LEWISTON/AUBURN — L/A district-wide, Global Writes Slam Competitions will take place Feb, 6-12, pitting Lewiston vs. Auburn schools. The Lewiston/Auburn school winners will then compete vs. New York City and San Francisco live via teleconferencing at the Geiger and Farwell Elementary School libraries and Lewiston Regional Technical Center.

L/A Arts has announced that the second year of Maine Writes poetry residencies are currently taking place at six schools in Lewiston/Auburn. The 11 participating classes are preparing for the first L/A district-wide poetry slam competition which will take place from Feb. 6-12.

These classroom workshops have taken place over the course of a 10-week (20-class) program at four Lewiston schools — Farwell, Geiger and Montello Elementary and Lewiston Middle School — and at Sherwood Heights and Edward Little High School in Auburn.

The residencies are team taught by an L/A Arts professional poetry teaching artist partnered with a public school classroom teacher. During the work, students are enhancing their literacy skills studying the form of poetry and applying their understanding by writing and performing their own original pieces. The poems are based on themes inspired by the poetry students have studied, and topics from their lives and community that have importance to them.

The Maine Writes district-wide slam competition will take place live via videoconferencing between schools. Seven students from each competing class (chosen by their peers and teachers) will make up their team, five of which will perform their poems for the slam.

The poems will be judged by a panel of adults and students for the quality of the performances and the writing. To kick off the week, Edward Little High School will compete in an invitational round against high school teams from Yonkers, San Francisco and The Bronx, New York City, on Feb. 6.

The winning elementary and middle school classes in the district-wide competition will go on to the Global Writes finals with schools from San Francisco and New York the week of Feb. 24. All participating students will receive a special commendation for their work.

The program is supported by the reception of four recognized grants: Maine Arts Commission – SMART, National Endowment for the Arts – Art Works, Quimby Family Foundation and The Betterment Fund.

Maine Writes is taking place with support from two partnering New York City based arts in education organizations, Global Writes and Dreamyard Project. 

This program is not open to the general public.

For more information contact Joshua Vink, interim executive director of L/A Arts, at [email protected] or 782-7228.