Clark County high school aged students are invited to create original poems for the Vegas Valley Book Festival “Spark! Poetry Writing & Recitation Competition.” Entrants should submit by Sep. 30 three original poems to be judged by a panel of poets, authors and educators.  Six top-scoring students will advance to the next round and recite two of their poems in front of a panel and the audience at the fall festival’s Poetry Courtyard.

2014 winners of Spark! competition were Michael Cordero, left, second place, Laughlin High School;  Elliot James Rydell, third place, Las Vegas Academy of the Arts;  and Nikayla Williams, first place, Liberty High School.

2014 winners of Spark! competition were Michael Cordero, left, second place, Laughlin High School; Elliot James Rydell, third place, Las Vegas Academy of the Arts; and Nikayla Williams, first place, Liberty High School.

The event is Oct. 17 at the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth Street, Las Vegas. Students compete for $300 for first place, $200 for second and $100 for third.

Types of poems that may be presented include prose poetry, free verse and spoken word. Also welcome is structured poetry including sonnets, sestinas, tankas, cinquains and villanelles. Poems do not have to be memorized to be presented. Students have up to 3 minutes per poem. Props, costumes and music are not allowed.

Complete details, guidelines and a registration form are available online at http://vegasvalleybookfestival.org/spark-poetry-writing-recitation-competition/. Contact Maryjane Dorofachuk, arts learning coordinator at the Nevada Arts Council at (702) 486-3738 or mdorofachuk@nevadaculture.org

The Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, is the agency charged with ensuring that state and national funds support cultural activity and encourage participation in the arts throughout Nevada. In addition to providing hundreds of grants to arts and community-based organizations, schools, artists and local municipalities throughout the state, the Arts Council coordinates a variety of statewide programs and activities such as the annual Poetry Out Loud recitation competition for high-school aged students, traveling exhibits, artist residencies, workshops and cultural assessments. For more information, please visit the department’s website at nac.nevadaculture.org/.