Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2015, Page 34

Description:	Sophomore Maria Lysadroti reads On Death ofAnne Bronte by Charolotte Bronte. You try to reallyconnect with the writer and what theyre trying to say,Lysandrou safd. II. Freshman Kaifyn Flick reads TheNatural Child by Helen Leigh. I tried to makeconnections in my mind on what the words mean to me in\|order to memorize my poem, Flick said. III. Poetry Outoud winner, sophomore Phiona Raffington reads a poermfrom before fthe 20th century. Raffington has recentlyH started a Poetry Club here at South\|called Write On! withSpectrum Minds. PHOTOS BY LUCILLE POWERSThis year several students participated in the spoken word competition Poetry OutLoud, hosted at Bloomington High School South.Memorizing and reciting two poems infront of peers and judges; sounds easy,right? It takes skill, stamina and poise tocommit two poems to memory andprepare them in a theatricalperformance. The South competitors inthe second annual Poetry Out Loudother classic poets were a -requirementSometimes you just have to use a littlebit of empathy and force yourself to feelthe embtion its talking about, first-yearcompetitor, freshman Kaitlyn Flicksaid.maj(/-nkI+w r\( +1-1/-. r»-j*+i/-«competition worked under the guidanceof Mrs. Sheila McDermott-Sipe to bringthe written word to life on stage.The participants chose two poemsfrom a provided list, one from before the20th century and one of their choice.The students were judged by a panel ofcommunity members and teachersbased on their different levels ofdramatic appropriateness, how complex[the poem] is, and level ofunderstanding, sophomore and reigningSouth winner Phiona Raffington said.In the practice of the poems, thecompetitors learned that purememorization would not be enough tosuccessfully deliver a poem, you haveto really become the poet, Raffingtonsaid. Part of the judging criteria was thatthe participants had to fully understandthe message and emotions expressed bythe poet. You try to connect with thepoet, and convey what theyre trying tosay in the poem, sophomore MariaLysandrou said. However, connectingwith the poet was not always an easytask, especially when Shakespeare andthey grew significantly during thepreparation and final competition. Iliked doing [Poetry Out Loud] because Isong write, so I try to write lyrics in whichI produce my emotions, Lysandrousaid. No stranger to the Poetry Out Loudstage, Lysandrou said she enjoyedexperience of being on the other side ofof the writing process by allowing herselfto convey someone elses emotions.Flick felt the atmosphere presentat the competition was a very positiveone. [My] opponents were verysupportive, Flick said. She felt that forthose who write poetry its a good thingto do.Poetry Out Loud provided theopportunity for competitors to explorethemselves in addition to the poemsperformed. I got to meet myself,Raffington said. Before this competition,I had no idea I would love poetry thismuch, and through the competition Ivebecome very involved with poetry. Poetryis about not only connecting with theworld, but also who you are as aperson.- CLANCY LYLES.
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/8867
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

Further information on this record can be found at its source.