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.

“Poetry is a great way to snapshot an emotion,” 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.

“It was very exciting,” sophomore Emily Philbrook said. “We couldn’t see the crowd, so you really had to center down and find your poem.”

Participants took great care in selecting the right poems for their performance.

Junior Mia DeStefano recited “Writing” by Nemerov in the first round, and “War Ballad” by Stanley Moss in the second round.

“[“War Ballad”] contrasted with my other poem,” DeStefano said. “That one was very sad, and [“Writing”] was very reverent of nature and human nature.”

Some students chose poems that meant something to them personally.

Coelho performed “The Glories of Our Blood and State” by James Shirley in the first round and “At the Vietnam Memorial” by George Bilgere in the second.

“My uncle served in Vietnam,” Coelho said, “and I remember the stories he used to tell. I wanted to chose a poem partially to represent him, and partially as an interesting experience.”

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.

“It took a while. It was very nerve-wracking,” Ash said. “But it was fantastic.”

According to Ash, the pieces he recited for the competition made him develop a new view on poetry.

“Although I wasn’t interested in poetry, once I got into the process, I found a couple poems that made me realize there was more [to poetry],” Ash said.