Poetry Slam Champion Visits Vermont Academy
Students prepare for annual poetry recitation event
Geof Hewitt has just met this class of Vermont Academy English students, but already he knows their names. He is a person who pays close attention.
Each year, every Vermont Academy 10th grader memorizes a poem as part of Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry recitation competition. Vermont Academy English teachers Joanne Fuller and Lorna Schilling oversee the program at VA. Tenth graders compete at the classroom level, with each class's champion going on to compete at the all-school level, along with any students from other grades who choose to participate. VA then sends one winner to the Vermont state contest.
On this January morning, Hewitt is helping the students practice their poems. The reigning poetry slam champion of Vermont, Hewitt knows how to embody a poem. He begins by having the students stand and recite their poems simultaneously, noting that he enjoys the cacophony. He says a poem along with them, as does their teacher, Cynthia Murphy.
After reciting their poems together a few times, it's clear that the students have begun to relax. They smile, make eye contact, and speak in expressive tones. At this point, Hewitt invites one student at a time to recite a poem. He offers encouragement and constructive feedback.
By the end of the 45-minute class period, the students have made significant progress in speaking their poems slowly and eloquently, with their hands loosely at their sides, their feet planted on the floor, and their voices steadier. Hewitt tells them that this is not "poetry," some remote and rareified thing, but "poems," expressions of feeling.
Next Tuesday, Vermont Academy students will gather in the Great Room for the Poetry Out Loud semifinals. The following Thursday at Community Meeting, the finalists will recite their poems before the whole school, and one student will advance to the state level.
Check out these stellar performances by our 2015 competitors, and stay tuned for this year's winner!
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Each year, every Vermont Academy 10th grader memorizes a poem as part of Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry recitation competition. Vermont Academy English teachers Joanne Fuller and Lorna Schilling oversee the program at VA. Tenth graders compete at the classroom level, with each class's champion going on to compete at the all-school level, along with any students from other grades who choose to participate. VA then sends one winner to the Vermont state contest.
On this January morning, Hewitt is helping the students practice their poems. The reigning poetry slam champion of Vermont, Hewitt knows how to embody a poem. He begins by having the students stand and recite their poems simultaneously, noting that he enjoys the cacophony. He says a poem along with them, as does their teacher, Cynthia Murphy.
After reciting their poems together a few times, it's clear that the students have begun to relax. They smile, make eye contact, and speak in expressive tones. At this point, Hewitt invites one student at a time to recite a poem. He offers encouragement and constructive feedback.
By the end of the 45-minute class period, the students have made significant progress in speaking their poems slowly and eloquently, with their hands loosely at their sides, their feet planted on the floor, and their voices steadier. Hewitt tells them that this is not "poetry," some remote and rareified thing, but "poems," expressions of feeling.
Next Tuesday, Vermont Academy students will gather in the Great Room for the Poetry Out Loud semifinals. The following Thursday at Community Meeting, the finalists will recite their poems before the whole school, and one student will advance to the state level.
Check out these stellar performances by our 2015 competitors, and stay tuned for this year's winner!
Vermont Academy is a coed college preparatory boarding and day school in southern Vermont, serving grades 9-12 plus a postgraduate year.
