Poetry Out Loud Teaches Life Skills, Personal Expression

Following the success of last year's Glasgow High School Poetry Slam event, Desiree Johnson had planned to continue hosting one each year. However, as plans do, that intent changed. Having introduced her students to a deeply personal form of expression, this year's project took a much different format. Johnson found the Poetry Out Loud competition, a program designed to encourage learning about poetry, to grow public speaking skills and self-confidence, and to learn about literary history and contemporary life.

Students were tasked with selecting a poem from the extensive collection on the Poetry Out Loud website, a piece that resonated with them. Students were then to memorize and recite the poem, giving their own interpretation of the poet's words.

After weeks of research and practice, students presented their work in the GHS library Jan. 8, emceed by Luree Green-Chappell and moderated by Heather Losleben-Zeller. A group of four judges, Rachel Sigmundstad, Rachel Pewitt, Kristen Waarvik and Jordan Dunlap graded the performances and awarded the top three performances, based on the standards set by competition guidelines. Dani Grunzwieg served as the accuracy judge.

Garrett Lloyd took top honors with his calm, confident recitation of "300 Goats" by Naomi Shihab Nye, the soothing tone reflecting the zen-like message of the poem. Aurora Chappell, vacillating between calm and excitement, spoke the words of Ed Roberson's poem, "Be Careful", her tone expressing the nature of writing.

Third place was a tie with Ellis McKean and Stephanie Barlow sharing honors. McKean gave a staccato-beat reading of David Ignatow's "I Close My Eyes", reflecting the routine of life depicted in the poem. Barlow's breathy recitation gave wings to Emily Dickinson's ""Hope" is the thing with feathers – (314)."

Lloyd will go on to compete at the state level competition to be held in March, with the hope of moving on to the national level and monetary prizes. Poetry Out Loud reaches over three million students in all states, as well as Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico and is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.