Delaware’s Dr. JoAnn Balingit receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award for 2023-2024

Wilmington, Del. (June 6, 2023) – The Delaware Division of the Arts is pleased to announce that Dr. JoAnn Balingit has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award in Literature: Creative Writing to the Philippines for the 2023-2024 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Dr. JoAnn Balingit headshot

Dr. JoAnn Balingit served as Delaware’s 16th poet laureate from 2008 to 2015. A poet and essayist, her work has been honored as a 2022 Individual Artist Fellow in Creative Nonfiction from the Delaware Division of the Arts and from the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation. She received a 2021 Pushcart Prize nomination and was featured in Poetry Magazine’s August 2021 Poetry Podcast. Her poems and essays are published widely. 

As an advocate for arts-in-education and community arts access, JoAnn has directed state-wide programs such the Delaware Writing Region of Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for middle school and high school students; led poetry workshops and writing retreats for adults, and has taught poetry writing at the University of Delaware. Dr. Balingit also teaches creative writing classes at New Castle County Libraries for the Creative Aging program, with an emphasis on storytelling through memory work. She has been a coordinator and teaching artist for Delaware’s Poetry Out Loud program for the past 15 years.

“Dr. Balingit is deserving of this prestigious award,” said Governor John Carney. “Throughout her career — and especially during her time as Delaware’s poet laureate — she has shown a passion for sharing creative storytelling with our community. I want to congratulate Dr. Balingit on this achievement and look forward to seeing her future work.”

“Congratulations to Dr. JoAnn Balingit on being awarded the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Dr. Balingit’s selection for this esteemed honor is a testament to her exceptional talent and dedication to the literary arts. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a deep commitment to storytelling and fostering arts-in-education and community arts access. Her contributions as Delaware’s poet laureate and her extensive work in the field exemplify her passion for nurturing the artistic growth of others. We are thrilled for Dr. Balingit and look forward to the valuable cultural exchange and insights she will bring during her Fulbright journey. Congratulations once again on this well-deserved recognition,” said Jessica Ball, Director of the Delaware Division of the Arts.

Dr. Balingit’s project, entitled WHAT WERE the NAMES of the TREES? A Memoir, is a hybrid-genre lyrical work about growing up bi-racial in the American South, and coming of age in the aftermath of the violent loss of her parents. Separated from her eight younger siblings, the lonely teen enters adulthood desperate to belong. During her stay in Pampanga Province, she will seek an understanding of her Filipino family history and the forces that shaped her father’s education and environment as a U.S. colonial subject before he migrated to the United States.

With archival research, interviews, and a fuller view of race and empire, especially as it relates to erased Filipino American history, and diaspora, the mestiza writer traces her parents’ lives and her own path of survival to becoming a writer. Most compellingly, she traces how her attitude toward her mixed identify and her father’s legacy has changed. As a poet who experiences language as the rishest living tie to a silenced history, during this Fulbright grant she will continue to study in depth her father’s native language and culture, Kapampángan.

Dr. JoAnn Balingit is among over 800 U.S. citizens who will teach or conduct research abroad for the 2023-2024 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Fulbrighters engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs, and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad.

As Fulbright Scholar alumni, their careers are enriched by joining a network of thousands of esteemed scholars, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Notable Fulbright alumni include 62 Nobel Prize laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize recipients, 78 MacArthur Fellows, and 41 who have served as a head of state or government. Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 participants from over 160 countries – chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential – with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to challenges facing our communities and our world.

In addition, over 2,000 U.S. students, artists, and early career professionals from all backgrounds in more than 100 different fields of study receive Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards annually to study, teach English, and conduct research overseas.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program. In the United States, the Institute of International Education supports the implementation of the Fulbright U.S. Student and Scholar Programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, including conducting an annual competition for the scholarships.

For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit https://fulbrightprogram.org.

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Contact: Andrew Truscott, Program Officer, Marketing and Communications

302-577-8280, andrew.truscott@delaware.gov

The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.


Delaware Division of the Arts Announces 2022-2023 POETRY OUT LOUD Poetry Recitation Contest

High school students in Delaware invited to compete in national poetry recitation contest

 

Wilmington, Del. (September 23, 2022) – The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation present Poetry Out Loud™ in partnership with Delaware Division of the Arts. This national arts education program encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. This program helps students master public speaking skills and build self-confidence, while also learning more about both classic and contemporary poetry.

From October 2022 to January 2023, schools are invited to hold classroom and school wide contests, with students advancing to a state competition on March 2, 2023 at the Smyrna Opera House in Smyrna, DE. Non-school organizations, such as after school clubs, libraries, or nonprofit organizations, may also choose to run Poetry Out Loud. Students may only compete in one stream—either with their school or an organization. More information is available at PoetryOutLoud.org, including guidelines for conducting the competition in-person or virtually. State champions will advance to the national finals, which will take place in Washington, D.C. in May of 2023, where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed. 

Since the program began in 2005, more than 4.1 million students across the country have participated in Poetry Out Loud.

“We are proud to partner with the Poetry Foundation and the Delaware Division of the Arts to make Poetry Out Loud available to students in Delaware,” said Amy Stolls, National Endowment for the Arts director of Literary Arts. “It is inspiring to see students thrive though this program as they develop a deeper understanding of poetry while building self-confidence.”

“All of the student competitors demonstrate their openness to the power of poetry and their commitment to developing skills that allow them to share that power with those around them,” said Michelle T. Boone, Poetry Foundation president. “The young people involved in Poetry Out Loud are remarkable, and we are honored to be a part of this program.”

“There is no better way for students to discover the power of classic poetry and develop vital presentation and oratory skills than participating in Poetry Out Loud. Given the local recognition for participants and the state and national scholarships  offered Poetry Out Loud is an extremely rewarding opportunity for our students, teachers and schools,” say Delaware’s Poet Laureates Al and Nnamdi Chukwuocha.

As part of Poetry Out Loud, the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation provide free, standards-based curriculum materials—all available online—which teachers may choose to use in their classrooms. These include an online poetry anthology containing more than 1,100 classic and contemporary poems, a teacher’s guide, lesson plans, posters, and video and audio on the art of poetry recitation. Schools are welcome to access these resources at PoetryOutLoud.org.

How to get involved in Poetry Out Loud
High schools and organizations that wish to be part of the official Poetry Out Loud program must register with the Delaware Division of the Arts by October 31, 2022 to participate. The Division will work with interested schools and organizations to include them in the official Poetry Out Loud program. Schools and organizations that are not in the official program may conduct their own contests using the online resources. Contact Sheila Dean Ross at Sheila.Ross@delaware.gov or by phone at 302-577-8286 or visit PoetryOutLoud.org for more information.

Poetry Out Loud awards
Each state champion will receive $200 and will advance to the national championship, where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed, including a $20,000 award for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion. The state champion’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry materials. The first runner-up in each state will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library. The Poetry Foundation provides and administers all aspects of the monetary prizes awarded and travel arrangements for the Poetry Out Loud National Finals. For further information on Poetry Out Loud, visit PoetryOutLoud.org.

About the Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in American culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. The Poetry Foundation seeks to be a leader in shaping a receptive climate for poetry by developing new audiences, creating new avenues for delivery, and encouraging new kinds of poetry through innovative literary prizes and programs.

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Contact: Andrew Truscott, Program Officer, Marketing and Communications

302-577-8280, andrew.truscott@delaware.gov

The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.