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WASHINGTON– Amanda Fernandez, a Duke Ellington School of the Arts senior, emerged as champion and Alanna Rivera, an Arlington, Virginia sophomore, placed third in the national poetry competition held on May 1 here. The contest was sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation.

            Asian Americans, all of them state champions, made strong showing at the competition, but did not make it to the final winners’ circle.

Two of them–Amanda Fujiki of Orem, Utah and Shuqiao Song of Lincoln, Nebraska–won in three semi-final rounds held at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium here. They were among the 12 finalists chosen April 30 out of 51 state champions. But they did not win in the final round.

            Hawaii State champion Tucker Haworth, who is of Japanese ancestry, and California State Champion Karen Hong, did not advance beyond the semifinal round.

Champion Amanda Fernandez riveted audiences with "Ma Rainey," avibrant portrait of rural African American life by poet Sterling A. Brown. This was one of three recitations that earned Fernandez the title of 2007 Poetry Out Loud National Champion and a $20,000 scholarship prize.

The judges for the evening championship were Garrison Keillor, host of the radio show “A Prairie Home Companion,” poets Marilyn Chin and Kwame Dawes, and 2006 national champion Jackson Hille. Scott Simon of National Public Radio was the emcee.

“Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation to encourage the study of great poetry by offering educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country,” said.Sally Gifford, NEA Public Affairs Specialist.