Students perform in Poetry Out Loud school finals
February 26, 2017
Eight students from all grades competed in the Poetry Out Loud school finals in the auditorium on January 31. First place went to junior Kara Hadden, second place went to senior Jen Fox, and third place went to sophomore Giancarlo Coelho. Hadden will be moving on to the state final competition.
The event consisted of two rounds, and each student recited one poem per round. A panel of teachers judged participants on several factors, including accuracy, expression, and recitation skills.
âPoetry is a great way to snapshot an emotion,â Hadden, who will be progressing onto State Regionals on March 4, said.
The auditorium was filled during double sixth period as each participant took their turn at the microphone and recited their poems from memory.
âIt was very exciting,â sophomore Emily Philbrook said. âWe couldnât see the crowd, so you really had to center down and find your poem.â
Participants took great care in selecting the right poems for their performance.
It was very nerve-wracking. But it was fantastic.
— Junior Ethan Ash
Junior Mia DeStefano recited âWritingâ by Nemerov in the first round, and âWar Balladâ by Stanley Moss in the second round.
â[âWar Balladâ] contrasted with my other poem,â DeStefano said. âThat one was very sad, and [âWritingâ] was very reverent of nature and human nature.â
Some students chose poems that meant something to them personally.
Coelho performed âThe Glories of Our Blood and Stateâ by James Shirley in the first round and âAt the Vietnam Memorialâ by George Bilgere in the second.
âMy uncle served in Vietnam,â Coelho said, âand I remember the stories he used to tell. I wanted to chose a poem partially to represent him, and partially as an interesting experience.â
Junior Ethan Ash used the event as a unique opportunity to ask a classmate to prom. He performed an original poem after the competition had ended that gradually revealed clues about who it was about.
Several other students were stationed in the first row to turn around with signs asking the question itself.
âIt took a while. It was very nerve-wracking,â Ash said. âBut it was fantastic.â
According to Ash, the pieces he recited for the competition made him develop a new view on poetry.
âAlthough I wasnât interested in poetry, once I got into the process, I found a couple poems that made me realize there was more [to poetry],â Ash said.