By Leah Corpus
The winners of the Poetry Out Loud Competition from this past week are our very own Tigers, Angela Bediako and Dulce Argudo!
The Poetry Out Loud Competition is a national poetry competition that builds confidence and public speaking skills in high school students who select poetry to memorize and read aloud. First, students choose three poems they relate to or feel they connect with, and then recite what they memorized in front of the judges, who score based on “accuracy, understanding, and portrayal of the poem.” To be a winner, it takes stage presence, preparation, courage and the skill of memorization. One must have what it takes to bring the words on the page alive and then really connect with the audience. Dulce and Angela did just that.
When asked whether or not she has stage fright, winner Angela Bediako said, “I’ve never really had stage fright. I always love performing on stage whether it’s theater or anything else… Something that helps me get rid of the nerves that might come with reciting a poem or being on stage, is really focusing on the fact that I know what I’m doing. After rehearsing for such a long time, I can have faith in the fact that I know my poem and that I have memorized, and I practice my interpretation…" Winner Dulce’s method of coping to stage fright “is constantly telling myself that I’ll probably never see these people after this… it’ll allow me to be myself… the other contestants were really good and had a great performance… I had my friends there for the school competition so I enjoyed it. The county competition was very calm and it went by very fast. Everyone was nervous including me so that kind of brought me comfort.”
Dulce was pleasantly surprised to hear the good news: “I was actually baffled when I won … I felt accomplished, like I tried something new and had a great outcome.” Dulce hasn’t had prior experience with reciting poetry, so this win is a first for her! She describes poetry as something she “was always really fond of… I liked to break it down in class and analyze the hidden meanings. I would say it impacts my life in a way that it gives me a new way to think and see from different perspectives.”
In addition to winning her Poetry Out Loud Competition, Angela is singer, dancer and actress, who has also recently devoted her talents to the WPHS musical, Pippin, where she was one of our dance captains. “Managing time between Pippin and Poetry Out Loud was slightly difficult. Often times meetings of Mr. Polanco would overlap with musical rehearsal… I would go in during my free periods to get feedback on my poems. I also rehearsed a lot with my friends during lunch and after school.” People who keep Angela motivated are her family, friends, various Broadway stars that she has seen live, and Mr. Polanco. Angela is also in Songwriters Club with Mr. Polanco here at White Plains High School. She says Mr. Polanco has been a great guide throughout her journey of pursuing poetry, and has “made sure that I had the poems memorized and recited them in a way that portrayed my interpretation. He really helped me a lot with this whole process.” Dulce says somebody who was a major inspiration for her to get up on stage was Mr. Polanco, as well. “I wasn’t planning to do it, but he kept encouraging everyone in my class to participate and I thought, why not?”
Poetry Out Loud is an experience that can also inspire people to write their own poetry. By learning the literary techniques of the memorized poetry, students can apply such styles to form their own artistic craft. It allows people to spread the messages of the poems they’ve chosen. They can discover their own voice through poetry. For example, Angela's three chosen poems were “Echo” by Daryl Hine, “The World is Too Much With Us” by William Wordsworth, and “What the Oracle Said” by Shara McCallum, “because I felt like they had an important message that needed to be shared with the world." Dulce went with “Recess” by Maria Hummel, “From the Sky” by Sara Abou Rashed, and “The Two Boys” by Mary Lamb. She connected to these poems because she appreciates the sympathy and powerful shifts found in each poem.
Poetry is an meaningful way to spread the joys of lyrical art. Poetry is a source of positivity, self-discovery and self-expression. Poetry is so powerful that it can expand your thinking. Both Angela and Dulce have noted that participating in Poetry Out Loud has positively impacted their lives and given them a new way for their voice to be heard. Congratulations Angela and Dulce, for winning the Poetry Out Loud competition. Angela will be advancing to the NY State finals in NYC on March 15 to hopefully bring back the state title to WPHS.
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