The sea is calm tonight. / The tide is full, the moon lies far / upon the straights.”
These are the first lines of the poem, “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold which were read by Laguna Blanca alum, Spencer Klavan who won the Poetry Out Loud state competition in 2009.
Poetry Out Loud was brought to high schools all across the globe in 2006 and has progressively grown since then to about 365,000 participants in 2010-2011.
Poetry Out Loud is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and U.S. state arts agencies.
Poetry Out Loud has been a tradition at Laguna Blanca for five years, and is organized by English teacher Ms. Bojana Hill.
Before the competition students recited a poem in English class.
Then students were chosen to participate in the Poetry Out Loud assembly that took place on Feb. 8.
“[I wish] for everyone to give his or her best and to enjoy the experience,” Ms. Hill said before the assembly.
“I found the experience of participating in Poetry Out Loud to be very fun because I personally love poetry. Reciting my poem in front of the school helped me get over my stage fright,” sophomore Grace Woolf said. Students recited poems from “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost to “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson.
Participating schools must choose at least two participants who will compete in the county competition and then have a chance to make it to the state competition.
“I think Poetry Out Loud is a great opportunity for students to work on their public speaking skills, and the skills acquired from it will be helpful in many aspects of school,” sophomore Quentin Tedesco said.
