WASHINGTON – Urbana High School Junior Akash Menon recited two poems, competing for the $20,000 prize at this year’s national Poetry Out Loud competition in Washington.
Menon, representing Maryland, competed against 52 other high school students from all 50 states plus Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands.
Poetry Out Loud is an oral poetry competition put on by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Students select and recite two poems from an anthology that includes a range from Shakespeare to Billy Collins. Menon, who did not advance, read from Walt Whitman and Andrew Marvell.
“The original idea was to reintroduce poetry to the classroom that was dynamic, where students could feel engaged and learn to inhabit a poem,” said Eleanor Billington, the Poetry Out Loud program director at the National Endowment for the Arts. “It’s important for students to be able to see themselves in a poem.”
In the regional semifinals held Tuesday, Menon competed with 17 other students. Of those, eight were selected to recite a third poem, vying for the three spots in the finals, set for Wednesday night at the Lisner Auditorium in Washington.
Menon was not selected for a third reading, but was pleased with his performance on his second poem, “A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown” by Walt Whitman.
“It’s a war poem, very serious,” said Menon. “Those kinds of grave poems, I love reciting them. The Whitman poem really captivates audiences.”
The national competition is a culmination of a year’s worth of curriculum and training. The program starts in English classrooms across the country and encourages students to have an appreciation for, and a connection with, poetry.
This year, 15,000 students from 60 Maryland schools participated in the Poetry Out Loud program, according to the Maryland State Arts Council. Menon was tapped to represent the state.
“Poetry is a dying art, especially in the digital age,” said Del Hayes, an English teacher at Urbana High School and the school’s Poetry Out Loud coordinator.
“It’s been a lot of fun watching kids who are not very interested in poetry sort of wake up to it.”
Menon wasn’t a poetry fan before taking Hayes,’ 10 grade Englis class, but he made an impression with his recitation in class. Hayes urged Menon to keep going.
“I’m surprised how much you gain from a single poem,” said Menon.
Menon said memorization is just the beginning. Building a relationship with the poem — learning its subtleties and nuances — is the rewarding part, he said.
“By reciting the poem aloud, you’re owning it, analyzing it and making it your own,” said Christine Stewart of the Maryland State Arts Council, a partner in coordinating the state Poetry Out Loud competition.
“It’s a much more intimate experience than simply reading a poem.”
In the national competition, students are judged on physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding, accuracy and overall performance.
“You find these real gems, kids who love to perform and recite poetry who never thought it would be something they were interested in,” said Hayes.
Of the students who competed Tuesday, three representatives from each region will advance to the finals Wednesday. In region one, New Jersey, Ohio and West Virginia will move forward.
Although Menon did not advance, he’s already planning his comeback in next year’s event.