RHYMING WITH A REASON
Students from across region take part in poetry contest
TROY >> High school students from across the Capital Region put their recitation skills to the test Monday during a New York State Poetry Out Loud regional competition Monday at Hudson Valley Community College.
Maggie Farr from Saratoga Springs High School won the competition. She will move on to the state finals competition March 14 in Syracuse. If she wins there, she moves on to the national finals in May in Washington.
Farr recited “To Luck” by W.S Merwin to win the competition.
“I am really excited to have won especially since all of my competitors did a really good job too,” said Farr. “I’m just excited to move onto to the next step.”
That next step for Farr will be to compete in the States Finals competition on March 14 in Syracuse and then hopefully onto the National Finals in Washington in May.
Poetry Out Loud is a national recitation contest for high school students, created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Students perform their interpretations of works they’ve chosen from a diverse list of more than 800 poems. The winner and runner-up selected at this regional event will compete at the state finals.
Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure that starts at the classroom level. Winners advance to a schoolwide competition, then to a regional and/ or state competition, and ultimately to the national finals in Washington D.C.
Sixteen students from different high schools throughout the region participated in Monday’s event at HVCC.
“The competition is really interesting and it is fun to watch the students memorize and recite all of the different poems
that they choose,” said Eric Bryant, the assistant communications director at HVCC.
The regional competition had three judges watching how each student performs and recites each poem. The competition had hree rounds, each student had the chance to recite two poems each, and six finalists were then chosen for the final round. The judges were looking for the students’ overall physical presence, voice, accuracy and overall performance.
“I think that this competition is a great opportunity for all these students to practice the loss art of memorization and to also improve their public speaking skills,” said Scott Hath- away, an associate English professor at HVCC and the emcee for the regional competition.
Over the past 11 years, Poetry Out Loud has reached millions of students across different states. Each winner at the state level re- ceives $200 and an all- expenses-paid trip with an adult chaperone to Washington to compete for the national championship. The state winner’s school receives a $ 500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The first runner-up in each state receives $100, with $200 for his or her school library.
A total of $ 50,000 in awards and school stipends is awarded annually at the National Finals.
The students enjoyed going up on stage and reciting different poetry that they enjoy themselves. “I enjoyed being able to capture the emotions and deliver it to everyone; so that they know how the poetry really makes me feel,” said Serena Gates, representing Lansingburgh High School.
“I love performing, I think that it is a great way to step on stage and to show others how powerful poetry can really be,” said Morgan Hume, also from Lansingburgh High School. “It’s like a rush being up on the stage performing.”