Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012

Poetry off the page

Raleigh students compete for local title in national contest

The words are not her own, but Jessica Kariisa’s mellow alto voice projects them to the rafters with the confidence of a published poet.

“I lov’d thee from the earliest dawn, when first I saw thy beauty’s ray...”

Later she’ll say her legs were shaking the whole time, but in the moment, Kariisa folded her hands serenely over her stomach and captivated her audience at Sertoma Arts Center on Wednesday with a serene rendition of a 200-year-old love poem.

“It’s electrifying,” the Raleigh Charter High School senior said. “It’s like nothing else.”

It was the last round of Wake County’s Poetry Out Loud competition, the local level of a nationwide high school poetry recitation contest that promises a $20,000 prize to the national champion.

Sponsored locally by the N.C. Arts Council, the Poetry Out Loud competition was created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation to encourage students to master public speaking and gain a deeper understanding of literature.

“When you know a poem by heart, you know it so intimately – it’s no longer just words on a page, you feel what the poet was trying to say,” Wake County event coordinator Alice Osborn said. “You embody the poem.”

Students select and memorize two poems – one classic, one contemporary – and then perform them live. They are judged on voice and articulation, accuracy, physical presence, understanding of the poems and level of difficulty.

Teachers say the competitive element brings literature to students who otherwise wouldn’t be interested. When Ravenscroft School held a school-wide Poetry Out Loud contest this year, students were reciting poetry in the hallways and in physics class, Ravenscroft creative writing teacher Kevin Flinn said.

“Kids who wouldn’t pick up a poetry book if it was ice and they were on fire were walking around reciting Robert Frost,” Flinn said.

Kariisa, 18, is one of four Raleigh students who won school competitions to compete for the Wake County title Wednesday. Their goal: to take on the state contest in Greensboro in March.

Though the competition mixes elements of poetry and theater, the four finalists didn’t have to be poets themselves or have any dramatic experience. Ravenscroft senior Caroline Lindquist, 17, is attending UNC-Chapel Hill next year on the soccer scholarship and hasn’t been in a school play since third grade.

“(Poetry) helps you on a personal level with figuring out who you are, but also with knowing that other people go through similar things,” Lindquist said.

The poems presented Wednesday were eclectic and the performances varied. Green Hope High sophomore Kayla Aves gave an ethereal rendition of a W.H. Auden poem, while classmate Yousra Bouzaghar kept it classic with a Shakespearean sonnet.

Lindquist’s long hours of practice resulted in an emotional performance of an Elizabeth Bishop piece and a nuanced recitation of a William Wordsworth poem that nabbed her the runner-up spot.

And Kariisa took first place.

Next stop, Greensboro.