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North Branch students will have the chance to recite poetry to compete for prize money at 6 p.m. that night in the North Branch High School Auditorium. The program will be Poetry Out Loud and is geared to increase literacy while promoting culture. The competition is open for public viewing.

The program, which can lead to a national competition, is presented as a partnership by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and the Michigan Humanities Council.

"I thought it was something we could do here," said Cindy Stevens, North Branch High School English teacher and the organizer's coordinator.

Stevens said students must choose three poems from a list of such pre-20th Century poets as Nikki Giovanni, Alfred Lord Tennyson, e.e. cummings, Robert Frost, Walt Whitman, and Langston Hughes.

"Poetry's not necessarily the most popular subject in high school," Stevens said. "Because of technology, PlayStation, and computers, reading is a lost art."

Stevens said the program will be ran as a poetry slam. "There will be a round two,"she said. "Our winner will advance to the state finals March 8 in Lansing. The last two state champions were from Holt. There's 19 high schools (in the competition) and we're ready to change that to North Branch."

Winners from the competition have the chance to compete for money and scholarships. The national winner receives $20,000 in scholarships. Schools can also get money for library books through the contest. The workshop will lead up to the Poetry Out Loud competition.

Stevens said she is hopeful the poetry program will do some cultural and literary enlightenment. She is seeking to foster the next generation of poetry readers.

Five poetry participants spoke about the poetry competition on a recent Tuesday. Sarah Herberger, 17, senior, said she likes poetry a lot and writes some of it. "I like Robert Frost and Emily Dickenson. I chose to memorize a poem by Molly Peacock. "The poem really speaks to me. It's about love. My parents always say it's a choice," Herberger said.

Courtney Sims, 15, sophomore, said she hasn't yet chosen what poems she'll memorize, but is looking for one that strikes her as being unique. She is a published poet. "I'm new at this school and figured if I'm going to a new school I thought I'd go all out," Sims said.

Anna Lee, 15, chose to memorize one poem by Rudyard Kipling. The sophomore said she is also leaning toward another poem by Naomi Shihab Nye. "I'm pretty into poetry. It's a form of venting," Lee said. "I've written poems for people and I'm pretty excited for it."

Mary Helzer, 15, freshman, said she enjoys reading aloud. "I want to learn not to chicken out on stage," she said. "I have a few options. I like Molly Peacock, but I'm scared that I'm going to screw up."

Katie Humphries, 15, freshman, said she thinks it's a good idea to compete for scholarships. "I know I'm not going to do Robert Frost because I'm not a tree person. I like Emily Dickenson and Edgar Allen Poe," Humphries said.

For more information on Poetry Out Loud, visit the organization's Web site www.poetryoutloud.org.

Jennifer Decker can be reached at 664-0811, Ext. 8125 or jennifer.decker@lapeergroup.com.