Smith wins
school Poetry Out Loud contest
PRESQUE ISLE – Kent Smith, a junior at Presque Isle High School, was recently named the school winner of the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. He will now advance to the regional competition Feb. 17 at the Grande Theater in Ellsworth.
The competition, presented in partnership with the Maine Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance and competition.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
PRESQUE ISLE HIGH SCHOOL junior Kent Smith recently won the school’s Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. PIHS students recited works they selected from an anthology of more than 600 classic and contemporary poems, and were judged on articulation, evidence of understanding, level of difficulty, and accuracy. Smith will now advance to the regional competition Feb. 17 at the Grande Theater in Ellsworth.
At PIHS, students recited works they selected from an anthology of more than 600 classic and contemporary poems. The three judges – Scott Johnson, Martha LaPointe and Joe Zubrick – evaluated student performances on criteria including articulation, evidence of understanding, level of difficulty, and accuracy.
“This is my second year competing in the contest,” said Smith, 16. “I find that through Poetry Out Loud, I’ve generated a much greater appreciation for poems and written language in general. Poetry becomes much more valuable when read aloud; the imagery awakens fully only when the words are graced with inflection and emotion. I just found competing in the competition enlightening and enjoyable.”
Smith said the three poems he chose to recite “demonstrated different moods and styles.”
“I chose ‘Insomnia’ by Dana Gioia because it lent itself to introspection and darker delivery, ‘A Dream Within a Dream’ by Edgar Allan Poe because I’ve always been a fan of Poe, and this poem included such emotion that I knew the delivery would have to be powerful, and ‘Cartoon Physics, Part I’ by Nick Flynn,” he said.
“Upon first reading this quirky poem, I really couldn’t resist it,” said Smith. “This was a poem that I knew and acknowledged that it was pretty ridiculous, and I respect that.”
Having participated in plays both at the middle and high school levels, Smith said it wasn’t too difficult memorizing the poems.
“I devoted more effort and time to get to the bottom of the poems and discover the author’s true intentions. Whether through biographical research or practicing inflection and different manners of recitation,” he said, “I wanted to make sure I could channel what the author was thinking.”
A runner-up in last year’s competition, Smith said he was “pretty surprised to find out” he had won.
“I didn’t really expect to win,” he said. “I participated mostly for the enjoyment.”
Looking ahead to regionals, Smith said he expects some tough competition.
“There’ll be over 20 contestants reciting poems in Ellsworth that day, all who won their school competition,” he said, noting that he will recite the same poems that helped him win the school contest. “That being said, I’m as excited to hear the other poems as I am to compete. It’s certainly not an everyday experience.”
For anyone not well versed in poetry, Smith has some simple advice.
“Give poetry a chance,” he said. “It’s worth it.”
Each champion at the state level will receive $200 and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete for the national championship in April. The school of the state champion will receive $500 for the purchase of poetry books.
According to the Poetry Out Loud website, the program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.
To learn more about the Maine Poetry Out Loud contest, contact John Holdridge from the Maine Arts Commission or visit www.poetryoutloud.org.
