Masco recently held their school-wide Poetry Out Loud competition, where students memorized and performed poems for a group of judges and audience members.  Judges then decided on one student that would move forward and represent Masco at the state semi-finals. 

The Poetry Out Loud competition is a national recitation contest held by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. 

Those selected to participate in the school-wide competition were originally assigned to memorize and perform a poem in their English classes. These 17 students, ranging from freshmen to seniors, were chosen from their classroom contests. At the school wide competition, students performed the original poem they had performed in their class, along with a second poem of their choice. 

English teacher and competition moderator Shannon Murphy said, “I love the variety of poems that students choose and seeing students out of their usual element. It tends to highlight aspects of their lives that we don’t always see in the classroom.”

The winners of the competition were junior Avery Sommer in third, senior Sophie Gustafson in second, and junior Leo Peiken as our school’s first place winner, who will go on to the state semi-finals. 

Peiken has always loved poetry, whether it be reading, writing, or reciting.

Peiken said, “The thought of not joining the competition never really crossed my mind. It was not a decision, but rather a logical course of events.”

Though headed into the next stage of the competition, surprisingly, Peiken talked about how they are not going in with the end goal of winning.

“I would much rather go into this, do okay, and enjoy it, than be a nervous wreck for weeks as I stake my confidence and self-esteem on a school competition. Above all, I love performing because of the joy and power it gives me and others,” said Peiken.

Gustafson, who performed last year and represented the school at the semi-finals, found her way to Poetry Out Loud through her love for performing. 

“I do theater at Masco, and it’s definitely where my love of performance comes from, but Poetry Out Loud is just different enough from plays and musicals that it is a welcome challenge,” said Gustafson. 

Many people may think that aside from only a handful of students, the average teenager would not like poetry, let alone give a memorization and performance competition a second thought. With this year’s competition being the 20th year, it begs the question of why it matters. 

Murphy said, “Poetry is good for humans in general. It has a reputation for being abstract and difficult, but when it comes down to it, it’s about the human experience. This competition invites everyone to take part in it, regardless if they think of themselves as fans.”

Peiken agreed that poetry is both emotional and essential. 

“This is one of the few times where we are encouraged to publicly express our deepest emotions, and it is made much easier by using the words of another,” Peiken said. “Each poem I chose I used to reflect a piece of myself that I, at times, feel the need to conceal, especially at school. I hope a day comes when this competition is of no use in this respect, but for the time being, one must appreciate its significance.”