It is my pleasure to let the public know that I have been appointed the Area Coordinator by the Mississippi Humanities Council for the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest.

Poetry has become an integral part of language arts and literary education across the nation.

In the not-so-distant past, all students were required to learn and recite poetry with the belief that the literary arts were an important component of a youngster’s education. Sadly, though, schools drifted away from such requirements.

But I’m happy to say — both as a reader and writer of poetry — that poetry is enjoying a major comeback not only in America, but in our nation’s schools.

Thus, the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest was created to engage secondary school students in learning this magnificent literary and art form.

Poetry Out Loud consists of high school students memorizing poems of their choosing from about 140 poems and competing at their school level. The school winner then goes to state competition where he or she competes against students from around Mississippi. The winner receives a monetary prize and the chance to compete against students nationwide.

In 2006, Poetry Out Loud awarded more than $100,000 in prizes to high school students and schools at the state and national levels in its inaugural year.

Ohio high school student Jackson Hille won a $20,000 scholarship prize as the 2006 Poetry Out Loud National Champion. Each winner at the state level will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington to compete for the national championship.

The state winner’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. A runner-up in each state will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library.

A total of $50,000 in scholarships and school stipends at the National Finals will be awarded to the winners.

If you know of a high school student who wishes to compete, he or she needs to contact his or her high school English or speech teacher, who then can contact me. Many of those area teachers have or will receive a personal letter from me about the program.

Teachers and home-schooled high school level students may contact me directly at marklafrancis@bellsouth.com.

All high school competitions must be completed no later than Feb. 23, so there is time. The Mississippi competition is in early March at the New Stage Theatre in Jackson. It is an exciting event.

There is a wealth of information for teachers and students at www.poetryoutloud.org.

I look forward to seeing a local student win the state competition and, hopefully, the national competition.

Mark LaFrancis of Natchez is Area Coordinator of the Mississippi Humanities Council’s Poetry Out Loud Recitation Contest.