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9 schools to compete in Sengebau poetry tilt tonight
A total of nine schools will be represented in the 11th Annual Valentine N. Sengebau Poetry Competition this evening at the American Memorial Park Visitors Center Theater in Garapan.
Schools that will be presenting this year is Admiral Herbert G. Hopwood Junior High School, Dandan Middle School, Dr. Rita H. Inos Junior/Senior High School, Eskuelan San Francisco de Borja, Marianas High School, Mount Carmel School, Saipan Seventh-Day Adventist School, San Antonio Middle School, and Tinian Junior-Senior High School.
The Northern Marianas Humanities Council earlier invited all public and private junior high and high schools from Saipan, Tinian, and Rota to participate.
The competition will have two divisions: junior and senior.
The junior division includes junior high and middle school participants who must recite a poem from Sengebau’s book, Microchild. The poem must be from the Cultural Identity, Politics, or Images sections; and students are asked to give a one- to three-minute introduction explaining why they chose that specific poem.
Under the senior division, high school contestants must submit original poems of any form that does not exceed 250 words. Poems must address themes relating to culture, identity, and/or change in the NMI.
A panel of judges will score submitted poems for content prior to the event.
First place in each division will have their names and school names inscribed on perpetual trophies that will be housed at the winning schools until the following year’s competition.
Cash prizes will also be awarded. First place will get $250; second place, $150; and third place, $100.
Last year, Marianas High School freshmen Olivia Hirsh and Liza Atalig and Eskeulan San Francisco de Borja’s Tyra Reese Calvo took home the first place cash prizes and perpetual trophies.
This competition supports the work of young Micronesian poets and honors the legacy of Micronesia’s foremost poet, Sengebau.
For more information, call the Humanities Council office at 235-4785.
