Poetry in Voice is a national competition designed to help youth discover and appreciate poetry, whether classic or contemporary. Nine students at Elphinstone Secondary have done just that, bravely reciting two of their chosen poems in front of a room of their peers, two judges, and their teachers.
It used to be that schoolkids were required to memorize poems and recite them, but the practice went out of fashion. Elphinstone English teacher Susan Telfer, a published poet, hoped to change that by encouraging students to enter the competition, which took place in the school library on Feb. 26.
Judges Jane Davidson from the Festival of the Written Arts and Heather Evans-Cullen from the Gibsons Library rated the recitations on factors such as stage presence, voice/articulation and interpretation. Other marks were given for accuracy – contestants were judged as to whether they reversed words, added or forgot a word.
Grade 10 student Kaylin Schober was awarded first place, and she will be taping her two selections, Invictus by William Ernest Henley (best known for its famous lines: “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul”) and Self Portrait by Robert Creeley. They are both dramatic, vigorous poems, and Kaylin’s performance did them justice. She will add a third poem for on-line judging in the regional semi-finals that could boost her to the finals in Toronto.
Sarah Macey tied for second place with her haunting rendition of the poem Alone by Edgar Allen Poe and Echolalia by Ian Williams. Dylan Broeke, also in second place, recited Song for a Silent Treatment by Canadian poet David McGimpsey and I Feel the Sun by Chinese poet Wang Xiaoni.
Quinton Ruth came third and tackled the big names: Shakespeare’s Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind and John Donne’s Break of Day.
Also performing were Isabella Zavaglia, Hana Ingram, Shelley Paulus, Aslan Jordan-Knox and Parker Blackman.
Winners received gift certificates and all of the contestants received tote bags from Gibsons Library.
