SHS student heading to state finals for poetry competition

Some would say Ellie Wise becomes the poem.

Her stature, movements, facial expressions and voice encourage each syllable, rhythm and pause toward meaning and emotion.

A goal of recitation is conveyance without distraction; the performer fades away until the poem sharpens into focus.

At the Northwest Regional Poetry Out Loud competition on Tuesday, the clarity of two poems stood out among the rest. Wise gave them life, said Becky Dartnall, Wise’s English teacher and coordinator for Poetry Out Loud at SHS.

Competing against representatives from six other schools within the region, the Stanwood High School (SHS) senior delivered “stellar performances in front of serious judges,” said Dartnall.

Four judges, from poetry festival directors and dramatists to educators and writers, scored each student on two poems, a modern selection and one written prior to the 20th century, said Dartnall.

With her first place finish, Wise will compete in the state finals at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma in early March. The winner will earn an all-expenses-paid trip to nationals in Washington D.C., April 25-27.

“Ellie was terribly excited and modest when she heard the results,” said Dartnall. “She felt like she rushed one performance, but her accuracy scores were perfect.”

For her modern poem, Wise recited “Learning to Love America,” by Shirley Geok-Lin Lim, the same performance that gave her top honors at SHS’s competition. For her second performance, Wise recited Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem “Grief.”

After the event, Wise was able to meet and have a picture taken with Sam Green, Washington state’s poet laureate.

This is the first year SHS has participated in the Poetry Out Loud competition.

“Ellie is putting SHS on the map,” said Dartnall.

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