I’m sure everybody was stoked for Galway’s Poetry Out Loud Competition. If you don’t know what that is, an individual recited two poems from memory. They were graded by their accuracy of memorizing the poem to the best of their ability. It was also encouraged to add emotion to the recitation. This took place in the Ms. Booth’s room after school on Thursday, December 7th. It was a great time and many people came to listen in on some really cool poems. We interviewed some of the contestants beforehand to learn more about their poems and how they were feeling prior to the competition:

Jon Fajans:

Are you nervous for the competition?  ~Not really. I have to memorize whole plays, so memorizing two short poems isn’t too bad. Extra credit for poetry? Sounds good to me.

Do you have any goals such as winning? ~I wouldn’t mind winning. Getting an Amazon gift card  would be pretty cool.

What poems will you be reciting? ~I’ll be reciting “In Flanders Fields” and “Invictus.”  

Joshua Rumsey ( “This Week In Galway” co-writer):

Why are you participating in this year’s Poetry Out Loud Competition? ~Well, when Mrs. O told us it would give me extra credit, I was like: “Woah dude, that might fix my 37 average in that  class.”  (Mrs. O commented, “Josh is doing well in class and definitely doesn’t need the extra credit, although I’m very happy he decided to compete!”)

Do you feel confident about your poems? ~Oh yeah sure, I mean I found my second poem the day before the competition… I work the best when I wing everything (hopefully).

How often do you read poems? ~Hah! Good one.

Hannah Thompson:

How long have you been practicing your poems? ~Since we’ve had the in-class read through, I’ve had the poems picked out. However I didn’t really start memorizing or working on them until this week to be completely honest.

Can you tell us a little bit about the poems you are reciting? ~I’m reciting poems called “Quite Frankly” by Mark Halliday and “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” by Kevin Young. They are really different which is a lot of (the reason) why I chose them. I wanted to pick pieces that contrasted but were still entertaining and complemented one another.

Have you ever done anything like this before? ~I’ve recited my own poetry in front of people before. This is a little more intimidating though because when it is your own work on display people don’t know the inaccuracies and it is easier to memorize because they are your own words. I have to get every “and” and “the” correct with this recitation which is a lot of pressure.

Well there you have it. We learned the inside scoop on 3 of the contestants. This year’s Poetry Out Loud was a great success and a fun thing to be a part of. Great job to everyone who participated in this year’s competition and congratulations to the top winners who received Amazon gift cards: Hannah Thompson(1st), Jon Fajans(2nd), Lily Gullett (3rd), and Kaylee Bagdan (4th). Hannah and Jon will be competing at the Regional Competition in February. We wish them the best of luck. Will you participate next year’s Poetry Out Loud?