Poetry celebrated at SHS

Ellie Wise reacts to her first place finish at SHS’s Poetry Out Loud competition. She earned the right to participate in a regional competition at Skagit Valley Community College on Monday. PHOTO BY ADAM STEWART | STANWOOD/CAMANO NEWS Palms become sweaty, heartbeat increases, mind goes blank, body freezes — to stand in front of a crowd is difficult.

To recite a poem from memory is even tougher.

Sixteen finalists at Stanwood High School (SHS) faced the challenge during the first annual Poetry Out Loud competition last Friday.

It wasn’t just a way to get out of fifth period.

Students earned the right to participate by competing in a preliminary round through their respective English classes, said Becky Dartnall, volunteer organizer and English teacher at SHS.

“It is quite an accomplishment for the students here today,” she said.

Poetry Out Loud is a national recitation competition sponsored by the National Endowment of the Arts and the Poetry Foundation with more than 300,000 students participating annually.

Dartnall was inspired to bring the competition to SHS while attending a workshop supported by the Washington State Arts Commission.

She approached fellow teachers in the English department with the idea as a way to encourage students to learn about poetry and develop recitation skills.

By incorporating the competition in classroom curriculum, students are given the opportunity to build public speaking skills, develop selfconfidence and learn about literature through memorization and performance.

“With the success of our Poetry Slam in June,” said Dartnall, “We knew we could do more to promote the enduring value of poetry.”

Five volunteer judges rated the participants on physical presence, voice and articulation, appropriateness of dramatization, level of difficulty, evidence of understanding, overall performance and accuracy.

Senior Ellie Wise won the competition with her recital of “Learning to Love America,” by Shirley Geok- Lin Lim.

With her win, Wise will compete with other finalists in the region at Skagit Valley Community College. The winner of the regional competition will move onto the state finals in March.

At the finals, a representative from the state will be chosen to attend the national competition in Washington D.C. in April.

Freshman Brianna Bowles was first runner-up with her reading of “We Wear the Mask,” by Paul Dunbar.

Second runner-up was Wolde Brown, sophomore, with his performance of “Dream Song 14,” by John Berryman.

Highlighting the significance of poetry as a way to understand life, SHS English teacher Ella Blackwood captured the audience’s attention with a reading of Karl Shapiro’s poem “Auto Wreck” in honor of former SHS student Mason Derrick, who died in December as a result of a car accident.

“We read poems, we write poems,” said Blackwood, “for a lot of different reasons. This one’s for Mason.”

Staff Reporter Adam Stewart: 629-8066 ext. 115 or astewart@scnews.com.