by Lily Böhlke

“Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Hog Butcher for the World…”

According to English teacher Rebecca Hayden, the poem “Chicago” by Carl Sandburg is usually performed in a booming voice. Five years ago, Alex Kamb ’11 won the high school’s Poetry Out Loud competition with a performance of “Chicago,” but in more mild tone, building and pulling back.

“You never know what’s going to move you,” Hayden said.

This January will be the school’s fifth year participating in Poetry Out Loud, a national competition sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Students choose, memorize, rehearse and perform a poem. The competition begins in English classes, then progresses to a school-wide competition, a regional competition, a state competition and ultimately a national competition, according Hayden.

Hayden introduced Poetry Out Loud to the high school after she heard about it from a colleague.

“I just jumped in; I had no idea where it would go,” she said. “I love poetry, I love recitation and I like competition.”

According to English teacher Alison Whitebone,  Poetry Out Loud is a great opportunity for students to practice memorization, recitation, performance and public speaking at once.

“Everybody has to memorize these crazy poems,” she said. “I love it.”
In addition to practicing those skills, Poetry Out Loud is a way for many students to develop a new appreciation for poetry.

Junior Sophia Pouzyrev had little interest in poetry when she decided to participate her freshman year.

“I was interested in theater and in public speaking,” she said. “It’s similar to theater in the sense that you’re taking something that’s been written for you and interpreting it in whatever way you want to.”

Because of the many possible interpretations of a single poem, every year there are new and unexpected performances throughout the competition, Hayden said.

According to Pouzyrev, it is not always immediately clear how to interpret the poem, but somehow there is always a connection to find.

“When I was performing I was wearing a shirt with a heart on it, and the word heart was in my poem,” she said. “I just looked down at the heart and everyone started laughing. You just sort of feel it out.”

For Pouzyrev, it is interesting to see how other people choose to express someone else’s poetry. For many students, it can be challenging to perform a poem just right.

“At the regional competition, there was a lot of drama,” Hayden said. “One student burst into tears; another completely bombed his first poem but did a beautiful job on his second.”

Poetry Out Loud, according to Whitebone, is a way of finding new appreciation for poetry, along with being involved in a fun competition.

“So far, nobody from Brookline has won the $20,000,” Whitebone said. “But we will.”

Lily Böhlke can be contacted at [email protected].