You take a deep breath and mentally rehearse your lines. Imagining the words of one of your favorite poems, you feel your emotion take over and before you know it, applause erupts in the audience. Poetry Out Loud is an opportunity to see your peers express themselves through the reciting of a poem. The 2019 school competition took place on January 8th. Connecting their words to body language, each competitor gives their interpretation of the poem they chose to recite. Whether they pop the collar on their leather jacket or vary their tone of expression, each student personalizes their presentation to show what the poem means to them.

The Poetry Out Loud competitions are annual, so make sure to keep an eye out for announcements next year. Poems must be chosen from the Poetry Out Loud anthology whether it be from the online or print version. Participating is a great way to get out of your comfort zone, make friends, and gain new strengths. Ms. Maloy is over the competition and states that  “Poetry Out Loud is a great opportunity for students to enjoy and relate to poetry… each word is important in a poem.” If you have any questions you can reach her at [email protected] or go to www.poetryoutloud.org.

JP Maendl, who is also the captain of the slam poetry team, has some advice for future competitors “…know the meaning in each line, the intent behind every word, the emotions carried throughout, know what the poem means to you and share that with the audience.” With his reciting of “Mr. Darcy” and “On Quitting,” Maendl won first place in the school competition and will be moving onto regionals. This will be held at Herriman High on February 23, 2019 at 10 a.m. All students are welcome to be a part of the audience!