By J1 Student Layla Wilke-Conant

Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation competition where students pick from a compiled list of poems to read aloud. There are works that span from classical to contemporary, and it is an opportunity to broaden one’s knowledge on literature. 

To get involved, Poetry Out Loud coordinator Joshua Brown recommends a student begin by talking with their English teacher and sharing their interest. Then, they will choose their poems, and begin practicing. 

Maddie Smith, Marian senior and past school winner, would scan through the website and go through the various categories. She would narrow them down by finding ones she liked based on her initial gut reactions to them and also off of the memorization needed. She wanted a theme she had a personal connection to.

The program provides coaches that will either meet in person or over zoom to help the student with their piece. “It was helpful to have somebody who knows exactly what judges are looking for and how to make it personalized to me,” Smith said. 

Once prepared, a student will go to the competition which begins at a school level, followed by districts, and then state. 

Candidates are judged based on two criteria. Their performance is looked at, where their body movements and dialect is considered. The other component is accuracy which is based on pronunciation and line breaks. This is also when memorization is essential. 

After state, one student is chosen to go and spend a week in Washington, D.C. to compete with kids across the nation for a $20,000 reward. Brown describes the experience in Washington saying: “They basically hang out all week and, even though they are competitors, everyone has a very fun and familial relationship at the end of it. People really connect.” 

Keeping this in mind, there is not only a prize for the top winner. The runner up will be given $10,000, followed by third place getting $5,000. The fourth through ninth places will each earn $1,000. There is also $200 for each state winner with $100 going to the runner up.

The rewards are not only in money though. Smith recalls how Poetry Out Loud helped her develop her skills as a performer and helped her have a more broad approach to different expressions of art through performance. “Everyone comes from a different place in the state and country to do this, and they each bring a different personalization to their poems.” Smith recommends the program because “it is fun to dive into the poetry and to analyze it for the literary elements and also for the human element you can portray.” It is a school sanctioned event but also lets students explore an extracurricular unlike any class they are enrolled in. “It is a great opportunity to dive into the compassionate, more accepting approach to life that literature brings,” Smith said.

It is not only beneficial for students in their lives now, but also for their future. “It’s a great way for students to be prepared for the rest of their lives… it’s a great opportunity to practice public speaking and a really good chance to work on memorization skills… Most importantly, it gives a wonderful artistic value to start to deeply understand literature and poetry,” Brown said. 

Students must declare their intent to compete in Marian’s contest by Jan. 10, 2024. On this date, a professional poet coach session will be in room 304 where students should have one poem ready. On Jan. 31, 2024, students will compete in the Marian contest where they must have two poems prepared. On Feb. 5, 2024, the school winner will be announced and videos of the second poem recitation must be submitted to the state contest. Following dates can be found on https://www.poetryoutloud.org/.