The annual PRHS Poetry out Loud (POL) competition took place on Tuesday, Jan. 27, in the performing arts center, hosting 15 competitors and three top finishers. This event is organized by the Creative Writing Club (CWC) every January to participate in the national Poetry Out Loud recitation contest that has lasted since 2005. With help from English teacher Heidi Harkey, co-presidents of CWC and seniors Aster Watson and Aislynn Gilmore-Wiley emceed this event from 4:30-6:00pm.
Third place went to freshman AnnElise Lambeth, second to sophomore Loren Turton, and first place was freshman Charlotte Bailey.
Participants were evaluated in five categories: physical presence, voice and articulation, interpretation, evidence of understanding, and overall performance. Members of the PRHS English department Charlotte Reid, Sarahi Garcia Carillo, Aiden Evans, and Morgan Couture judged the contestants, while Joy Raithel served as the accuracy judge.
“It felt really personal because there were only a couple people in the audience and the judges were close to you. It felt like a family gathering more than a competition,” Bailey said.
Students are required to select a poem from the official POL website to compete with, but this year’s selection was different from ones in the past. In celebration of America’s upcoming 250th birthday this July, the options were narrowed down to poems that “celebrate the rich tapestry of American history and culture,” according to poetryoutloud.org.
Following this theme, Lambeth performed “It Was Not Fate” by William A.H. Moore, an emotional poem detailing how taking accountability for one’s actions leads to an eventual fate, and won third place. Turton won second place with his recitation of “The Debt” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, which highlights how one impulsive action can lead to negative long-term consequences. First place was Bailey, whose performance of “Militants to Certain Other Women” by Katharine Rolston Fisher captivated the crowd and judges with her interpretation of the poem’s message about women’s suffrage.
“It’s a poem that’s really heavily about feminism and getting people to join the movement. I thought that was really powerful because I’m a firm believer in feminism and I feel like it’s really important, especially now, to be aware of those kinds of things,” Bailey said.
After winning at the school-wide level, Bailey progressed to the San Luis Obispo county competition on Saturday, Jan. 31 and competed against six other students from five schools around the county. She won with her recitation of “Before a Painting” by James Weldon Johnson in addition to her original selection of “Militants to Certain Other Women”. Next, Bailey will be competing at the California State Championship in Sacramento on March 8 and 9 with the possibility of eventually going to nationals in Washington, DC. At the national ranks, there is opportunity to win scholarships ranging from $1,000-$20,000 from placing in top spots.
While Bailey originally decided to join the POL competition for extra credit in her English class, she ended up loving the atmosphere and plans to continue pursuing this hobby in the future.
“I’ve learned that it really has to come from the heart, you have to know what the poem’s about and feel it in your soul because you’re not going to be able to do it effectively otherwise,”
Bailey said.
The POL competition often coincides with many PRHS’s English teachers’ poetry units, allowing students to implement their classroom learning on the stage. Beyond the competition aspect, this unique artistic event presents an occasion for reflection on deeper themes through the medium of spoken and written poetry.
“It’s an opportunity to set time aside to have that connection with poetry that you wouldn’t have otherwise and learn how to appreciate the things that poetry offers, like the ability to convey emotion in ways that classic literature sometimes can’t,” Watson said.
