Poetry came alive in Dodd Banquet Room on Feb. 21 during Darlington’s 3rd Annual Poetry Out Loud event, sponsored by the Upper School English department.
“A poem on the page and a poem spoken out loud are two very different things; we hope that recitation helps our students appreciate the sounds and rhythms of these poems,” said Beth Wilson, chairperson of the English department. “Further, choosing a poem and internalizing it through memorization helps students engage with poetry. We’re not looking to turn everyone into a literature professor; we want them to see that poems are appealing, funny, beautiful, disturbing, or meaningful for all kinds of people.”
More than 150 students participated in the event by memorizing and reciting a poem of their choice in class. The top eight classroom winners were then selected to recite two poems in front of their peers and a panel of judges on Feb. 21. Through this exercise, they were able to learn much more about the work than they would by simply reading it on a page.
“It’s not easy to speak in front of a group, much less to recite a memorized poem,” Wilson said. “Poetry Out Loud participants must not only remember all the words but interpret the poem effectively, all while maintaining a strong physical and vocal presence. It’s great practice for everything from making a senior speech in assembly to presenting a proposal to a business client.”
All selections were chosen from the Poetry Out Loud website, www.poetryoutloud.org.
Freshman Vesper Yun, with her recitations of "Cartoon Physics, part 1" by Nick Flynn and "A Dream Within a Dream" by Edgar Allan Poe, was selected by the audience as the winner of the People’s Choice Award. Sophomore Will Warren earned third place with his recitations of “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost and “A Narrow Fellow in the Grass” by Emily Dickinson. Junior Tanna Key won second with Emily Dickinson’s “’Hope’ is the Thing with Feathers” and “I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain.” Senior Aliya Smith came in first with her recitations of Carl Dennis’ "Candles" and Edward Hirsch’s "Poor Angels."
Smith is eligible to participate in the regional competition at Emory University on March 6. This will be her second trip to the regional competition; in 2009, she placed fifth and qualified to compete at state.
