawa)
  • Toronto French School (Toronto)
  • Trafalgar Castle School (Whitby)
  • Upper Canada College (Toronto)
  • Victoria Park Collegiate Institute (North York)

 

The contest uses a pyramid structure that begins at the classroom level. Winners advance to the school-wide competition and the school champion from each of the twelve participating schools will compete for $10,000 in prize money and school stipends at the pilot finals on April 12, 2011, in Toronto. The competition will expand in 2012 to include all of Ontario and Quebec, and branch out to schools across the country in 2013.

WHO: Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie Recitation Contest
WHAT: Pilot Program Final Competition
WHEN: April 12, 2011, 7pm
WHERE: Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 55 Mill Street, #49, Toronto, ON
TICKETS: Free for students with reservation, $10 for adults. Call 416-866-8666 or go to www.youngcentre.ca to book tickets.
WHY? See students compete for $10,000 in prize money and school stipends by reciting poems from memory.

Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie (PIV/LVP) is the latest initiative by Scott Griffin, who is also the Chairman and Founder of The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry along with Trustees Margaret Atwood, Carolyn Forché, Robert Hass, Michael Ondaatje, Robin Robertson and David Young. By funding the Griffin Poetry Prize — the world's largest prize for a first edition single collection of poetry written in English — The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry aims to spark the public's imagination and raise awareness of the crucial role poetry plays in our cultural life, a mission shared by Poetry In Voice.

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