Students from Athens Drive High School partake in “Poetry Out Loud” for a chance to climb the ladder to the national competition where the winning prize is 20,000.
“Poetry Out Loud” is a competition where students from grade 9-12 with the exception of eighth grade students taking 9-12 grade classes. These students recite poems in front of an audience. “Poetry Out Loud” is all across the United States hosting smaller competitions in their state which the winners will climb the ladder to the finals.
Students gathered in the library during A and B lunch Nov. 13. They had to not only recite, but to express and act out the emotions or feelings the poem portrayed. The competition at Athens Drive High School was hosted this year by Jennifer Lowry. Jennifer Lowry is one of the literacy teachers at Athens Drive.
One of the students that participated was Natalie Ndiforamang, sophomore.
She described the competition as “Nerve-racking”. She also had said “I just felt very nervous, but kind of passionate…”
The competition is very strict and has certain rules you must follow. For example there is many criteria for your poem including that it needs 25 or fewer lines to qualify. And must also be memorized.
The competition starts at schools and goes onto districts. Following the district competition is the state competition. Lastly, the finals were the winners from all the states will showdown. There is a prize for the top 12 people. First place wins 20,000 dollars, second place wins 10,000 dollars, third place wins 5,000 dollars and the remaining fourth to twelfth place wins 1,000 dollars.
