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Arts & Entertainment

Kinnelon Student Competes in National Poetry Contest

Laurenzi and Alvey shut out Dwane for chance to attend D.C. finals.

Rachel Alvey, a junior from and Sophia Laurenzi, a sophomore from  won the chance to compete at the March 17  New Jersey Finals for the national recitation contest Poetry Out Loud after competing in Morristown on Feb. 15.

The two Morris County students competed against senior Lauren Dwane, and five other students from Hunterdon, Morris, Sussex, Union and Warren Counties at the Region 4 Finals. For the first time since the national recitation contest was launched in 2006, the event was held at the Mayo Center for the Performing Arts in Morristown.

“It’s the first time here,” said Mayo Performing Arts Center’s General Manager Ed Kirchdoerffer. “Because so many students are participating, the contest has had to be expanded from three to four regional finals.”

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Poetry Out Loud is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation. 

According to the Poetry Out Loud website, the NEA and the Poetry Foundation work together with state arts commissions, like the New Jersey Council for the Arts, to encourage “the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage.”

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“It definitely helps with public speaking,” said Alvey following the event. “I know how to prepare to speak in front of a crowd.”

The website also notes that “There has been a resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as seen in the slam poetry movement and the immense popularity of hip-hop music. Poetry Out Loud builds on that momentum by inviting the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theater into the English class.”

“Anything that is encouraging students to be exposed to literature is a good thing,” said Cathy Roy, education director of the Mayo Performing Arts Center. “When you look at their performances, you can see the connections they have with the poems. They are really affected by them.”

Students were chosen to attend the Region 4 Finals after winning competitions within their own high schools. At some schools, like Madison High School and , in Montville, competition began as part of the classroom curriculum. Once a student won the top spot in the classroom, the student then had to win the top spot among all the classrooms. At Montville High School, Forensics Coach Mary Gormley held a full-day competition for the forensics team on Martin Luther King Day.

Each of the Region 4 competitors recited three poems. The competition lasted almost two hours, with two intermissions and a Student Talk Back session.

Most of the schools attending the event brought a bus load of spectators to cheer on their champion, and to serve as an audience. The young spectators asked questions of the poetry competitors, including “How do you memorize the poems?” and “What was your favorite poem?”

Rachel Alvey performed Israfel, by Edgar Allan Poe, Abandoned Farmhouse, by Ted Kooser, and Hysteria, by Dionisio D. Martinez.

Sophia Laurenzi performed In, by Andrew Hudgins, Alone, by Edgar Allan Poe, and Constantly Risking Absurdity (#15), by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Alvey stated that her favorite was Abandoned Farmhouse, while Laurenzi said she felt a strong connection to Constantly Risking Absurdity (#15).

Dwane’s favorite poem was Fishing on the Susquehanna in July, by Billy Collins. She also performed How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and The Canonization, by John Donne.

The audience also asked, “What are you thinking right before you walk out on stage?”

Dwane revealed her signature dry wit when she answered, “My mind is a complete blank.”

The other competitors included Romana Steindler of Hunterdon Learning Center in Califon, Seamus Cogdon of Morris County School of Technology in Denville, Jasmine Noel of St. Mary of the Assumption High School in Elizabeth, Daniela Mallack of Trinity Christian School in Montville, and Jodi Bischoff from Vernon Township High School.

Since the first of the year, more than 17,000 New Jersey students have participated in the elimination contests. Winners of each regional contest move on for a chance to win the New Jersey State Championship. The winner of the state competition will win $200 and an all-expenses paid trip for two to Washington D.C. The state champion will also compete for the national Poetry Out Loud title. The state champion’s school will receive $500 for the purchase of poetry books.

“I wasn’t expecting to qualify today,” said Laurenzi. “Now I feel confident. I would like to be the champion. I have time to prepare, and I will practice and talk with people who are experts in poetry.”

Nationally, more than 325,000 students compete for the title.

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