POL State Champ

Gorham High School graduate

This year Charlotte Feinberg represented Maine at the National Poetry Out Loud competition in Washington D.C. during March. In order to earn the trip to D.C., Charlotte had to recite many many poems. Charlotte loves poetry and as a matter of fact she has many passions. Charlotte graduated from Gorham High School this year. Charlotte was kind enough to answer some questions for this blog post. The Maine Arts Commission wishes Charlotte well as she moves on to the next chapter of her life. We know she’ll continue making her mark on the world!

Charlotte reciting at the National Poetry Out Loud competition.

 

What prompted you to participate in POL?
My English teacher Kerry Herlihy encouraged me to participate. Being a writer she assumed it was right up my alley, I thought I’d give it a try.

Name the 3 things that you learned or impacted you.

1. The performance experience I gained was immense, I had performed my own poetry before but the memorization and performance process really strengthened me as a speaker.
2. I also learned excellent memorization skills.
3. The thing that impacted me the most was my connection to the poetry, the entire process allowed me to understand and truly love the poems that I had been performing.

What was the greatest challenge with you POL experience?
My nerves were rough, between dancing and poetry I was no stranger to being on stage but the memorization aspect made it especially tough.

What kind of support did you receive and who provided it?
Kerry Herlihy was an incredible support to me throughout the entire process. Encouraging me and keeping me calm and making me laugh. David Patterson really helped with my understanding of the poems, especially “When you are Old” by William Butler Yeats.

What advice would you give to other students who are thinking about participating in POL in the future?
Choose poems that you care about, disregard any ideas about what you think will aid you in the sense of competition and stick with things you can connect to on a personal level.

What was your greatest success?
Conquering my stage fright and being able to perform in a way I never had before.

What is your long-term take-away?
I’ll always have a connection to my poems, and a true appreciation for the power of spoken word.

Thousands of students participated in Poetry Out Loud at the local, regional, and state level in Maine during the 2013-14 school year. This year 365,000 students across the country participated in POL. The POL program is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation and is administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission. Materials will be available in September for next year. If you are interested in participating please contact argy.nestor@maine.gov.

Poetry Out Loud

Poetry Out Loud National Event

I am in Washington, DC for a few days at the National Poetry Out Loud events. Each state is represented by a high school student who will be competing tomorrow, Tuesday, in the semifinal round. The top students go on to the final round held on Wednesday at George Washington University. These young competitors advanced from a field of some 365,000 students who tested their skills in poetry recitation in more than 2,000 schools nationwide. The top finalists and their schools will receive $50,000 in awards.

The semifinals and finals can be viewed remotely through a live, one-time only webcast. Follow Poetry Out Loud on Twitter at @PoetryOutLoud and @NEAarts, #POL2014. For more information on the event, webcast, or viewing parties, visit arts.gov or call 202-682-5606. You can also go to the Poetry Out Loud site at http://www.poetryoutloud.org/articles/2014-national-finals.

The Maine Arts Commission is proud of our state champion, Charlotte Feinberg of Gorham High School who is the 2014 State Poetry Out Loud Champion. The State Runner-up is Thalia Muyderman from Waynflete School in Portland. Both students receive cash awards and their schools receive money to purchase poetry books for their libraries.

After surviving classroom, school wide and regional level competitions, 19 state finalists gathered at the Waterville Opera House in Waterville to recite three rounds of poetry from memory. Charlotte Feinberg was ultimately selected as state champion. Feinberg impressed a top panel of judges to become the 2014 State Champion reciting three poems during the competition: “The Pomegranate and the Big Crowd” by Alberto Rios, “Monet Refuses the Operation” by Lisel Mueller, and “When You Are Old” by William Butler Yeats.

About Poetry Out Loud

Recitation and performance are major new trends in poetry. There has been a recent resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as seen in the slam poetry movement and the immense popularity of hip-hop music among our youth. Poetry Out Loud builds on this momentum by inviting the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theater into the English class. The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation have formed a partnership with state arts agencies to support the expansion of Poetry Out Loud, which encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. This exciting program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage.

The competition itself is organized nationally by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation and administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission. It begins in Maine’s schools where school champions are selected to compete in two regional finals at which twenty students are ultimately selected to appear at the state final. One student moves on from the state final to represent Maine at the national finals in Washington D.C. If you are interested in learning more or in having your school participate next year please go to http://mainearts.maine.gov/Pages/Education/POL-Home