For the first time, Enochs High School will be holding a Poetry Out Loud competition. Many of you probably saw the presentation urging you to participate in your English class last semester. And for the 27 students who decided to listen and join, the big day is today! So here’s everything you need to know about what it is, why it’s here, and why even have it?
Poetry Out Loud is not a poetry slam (which Enochs will also be having soon!), as the name may suggest. It’s a poetry recitation competition. That means, contestants must stand in front of the judges and perform their chosen poems based on the meaning and their interpretation. So it may look like a slam, but none of the poems performed were actually written by the students performing them. Some poems were actually written over 100 years ago! The selection of poems had only 2 requirements; 1 had to be written Pre-20th century, and 1 had to be 25 lines or fewer. Then when performing, contestants are judged based on their memorization, physical presence, articulation, and interpretation. That’s why it has the same appearance as a slam; lots of movement and expression in the poetry. This year’s competition will be the 20 year anniversary of the nationwide event funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. According to their website, “Poetry Out Loud takes place in all 50 states, American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.” This has given access to over 4.4 million students to participate from 20,000 different schools.
Anah Khan ’25 wrote in an email, “After the Poetry Slam my junior year, when I saw this opportunity, I knew I had to try it out. I’m super excited for the contest and can’t wait to see how it turns out!”
This artistic opportunity is so important for a multitude of reasons. As Poetry Out Loud states, “poetry recitation… [helps] to improve their public speaking skills, help build confidence, and teach them about literary history and contemporary life.” This gives young artists the practice of performing poetry, this gives young debaters confidence to present in front of an audience, this gives young students a lens into historical and modern literature. That is why it’s so exciting that the Poetry Out Loud premier at Enochs has been so widespread, with at least 1 contestant from each grade level. This becomes even more impressive that, thanks to the help and guidance of Mrs. McCarthy, there have been 8 practices since December 6th. This translates to about 8 hours of students’ own lunch time they volunteered in order to participate in this competition. All that hard work and dedication becomes a beautiful performance today!
Wednesday, January 22nd (A.K.A, today!) is the day of Enochs’ qualifier competition. Immediately after school, all 27 participants will come together in the Library Reference room and perform their selected poem in front of familiar faces. Then the top 7 performers will go on to the county competition on Thursday, February 6. This competition is where cash prizes come into the picture! The winner receives $100 along with a ticket to the state competition. In March, the state winners then proceed to the final round in Washington D.C. This national event results in $50,000 total prizes awarded, the largest a $20,000 sum. All these prizes and trips are to compensate for the hours of practice, performing, and trial and error. So from the Enochs Eagle Eye, we wish all Enochs performers good luck and to just have fun!
