April 7, 2008

Contact: Pamela Michael EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE: We have high-

510-548-7636 quality electronic files of the artwork

510-914-1585 (mobile) for your use. Poem texts also are

pamelam@riverofwords.org available.

http://www.riverofwords.org

****************NEWS RELEASE*****************

Robt. Hass, Library of Congress to Honor Young Poets and Artists from Around U.S.

Washington, DC— On Monday, May 12, 2008 at 10:00 a.m., The Library of Congress Center for the Book will honor the young winners and finalists of the 13^th annual River of Words Environmental Poetry & Art Contest in Rm. 119 of the Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. The ceremony will be emceed by former US Poet Laureate, Robert Hass (recent winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for Poetry), who co-founded River of Words in 1995 with writer Pamela Michael, the non-profit organization’s executive director. The contest—the largest youth poetry competition in the world—is conducted by Berkeley nonprofit River of Words and is affiliated with The Library of Congress Center for the Book.

The ceremony will feature children from all over the country reading their winning poems about the natural world. John Robrock, from San Benito High School in Hollister, California, will also be honored as the 2008 Teacher of the Year. The event will include an art exhibit of this year’s winning landscape art by children and youth from around the world. Opening remarks will be given by Ben Grumbles, US EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Water, one of the sponsors of this innovative environmental education program. River of Words will also be releasing two new books of art and poetry by children at the event: one their annual anthology of winning work from the contest, and the other a collection of children’s art and poetry from Milkweed Editions, River of Words: Young Poets and Artists on the Nature of Things.

River of Words® (ROW) is a nature-based science, art and poetry program created to promote watershed awareness, literacy and the arts. ROW helps young people explore the natural and cultural history of their own communities through their innovative Watershed Explorer curriculum. Beyond the annual contest, ROW also provides educational support services for schools, water districts, libraries, museums, community organizations and governmental agencies that want to promote environmental consciousness via the creative process.

Open at no cost to youth aged 5 – 19, the contest typically receives over 20,000 submissions from almost every state in the union and many foreign countries. Poetry entries are judged by ROW co-founders Robert Hass and Pamela Michael; renowned children’s book author and illustrator Thacher Hurd judges the artwork.

—more—

Commenting on this year’s winners, Robert Hass remarked “It’s thrilling to see, year after year, these young writers and artists giving us back the places where we live through their words and images. Through their explorations and reflection on their homegrounds, we are all made more aware of the beauty, history, and fragility of our natural landscapes.”

Through student and teacher workshops, publications and public exhibitions, the River of Words helps children discover their “ecological address” by exploring and interpreting their local watersheds, the contest theme. “Our goal is to help children become informed, engaged and inspired citizens of the places they live,” remarked River

of Words co-founder and executive director, Pamela Michael. The Berkeley-based nonprofit provides teachers, park rangers, Scout leaders and other educators with ideas and inspiration to guide students in exploring the natural and cultural history of their particular watershed, along with the art, music, folktales and literature it has inspired.

What: FREE 13th^th Annual River of Words

Reading/Book-signing/Art Exhibition/Celebration

Where: Library of Congress

110 First St. SE, Washington, DC

When: Monday, May 12, 2008

10:00 AM

Who: Children and youth reading their winning poems, Emcee: Robert Hass

Introductory Remarks: Ben Grumbles, US EPA

2008 River of Words Winners

Teacher of the Year: John Robrock, San Benito High School, Hollister, Calif.

International Prize: W. Sasini Navoda, age 10, Sri Lanka

Category I Poetry (K-Gr. 2): Jack Baker, age 7, Denver, Colorado

Category II Poetry (Gr. 3-6): Maggie Gallagher, age 11, Berkeley, California

Category III Poetry (Gr. 7-9): Patty Schlutt, age 13, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Category IV Poetry (Gr. 10-12): Elowyn Corby, age 17, Santa Cruz, California

Category I Art (K-Gr 2): Marissa Salber, age 7, Omaha, Nebraska

Category II Art (Gr. 3-6): Nima Dorje, age 8, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Category III Art (Gr. 7-9): Shauna Black, age 14, Pleasanton, California

Category IV Art (Gr. 10-12): Josh Vega, age 17, Hollister, California

Shasta Bioregion Prize

(Honoring a student from the SF Bay Area): Robert Chan, age 10, SF, California

Monkey’s Raincoat Prize:

(Honoring a short poem in the Japanese haiku tradition): Sabrina Wong, age 9, Weston, Mass.

Over 100 Finalists Hail from the Following Places:

United States: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington,

Other Countries: Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe

—more—

ALABAMA

Art

Stewart Adams, 14, Birmingham

Alexis Broswell, 18, Birmingham

John Hablitz, 13, Birmingham

Josh Harbison, 17, Fultondale

CALIFORNIA

Art

Grand Prize Winner— Shauna Black, age 14, Pleasanton

Grand Prize Winner— Josh Vega, age 17, Hollister

Teacher of the Year—John Robrock, San Benito High School, Hollister

Alexa Cortez, 8, Watsonville

Courtney Lewis, 17, Hollister

Jane Long, 9, Fresno

Emma Thomas, 6, Watsonville

Poetry

Grand Prize— Maggie Gallagher, age 11, Berkeley

Grand Prize— Elowyn Corby, age 17, Santa Cruz

Shasta Bioregion Prize— Robert Chan, age 10, San Francisco

Megan Amaglio, 9, Larkspur

Adair Arreola, 8, Watsonville

Mikaylasol Cabras, 11, Vallejo

Mayra Centeno Mendoza, 12, Oakland

Russel Degener, 14, San Francisco

Sarah Esser, 15, San Francisco

Emma Finch, 9, Carmel

Gideon Firl, 10, Livermore

Brendan Fong, 8, San Francisco

Allegra Krasznekewicz, 16, Carmel

Jennifer Liang, 14, San Francisco

Tiffany T. Liu, 8, Castro Valley

Liz Lozada, 18, Novato

Benny Lui, 10, San Francisco

Joanne Lum, 14, San Francisco

AJ Slepian, 13, El Dorado Hills

Brett Sullivan, 11, Sonoma

Patrick Tehaney, 11, El Dorado Hills

Evelin Avila Torres, 13, Oakland

Ashley Valdivia, 12, Watsonville

Miranda Webster, 12, San Anselmo

Alejandro Yanez, 16, Merced

COLORADO

Poetry

Grand Prize— Jack Baker, age 7, Denver

Isabel Levine-Clark, 7, Denver

FLORIDA

Poetry

Jack Conlon, 16, Palmetto

Alex Dodson, 13, Sarasota —more—

GEORGIA

Art

Paul Brown, 16, Decatur

Alana Handman, 16, Decatur

Kasey Rodgers, 8, Alpharetta

Eric Stokes, 13, Martinez

Poetry

Joe Carnaroli, 15, Cumming

Katie Garmon, 14, Cumming

Keith Gilbert, 14, Cumming

Kendall Pakula, 17, Roswell

IOWA

(Finalist Lupita Delgado lives in Nebraska but submitted her artwork through the Sioux City Art Center just across the border in Iowa.)

Art

Lupita Delgado, 11, South Sioux City

ILLINOIS

Art

Flora J. Zheng, 7, Palatine

Poetry

Bailey Bystry, 11, Glen Ellyn

Hadley Hauser, 14, Longview

LOUISIANA

Poetry

Clélie Ancelet, 17, Scott

Ashley Broussard, 16, Duson

Stephanie Colin, 16, Lafayette

Margaret Kates, 9, New Orleans

Shoko Morikawa, 17, Baton Rouge

MAINE

Poetry

Goran Johanson, 12, Dresden

Sarah Jordan, 13, West Bath

MASSACHUSETTS

Poetry

Monkey’s Raincoat Prize—Sabrina Wong, age 9, Weston

MICHIGAN

Art

Grand Prize—Nima Dorje, age 8, Ann Arbor

Sam Lippert, 8, Ann Arbor

Doreen Pang, 8, Ann Arbor

Poetry

Grand Prize—Patty Schlutt, 13, Grand Rapids

Willa Chen, 16, Canton

Eli Debelak, 17, Skandia

Trevor Hanson, 12, Ishpeming —more—

Lawanda Jacks, 18, Detroit

MISSOURI

Poetry

Hannah Nailor, 13, Kirkwood

MONTANA

Art

Mira Darham, 10, Bozeman

Poetry

Zach Eddy, 13, Missoula

NEBRASKA

Art

Grand Prize—Marissa Salber, 7, Omaha

Lupita Delgado, 11, South Sioux City

NEW JERSEY

Art

Eric Kang, 13, Livingston

NEW YORK

Art

Yekaterina Savina, 11, Brooklyn

Poetry

Anamaria Gonzalez, 12, Newburgh

John C. Hordines, 11, New Windsor

NORTH CAROLINA

Poetry

Jeremy Grissom, 18, Raleigh

PENNSYLVANIA

Poetry

Carlos Alameda, 12, Lancaster

Daeshaun Corimers, 9, Lancaster

Lani Diamant, 12, Pittsburgh

Philip Gilchrist, 10, Philadelphia

Sarah Libby, 10, Gibsonia

Monica Rodriguez, 9, Lancaster

Kelvin Torres, 7, Lancaster

TEXAS

Poetry

Mary Margaret Hancock, 12, Dallas

VIRGINIA

Art

Jennifer Bae, 14, Oakhill

Jacklyn Kim, 7, Vienna

Poetry

Cia Makrigiorgos, 12, Vienna —more—

WASHINGTON

Art

Erick Andrews, 12, Normandy Park

Poetry

Dezmond Goff, 16, Bothell

Karisma Gupta, 14, Sammamish

Adrian Rodrigues, 14, Kirkland

AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN

Parveen Ali, 17, Quetta

Iltaf Hussain, 13, Quetta

Jawahir Ghulam Qadir, 18, Quetta

BULGARIA

Nikol Ivanov, 9, Kozloduy

CHINA

Preston Yan To Liang, 5, Kowloon

EGYPT

Youssef Hassam, 6, Alexandria

INDIA

A.J.S. Lakshmi Shree, 11, Bangalore

Shruthi Sulapa, 13, Bangalore

INDONESIA

Victoria Subagjo, 5, Bandung

PHILIPPINES

Tiffany Joy Sy Chan, 14, Manila

SRI LANKA

International Prize— W. Sasini Navoda, age 10, Rajagiriya

T.A. Maheshani, 7, Gothatuwa New Town

Amali Rajakaruna, 13, Mawanella

Thisaruni Thalawgama, 11, Angoda

R.M.N.A. Weerakoon, 13, Kolonnawa

S.N. Wickramathunga, 10, Rafagiriya

ZIMBABWE

Peter Nkomo, 17, Dete

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