Poetry Out Loud [Its Beginnings – With No End in Sight]
By Karilea Rilling Jungel
It is not
recent, this practice of reciting poetry. We learn it from our parents’ knees;
from our first years in school reciting the National Anthem. But how old is
poetry, really? If you have a young person in your home, share this little fact
with them: Poetry is as old as – gasp – the very first Olympics! There was a
day in ancient Greece that poetry and sport went hand in hand at athletic
festivals and sportsmanship. Poets sang the praises of the champions, and
oftentimes poets competed in their own official events.
“The ancient Greeks very much sought
perfection in the body and the intellect – they saw it totally connected.” –
Tony Perrottet (2004)
However, poetry’s connection with
the Olympic games waned after 1948. Then around some twenty years ago the
(age-old) question was going around (again) “Is poetry dead?”
The answer to that question is a
resounding “No!” And…writing poetry is not just for girls, either. Boys,
whether they admit it or not, enjoy reading and writing poetry. This, I know.
I’ve been the recipient of poetry from my grandchildren.
Poetry Out Loud
People like Garrison Keillor,
[Prairie Home Companion; author of “Lake
Woebegone” and other books] promotes “The Writer’s Almanac” and shares a
special poem every day in addition to writing historical insights on people,
places and things, and has done so for several years now. Poetry Out Loud has
been in existence for only ten years, a national program that is open to high
school students, and initiated by the National Endowment for the Arts and the
Poetry Foundation. As a scholarship program, it encourages young people to
learn great poetry through memorization and recitation – embodying the poetry
and bringing it once again to life, as the authors had once imagined it might
do one day.
There is a specific rubric used by
the judges that incorporate six levels from Weak to Outstanding in performance,
with emphasis on physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic
appropriateness, level of (the poem’s) complexity, evidence of understanding,
and overall performance. These ratings, taken in conjunction with the ratings
performed by an accuracy judge combine to give a balanced score and oftentimes,
the scores are very close.
Salina South High School
Three students from Salina South High School
competed against one another on January 8. They were Alexcis Barnes, a junior,
reciting “A Poison Tree” by William Blake and “Mourning Poem for the Queen of
Sunday” by Robert Hayden. Nathan Endreshek, a junior, recited “Invictus” by
William Ernest Henley and “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Sophomore
Shantell Mogollon’s first recitation was Lord Byron’s epic poem “She Walks in
Beauty,” and followed it up with “Grief” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Shantell Mogollon is proceeding to Regionals.
 |
Salina South High Students, Salina
Center top: Alexcis Barnes, Jr.
Bottom L-R: Shantelle Mogolloon, Soph., Nathan
Endreschek, Jr.
(Photo by K.R. Jungel) |
Alexcis Barnes indicated that “I
just liked the style of poetry; it was darker and more complex. I’ve been
writing poetry since my freshman year. Mrs. (Jody) Eves (Debate/Forensics)
suggested that I might want to compete in this since I’m in Debate and Forensics.”
Nathan Endreshek chose his pieces
for good reason. “In my AP World History class, I was introduced to this
historical period in time, and “Ozymandias” had a lot of meaning to it; even
though I am not into free verse. I have also been in some theatrical
productions since my freshman year.”
Shantelle Mogolloon explained that
her choices were by accident. “I stumbled on these pieces in English class and
really liked the comparisons. But ‘Grief’ took on a very personal and dark
meaning to me.”
Salina Central High School
Two polished students from Salina Central High
School competed just days before the Regional competition. Hannah Janzen chose
“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth and “Their Bodies” by
David Wagoner. Chally Miller picked “Echo” by Christina Georgina Rossetti and
“Enough” by Suzanne Buffam. Hannah Janzen is proceeding on to Regionals.
Chally Miller,
Sophomore, wants to major in Psychiatry, and took time to share with me that
she is “In theater and forensics and saw this opportunity as good for me in
forensics. To practice, I use my mirror and repeat my poems over and over –
especially practicing my enunciation. The moral of my choices deal with
feminism and how it is seen in society.”
.jpg) |
Salina Central High Students
L-R
Hannah Janzen, Soph., Chally Miller, Soph.
(Photo by K.R. Jungel)
|
Hannah Janzen,
Sophomore, looks forward to being a biochemist major, and began studying
forensics just this year. “I love poetry and speaking; public speaking is
always important in the world and one can appreciate the beauty of language in
their world. It allows me to express myself more eloquently.”
Solomon High School
Four students from Solomon High School took
part on December 8, 2014, in their first ever competition for Poetry Out Loud.
Kristen Tetters read “All Hallows’ Eve” by Dorothea Tanning; Katie Daily
recited “Dirge in Woods” by George Meredith; Alexia Maddy’s choice was “Catch a
Little Rhyme: by Eve Marriam and Shaelynn Cross recited “The New Colossus” by
Emma Lazarus.
 |
Solomon High School Students
L-R Kristen Teeters, Soph., Katie Daily, Fr.,
Alexia Maddy, Fr., & Shaelynn Cross, Fr.
(Photo by Mrs. Olga Silverman)
|
Shaelynn Cross won the right to
represent Solomon High School at Regionals. The poems she will deliver on
Sunday, February 18, will be “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, and “The Film”
by Kate Northrop.
 |
Shaelynn Cross, Fr., Solomon High School
|
December through February …
Between December and February for
the past ten years, high school classes around the nation have embraced this
form of teaching speech, memorization and recitation; first by competition at
the high school level and then again at Regionals, all in the hope of a
potential scholarship, and sometimes there is a more personal reason.
By March 1, 2015 in Salina Kansas,
seven regions will have one student from each region poised for the State
competition which will be held at 2:00 p.m. at the Salina Community Theater
within the Sunflower Financial Theater.
Judges for the Kansas State
Competition include: Wyatt Townley, current Kansas Poet Laureate; Andy
Anderson, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Johnson County Community
College; Suzanne E. Myers-Ortel, Kansas State Dept. of Education Literary
Consultant; and Ruth Moritz, KSU-Salina, Salina Public Library Spring Poetry
Series Director.
In the last nine years, the State
competition has been held in Lawrence, Kansas. This is the first (and hopefully
not last) year that the State finals will be held in Salina. There is no charge
to attend. Please be part of the audience!
… Lead to April
Along comes spring and April, known
as Poetry month, when the 10th Annual Poetry Out Loud National
Finals will take place on the 28th and 29th of 2015, at
the Lisner Auditorium, George Washington University in Washington, DC. The
winner of the state contest will represent Kansas at the national competition
to be held in Washington, D.C., arriving in D.C. on the 27th. In addition to receiving an all-expense-paid
trip (with an adult chaperone) the winner receives $200. The state winner’s
school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. One
runner-up in each state will receive $100; his or her school will receive $200
for the purchase of poetry books.
A total of $50,000 in awards and
school stipends will be given at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, including
a $20,000 award for the National Champion.
If you, as a parent, aunt, uncle,
grandparent or guardian haven’t been aware of this outlet for your child, please
call your school. Students, if you wish to participate, show this to your
teacher. Grandparents, if you, as the wise one in your family know of a child,
any child, who might benefit from such an experience, well you already know
what to do. The gift of poetry and memorization is ours to pass on to others.
So do it, pass it on…it’s just that easy. That’s how stories, and poetry, will
stay in our and your children’s lives.
Links to view for videos and further
information include the following:
Kansas Regions include:
Region 1 Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson,
Leavenworth, Lyon, Marshall, Nemaha, Osage, Pottawatomie, Riley, Shawnee,
Wabaunsee.
Region 2 Chase, Clay, Cloud,
Dickinson, Ellsworth, Geary, Jewell, Lincoln, Marion, McPherson, Mitchell,
Morris, Ottawa, Republic, Saline, Washington.
Region 3 Cheyenne, Decatur, Ellis, Gove, Graham, Logan, Norton,
Osborne, Phillips, Rawlins, Rooks, Russell, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Thomas,
Trego, Wallace
Region 4 Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Coffey,
Crawford, Elk, Franklin, Greenwood, Labette, Linn, Miami, Montgomery, Neosho,
Wilson, Woodson
Region 5 Barber, Barton,
Butler, Comanche, Cowley, Edwards, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Kiowa, Pawnee,
Pratt, Reno, Rice, Rush, Sedgwick, Stafford, Sumner
Region 6 Clark, Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton,
Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearny, Lane, Meade, Morton, Ness, Scott, Seward, Stanton,
Stevens, Wichita
Region 7 Johnson, Wyandotte
Keep up-to-date with everything Salina with the Salina Kansas app.
GET The Free Mobile App HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment