BY MATT SCHOOLEY

With the Poetry Out Loud competition taking place throughout the state, two Bow High School students had a chance to get some tips from someone who knows the routine pretty well.

Teal Van ***, Bow High School graduate and 2006 national runner-up for the competition, was at the school on Friday, Feb. 8, to offer insight to a pair of contestants in preparation of this year’s contest – an program that encourages high school students to learn about poetry through memorization, performance and competition.

During the classroom round of Poetry Out Loud, students are asked to memorize a poem and recite it while being scored on a variety of criteria.

“The key is that it’s not about (the mental aspect). The way to get it is to have such an understanding of the poem that it’s in your body, not your brain,” Van *** told Sarah Desrochers and Jonathan French, who were on hand after school to work on their presentation.

French, who is performing Jonathan Swift’s “A Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late Famous General” during the Feb. 19 and 20 classroom competition, was required to take part in the contest through his freshman class.

“I think because it’s a requirement not as many people are going to try as hard, but I am going to try my hardest,” said French. “It’ll be my first time on stage, although not my first time in front of an audience.”

Desrochers said she is looking forward to the competition, thanks to her love for public speaking.

“I really like being in front of other people,” she said. “You get up there and you know what you’re going to say, knowing there won’t be any opposition since it’s not a debate. I have been hoping to win at least a part of the contest, and I figured (hearing from Van ***) would definitely help.”

Van *** was able to give advice to the students through her experience at the national level and also as a creative writing student at Hampshire College in Western Massachusetts.

“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity being able to work with people involved in the contest,” she said. “To really be successful, you have to be able to understand the poem and let it have personal meaning beyond just a school project they have to memorize. It should mean something beyond just an assignment.”

Jackie Coe, the advisor for the school’s Literature Club, said the competition’s message of spreading poetry is one of the key aspects.

 

“Having the opportunity to get kids to think about the poem and memorize it, they often initially groan,” she said. “But it ends up being worthwhile. It works a different part of the brain. We just don’t have as much poetry in life anymore.” Coe said Van *** helps students see poetry from another perspective.

“Part of what she’s doing is to bring poetry to people. To have someone who’s passionate about poetry and not a teacher is great. It’s great to see her echoing what we’re telling the kids,” said Coe. “Plus, she’s really good.”

The Poetry Out Loud program comes to Hopkinton High School on Monday, Feb. 18, at 6 p.m., and to Bow High School on Friday, Feb. 22, at 9 a.m.

One winner from each school advances to the state Poetry Out Loud contest at Keene State College’s Arts Center on Brickyard Pond on Saturday, March 22, from noon to 5:30 p.m.; snowdate is March 29 The public is invited to attend. Finalists vie to become state champion and compete nationally in Washington, D.C., at the Poetry Out Loud finals for a chance to win $50,000 in scholarships and school prizes. Visit the State Arts Council Web site www.nh.gov/nharts for more information.