Judges, Prompter, and Musician
Lisa Alexander – Interpreta on Judge Lisa Alexander holds an MFA in Poetry from Drew University
and is a member of the Madwomen in the AGc workshop. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming
in various journals including 5 AM, BLOOM and The Burnside Review among others. She's a sound
engineer for Prosody, NPR-a.liate WESA's weekly show featuring the work of na+onal writers. Her
manuscript thro2lebody is being submied for publica+on.
Sherae Daniel – Prompter Sherae Daniel is an Assistant Professor at the Katz Graduate School of
Business at the University of Pisburgh. She has published mul+ple academic ar+cles about the
impacts of the internet on collabora+on. She has presented this work at interna+onal conferences. In
addi+on, through taking wri+ng classes at the Pisburgh Center for the Arts, she has fallen in love
with crea+ve wri+ng. By request, as a token of love, she has wrien and read reIec+ve essays for
events including weddings and birthdays.
Kaitlyn Duling – Accuracy Judge Kaitlyn Duling is a recent transplant from Paxton, Illinois to
Pisburgh, where she manages the Storymobile program at Reading is FUNdamental Pisburgh. She
is a graduate of the Program in Crea+ve Wri+ng at Knox College, where she studied poetry. Her
poems have found homes in IDK Magazine, Atlas and Alice, Catch Magazine, Wilde Magazine,
Outrageous Fortune, and Naugatuck River Review.
Romella Kitchens – Interpreta on Judge Romella Kitchens is a Poet, Actress, Sculptor, Fiber Ar+st,
and Playwright. Her poem "An Urban Christmas" was published on December 21, 2014. She was also
published by HeArt Online, Uppagus Online, Coal Hill Review, Main Street Rag and Chapter & Verse
in the Pisburgh City Paper successively also in 2014. In the summer of 2014, "Plaer Pushin' " a
poem for the late Porky Chedwick was published in the Pisburgh Post Gazee, as well. She has
taught poetry to students in the Pisburgh Area.
Zo Re – Accuracy Judge Zo Re is a writer/poet with a Master's Degree in Linguis+cs from the City
University of New York Graduate Center. For the past three years, she has studied crea+ve non>c+on and poetry with Sarah Leavens, MFA at the Pisburgh Center for the Arts. Much of her
inspira+on comes from explora+ons of the rich cultural life surrounding her in her adopted home city
of Pisburgh.
Cur s Reaves – Interpreta on Judge Cur+s Reaves is a mul+-media ar+st and community educator
who u+lizes photography, video, technology and printmaking to empower youth in the explora+on of
crea+vity, heritage and social change. Each residency is an infusion of community, found natural
objects and symbolic images. His mission is to plant crea+ve seeds wherever he goes to empower the
next genera+on of ar+sts.
Don Wentworth – Interpreta on Judge Don Wentworth is a Senior StaM Librarian at the Carnegie
Library of Pisburgh in charge of American and Bri+sh Literature as well as the Interna+onal Poetry
Collec+on. He is a published with two full length collec+ons: Past All Traps (Six Gallery, 2011) and
Yield to the Willow (Six Gallery, 2014)
Je/ Berman – Musician JeM Berman is a mul+-instrumentalist, improvising ar+st, composer, and
educator whose work reIects his global musical vision. A na+ve of NYC now living in Pisburgh, his
genre-extending concept on vibraphone, percussion, and mountain dulcimer has allowed him to
collaborate, across stylis+c boundaries, with a diverse group of ar+sts from across the planet.
This program is supported in part by the Arts in Educa0on Partnership of the Pennsylvania Council on
the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Na0onal Endowment
for the Arts, a federal agency. The Arts in Educa0on Partner serving Allegheny, Beaver, Greene, and
Washington coun0es is Pi2sburgh Filmmakers/Pi2sburg h Center for the Arts.
The Na onal Endowment for the Arts
and
The Poetry Founda on
present
Regional Compe
on
held by
Pisburgh Filmmakers/Pisburgh Center for the Arts
featuring
Benne Grefenstee ~ Seton-La Salle Catholic High School
Ivan Gunn ~ Urban Pathways 6-12 Charter School
Savannah Stewart ~ South Fayee High School
Madeline Macek ~ Fox Chapel Area High School
Sophie Thompson ~ Avonworth High School
Drew Praskovich ~ Pisburgh CAPA 6-12
Saturday, February 7, 2015
10:00 a.m.
Pisburgh Filmmakers
Melwood Screening Room
School Finalists
Program
Introduc ons and Remarks
Mary Brenholts ~ PF/PCA, Director of School & Community Programs
Jamie Dunlap ~ PA Council on the Arts, Arts in Educa+on Program
Director
Judges/Prompter ~ Lisa Alexander, Sherae Daniel, Kaitlyn Duling, Romella
Kitchens, Zo Re, Cur+s Reaves, Don Wentworth
Round 1 Recita ons
Benne Grefenstee “Miniver Cheevy” by Edwin Arlington Robinson
Ivan Gunn
“I Find no Peace” by Thomas Wya
Savannah Stewart “Broken Promises” by David Kirby
Madeline Macek
“The Blues Don’t Change” by Al Young
Sophie Thompson “Mrs. Kessler” by Edgar Lee Masters
Drew Praskovich
“Cadillac Moon” by Kevin Young
Round 2 Recita ons
Benne Grefenstee “It si(s from Leaden Sieves” by Emily Dickenson
Ivan Gunn
“truth” by Gwendolyn Brooks
Savannah Stewart “Momma Said” by Calvin Forbes
Madeline Macek
“The Arrow and The Song” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Sophie Thompson “The Kiss” by Robert Graves
Drew Praskovich
“Idea 20: An evil spirit, your beauty, haunts me s0ll”
by Michael Drayton
Round 3 Recita ons
Benne Grefenstee “Anthem for Doomed Youth” by Wilfred Owen
Ivan Gunn
“The Song of the Smoke” by W. E. B. Du Bois
Savannah Stewart “An Apology For Her Poetry” by Margaret Cavendish
Madeline Macek
“I Am Oering this Poem” by Jimmy San+ago Baca
Sophie Thompson “Aria” by David Barber
Drew Praskovich
“Peach” by Jennifer Tonge
Benne Grefenstee - My name is Benne Grefenstee and I was born and
raised in Pisburgh. I am a senior at Seton-La Salle High School. I will be
aending either the University of Notre Dame or Georgetown University this fall.
I grew to enjoy reading and memorizing poetry because of my English teacher Mr.
Manear. I am the president of my school's pro-life club, Vice-president of our
interna+onal club and an avid watcher of The O.ce.
Ivan Gunn - I am an 11th grader at Urban Pathways. I plan to go to school at
either Virginia Tech or Georgia University. I enjoy reci+ng poems and crea+ng my
own poems. I would like to get a degree in either technology engineering or in
architecture. My favorite quote is “The only limita+ons we have in life are the
ones we put on ourselves” and I just don’t believe in limi+ng myself.
Savannah Stewart – This is the second year I am compe+ng in and represen+ng
my school at the Poetry Out Loud regional comple+on. In my spare +me, I am an
equal opportunity reader of poetry as I do not have a favorite poet but read
widely. I also enjoy wri+ng poetry, listening to music, spending +me with my
friends and sharing verse with my Poetry Club family at school.
Madeline Macek – I am Madeline Macek of Fox Chapel Area High School and I
am honored to be here today to celebrate poetry. The poems I will be reci+ng are
“The Blues Don’t Change” by Al Young, “The Arrow and The Song” by Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow, and “I Am Oering this Poem” by Jimmy San+ago Baca. I
would like to dedicate “I Am Oering this Poem” to my friend Emily.
Sophie Thompson, a sophomore at Avonworth High School, has been
endeavoring to target her vocal skills with voice lessons and musical par+cipa+on,
so Poetry Out Loud is a welcome element in the mix! An avid swimmer since
elementary school, Sophie also devotes her +me to Avonworth's musical
program; this year, she is the understudy for the Cat in the Hat in Seussical.
Sophie will also enjoy a secondary chorus role in the show. She would like to
credit her father with encouraging her to learn as much as possible about
anything and everything, and she extends thanks to both her parents for their
ongoing love and support. Sophie would also like to give a shoutout to the >ne
folks in Period 7 Honors English 10 with Miss Fox.
Drew Praskovich is a senior Literary Arts at Pisburgh CAPA. His play, “Dream
House”, was produced this fall at City Theater during its Young Playwrights
Fes+val. Last year, he was also nominated for a Gene Kelly Award for Best
Suppor+ng Actor. Drew aspires to become a >lmmaker, writer, and professionally
create work on his Etch-A-Sketch for a living.