ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Jhoom Jain recites a poem called “The Ocean” in the Poetry Out Loud competition at Saugus High School.
By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
SAUGUS — The winner of Saugus High School’s Poetry Out Loud competition, a national poetry recitation contest, will be revealed today.
More than 25 sophomores, juniors and seniors faced off Wednesday afternoon, performing everything from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Ocean” to “Famous” by Naomi Shihab Nye.
“This is our sixth year so we get to see kids grow as students and become more confident,” said English teacher Michelle Lee. “We encourage them to pick a poem that speaks to them in some way and piques their interest. It’s nice because it shows us an aspect of their person that we don’t typically get to see.”
The poems were recited in front of a panel of judges; English teachers Lee and Robert Breau, and school librarian Kate Payne. Brendon Sullivan, director of humanities, served as an accuracy judge.
Two students, Colette Webster and Rachel Virgin, chose “Cartoon Physics Part 1” by Nick Flynn, a poem about the innocence of a child who enters the adult world and is faced with reality.
Nathaniel Igoe, a junior, said he was initially attracted to the competition for the offer of extra credit for participating. Then he realized that there was an incentive for doing well.
“The prize at the national competition is $20,000,” he said. “It would really help my family out; my family is having a hard time right now.”
Igoe recited “In Praise of Pain” by Heather McHugh and said he did a lot of research about the poem’s analysis to ensure he could do it justice with his performance.
Junior Hayden Costa said the event is beneficial for improving public speaking skills. He argued that if it were really about the poetry, students would recite their own work.
Saugus High’s winner will move on to a regional, semifinal competition on Saturday and Sunday, March 4-5. Semifinal winners will compete in the state finals on March 12 at the Old South Meeting House at 310 Washington St. in Boston.
State finalists will vie for the chance to travel to Washington, D.C. for the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. First-place winners of the national competition receive a $20,000 prize. The second-place prize is $10,000, third place is $5,000 and the six remaining finalists will each receive $1,000.
The annual contest is sponsored by Huntington Theatre Company, The National Endowment For The Arts, The Poetry Foundation and The Massachusetts Cultural Council.
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Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.