By Bailey Smith
Anyone can recite a poem, but it takes a special kind of person to deliver it with the emotion capable of moving an entire crowd. On January 23rd, MHS saw this strength perfectly highlighted at their school level Poetry Out Loud contest.
Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation competition started in 2005, that aims to build community and connection through literary exploration, public speaking, and overall raising teen confidence. MHS is proud to call this contest of delivery an annual tradition, and although this year would prove slightly different from the last, in the sense that very few upperclassmen took part in the event, we still saw the same bright light that the contestants never fail to bring to the table.
The contest kicked off shortly after the start of the school day, with the introduction of the judges panel, organizers, and involved teachers. The nine competitors from both Mrs. Stetson’s freshmen class and Mrs. Schneider’s sophomore sat lined up in the first few rows of chairs, with many of their peers in the audience, occupying the seats behind them. The order was then determined by drawing place numbers from a hat, and to sophomore Eva Welsh’s shock, she would be the brave teen to kick off the competition.
Following Welsh’s well-delivered recitation of “The Spirit is to Blunt an Instrument” by Anne Stevenson, came Galilea Salazar’s powerful performance of “Advice to a Prophet”, and then Alicia King’s short-and-sweet rendition of “Acquainted With The Night”. The advancement of the contest brought other talented students into the light, with sophomore Lily Morita’s recitation of “Suppose”, and freshman Phoebe Jessen’s touching performance of “Eagle Poem”, being two that especially stood out. With the conclusion of freshmen Danielle Gerhart’s reading of “Candles”, the room sat in anticipation, eager to hear the results.
Giving the judges time to discuss amongst themselves, a county Poetry Out Loud organizer then gave a brief announcement on the Youth Poet Laureate Program, informing the crowd of the application that is now open to students.
Finally, the big moment had arrived and the judges were ready to announce their decisions on the winners of the contest. To everyone’s amazement, the top three competitors each scored one point away from one another. Galilea Salazar was awarded third place, Lily Morita second, and at last, freshman Phoebe Jessen was declared the winner of the competition.
In a brief interview, Jessen explains her reasoning for her choice of “Eagle Poem”, saying:
“It was about nature, and I like poems about that. I just connected with it”.
When asked about her win, the champion freshmen also shares:
“I could not believe it, I did not think I was going to win, honestly. I was really surprised”.
Along with their cash prizes, Jessen and the runners up are invited to advance to the county competition on February 1st, where Lake County plans to see the brave teens from various high schools battle for the chance to proceed to state.
MHS hopes to see the participation of more upperclassmen in next year's Poetry Out Loud event, for although it is not a class requirement, the competition holds so much potential for budding performers and the artistic mind as a whole.
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