Poetry Out Loud

On Feburary 5, 2013 I participated in the Poetry Out Loud competition at our school. For POL, I had to pick two poems: one that was fewer than 25 lines and the other that is pre 20th century. We had to memorize these poems and then perform them for judges in the PAC. There were nine other competitors. I chose the poems "September 1918" by Amy Lowell and "Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson. I chose my poems because they offered a really insightful look at the reality of war. The first one more focused on the home-life during war, whereas the second described the heat of the battle. On my first poem, I was really nervous, so it didn't go as well. At one point, I had to pause for a little because I lost my concentration. Luckily, I was able to get it back fairly quickly, and did a decent job on my performance. After the first round, we took a little break, which was good for me to calm myself down and regain my poise for my second poem. The second poem was actually the one I was most excited for because it was so powerful, especially when it is recited aloud. I got up there and just went for. My nerves just floated away as soon as I started, and I just got really into it. It was a fairly long poem, but I barely even noticed. I had a blast. After we finished, we all waited around for the results. It was really fun talking to the other participants because it wasn't like a cutthroat atmosphere or anything, it was just people supporting each other. It was also really great that we watched everyone else do their poems because everyone had something different and a different approach to it. I really enjoyed everyone's presentations! When they announced, the results, I was nervous, but I also realized that no matter what happened, I was proud of myself for getting up there and doing it. I actually placed second! I was so excited, and people kept telling me what a good job I'd done, especially with "Charge of the Light Brigade." I was honored and proud of myself. It made me realize that I really enjoy presenting in front of people and just having fun with it. It was a little dab in theatre, especially since it was something that counted for memorization, as well as acting throughout my memorization. For a good performance, you need both of those key aspects.