Freshman Audrey Rich won first place Thursday at Warsaw Community High School’s Poetry Out Loud contest. She advances to state competition Feb. 23 at the Indianapolis Central Public Library. Each champion at the state level receives $200 and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the national championship April 26-27. The state champion’s school receives $500 for the purchase of poetry books. Rich won with the poem “Revenge” by Letitia Elizabeth Landon. According to English teacher Chris Foster, “Revenge” is about a woman scorned and the revenge she seeks. Junior Vanessa Malagon, who advanced to state contest in 2012, took second place at the school contest this year. Freshman Lucas Cone won third place. In an interview this morning, Malagon and Cone discussed the contest. Rich was not available as she was participating in the state theater contest. For the poetry contest, Malagon read “The End of Science Fiction” by Lisel Mueller. “I read every single poem on the website. I feel if I don’t, I’ll miss ‘the one,’” Malagon said. WCHS students recited works they selected from an anthology of more than 600 classic and contemporary poems, according to a press release provided by the Warsaw Community Schools Central Office. Judges evaluated student performances on criteria including articulation, evidence of understanding, level of difficulty and accuracy. Teachers introduced poetry recitation in the classroom using materials created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Materials included a standards-based teacher’s guide, a website, a “best performances” DVD and a CD featuring poetry recitations by well-known actors and writers. Malagon said she chose Mueller’s poem because it stood out to her. It spoke of how society doesn’t emphasize the important things in life. It also relates to mythology. “I feel every year it gets harder. Our school is getting better on focusing on Poetry Out Loud and this year definitely was the hardest one,” Malagon said. Having advanced to state last year, and won in other competitions like National History Day, Malagon said she was disappointed she did not place first this year. However, she was happy for Rich. At the Indiana competition, Malagon said Rich can expect a lot of heavy competition. It’s intense and competitors aren’t there because they have to be, they’re there because they want to be. Many of the competitors will be juniors and seniors who already have previous experience and “put their hearts and souls into it,” she said. If Rich chooses three really good poems, like “Revenge,” Malagon said she will do OK. “I’d never done any poetry contests before or anything so I didn’t know what to expect,” Cone said. He said he didn’t put too much effort into it, but went to the contest to listen to some good poetry. He said he was happy to get third place. Foster said even though Cone placed third, a judge said Cone “set the bar for everyone else.” At first, Foster said Cone chose an easy poem. After watching some of the other students in class read their poems, however, she said Cone chose a more difficult poem to read. Cone said he chose “Beautiful Wreckage” by W.D. Ehrhart because, “I feel like it hits you on a more emotional level. As humans, we want everyone around us to feel what we feel. This poem makes you feel on an emotional level with the poet.” Foster said Ehrhart’s poem is about a soldier in the Vietnam War and his sense of loss. “It’s very provocative,” she said. “Next year, I think I will definitely participate after this first taste of Poetry Out Loud, and we’ll see what happens,” Cone said. Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering educational materials and a recitation competition to high schools across the country, according to the press release. The contest begins at the classroom level, with winners advancing to a schoolwide competition, then to state, and finally to nationals. Nearly 70 students from WCHS participated in the contest Thursday in the school’s performing arts center. Nearly 300,000 students across the country took part in Poetry Out Loud in 2011-12, according to the release. For more information about the contest, visit the website www.poetryoutloud.org
