Poetry Out Loud Competition

Names Top Winners

By Eliza Hallabeck

The last two rounds of this year’s Poetry Out Loud competition at Newtown High School named Katie McMorran as the school’s winner and Andrew Nichols as the runner-up on Wednesday, February 17, after the 13 finalists competed against each other.

The other finalists were Brittany Bauch, Ashley Cech, Zach Dlouhy, Kamryn Harmeling, Maggie Kearns, Lila Kohrman-Glaser, Amy Kung, Matthew Madden, Alec Ravana, Amanda Sweat, and Justin Villamil.

As the winner, Katie McMorran is scheduled to compete at the state level of the competition on March 16 in Hartford, and as the runner-up for NHS Andrew Nichols will compete in her place if she cannot attend.

“I had so much fun,” said Katie, “and I was completely shocked. I did not expect to win.”

Both Katie and Andrew said they tried to pick poems with which they could identify.

This year, as in previous years of the competition, students began their Poetry Out Loud endeavor in their English classrooms. Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation contest, and students choose poems to recite from Poetry Out Loud’s website, www.poetryoutloud.org.

Roughly two students moved on to the semifinal round from each classroom, and those students recited their poetry Thursday, February 11. From the semifinal round, the 13 finalists moved on to compete the night of February 17 in the school’s Lecture Hall.

Judges oversaw the competition, and NHS teacher Lee Keylock, who coordinated the Poetry Out Loud competition, acted as moderator for the final.

To prepare for the competition Andrew said he began practicing for the in-class contest. He said he worked with friends to find the right poem for him, and later his parents helped him to memorize it.

“The whole thing is a really great experience,” said Andrew.

While both Andrew and Katie are actors who have preformed in multiple productions at Newtown High School, he said the program encourages students interested in all disciplines to enjoy and recite poetry.

“I definitely feel so much respect for poetry when I hear all of the poems,” said Katie.

In choosing her poems from the Poetry Out Loud competition’s list, Katie said she tried to find poems she could either relate to or understand.

She also said she is excited about participating in the state level of the competition next month.