$15K on the Line in WHS Poetry Oration Contest

Under most circumstances, a poetry night by any other name would be just as enjoyable, although 10 Winnacunnet High School students have a chance Thursday to get more than just an emotional response out of their orations.

On Thursday night, WHS will host its annual Poetry Out Loud Competition, a popular event held at the school since 2005 as a way for teen writers, public speakers, beatniks and aspiring artists to put their skills to the test for a shot at $15,000 in scholarship money and a chance to get to the national contest.

This year's competitors look to be the first to take the road not taken, as no Winnacunnet student has ever advanced to the national stage.

Local contest co-coordinator Kit Rodgers, a WHS English and theater teacher, said a student has made it to the state competition, though, and from what Rodgers has seen so far she said some of the students have the one thing that has made all the difference for past state winners.

"I think they’re all very enthusiastic," she said. "There are a couple really going above and beyond by asking for a little extra help in preparing. I’m really looking forward to it. I think it's going to be really a talented bunch with a lot of creativity and practice, which is always the key."

Poetry Out Loud is a national recitation competition sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. The contest focuses on exposing students to poetry and helping them build self-confidence and public speaking skills, according to Poetry Out Loud website.

Rodgers and Ann Persechino, a WHS English teacher, are coordinating the local branch of the competition, which begins at 7 p.m. Thursday in the school's auditorium and is sponsored by the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.

Each student will recite two poems Thursday from a list of allowed traditional and modern works and will be judged by three local poetry experts on a variety of criteria, including stage presence, clarity of the recitation and, most importantly, "how they communicate the meaning of the poem," said Rodgers.

"That's the ultimate goal — for them to truly communicate the underlying meaning, which is hard to do," she said. "Poetry is something most of us ponder for a while."

Roughly 150 people are expected to watch Thursday as the students, who each had to qualify by winning a poetry recitation contest in their classroom, display their skills.

The top two students will each be offered a $15,000 scholarship to New England College, and the winner will move on to the regional competition in Rochester.

From there, Rodgers said hard work and passion could pay off and carry the winner to the state and even the national — held in Washington, D.C. — rounds.

Rodgers said she's still "building up the importance" of the competition because many in the community "don't realize how big it is," although she said the school has been buzzing about Thursday's contest for weeks.

"It provides a lot of scholarship money," said Rodgers, adding that stakes and prizes get even higher as the various rounds progress. "It’s a good deal... Even if we don't make it to the state level, the benefits to students are immeasurable. It's only to one college, but still, for a student struggling to pay for college, that's a big deal."

More information about the national Poetry Out Loud competition and its various local qualifiers is available here.