Poetry Out Loud charms Saugus students

SAUGUS – Around 15 Saugus High School students competed in the national Poetry Out Loud contest Thursday, and it was a pair of freshmen that finished in the top two spots.Freshman Caroline Orlando won after reciting “Conversation” by Ai and will move on to the state semifinals in Boston. She also won a gift bag with a poetry book and candy. Freshman Thomas Stewart was the runner-up and recited “Alone” by Edgar Allen Poe?It went really well,” said English teacher and judge Rachel Jylkka-Tesler. “We picked our winner and runner-up and we were really proud of the kids.”Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation contest where high school students across the country pick a poem to memorize and recite. Winners are chosen at their local high school and then move onto a state semifinal and final followed by the national championship in Washington, DC.?We were looking for accuracy and to see that they had a nice stage presence ? and showed that they understood the poem through their gestures and their facial expressions,” said Jylkka-Tesler. “We felt those two students did exceptionally well. And they?re both freshman so we were really impressed with them.”English teachers Michelle Lee and Bonnie Scott also served as judges, as did science teacher Kim Usseglio and librarian Kathryn Payne.This was the first year Saugus High participated in the competition, and Jylkka-Tesler said she thought it would be a good way for students to gain confidence and to make poetry more approachable.?I think it?s where a lot of the beauty of our language is,” said Jylkka-Tesler. “It often feels unapproachable and kids automatically feel like they don?t get it and that makes them feel like they?re not good at it. Doing something like this makes them feel like they accomplished something that?s really difficult”Freshman Laura McManus recited “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost, and said she was excited for the competition after just finding out about it on Thursday.?I just love poetry so I wanted to try out,” said McManus. “It?s actually one of my favorite poems. My friend told me it was on the website ? so I said I?m going to use this one because I already have it memorized. (Frost) is very inspirational to me personally.”Junior Nick DeFilippis recited “Cold Blooded Creatures” by Elinor Wylie, and said he was influenced by one of his favorite rappers when he chose his poem.?I was looking on the website for poems and I wanted something kind of deep,” said DeFilippis. “I kept hitting the random button but nothing really tickled my fancy. One of my favorite rappers from the ?90s is MF Doom. I typed doom in the search and “Cold Blooded Creatures” came up. I looked at it and that was it. I?m really into hip-hop music and that?s a lot of poetry. Some people view it as just noise, but there is a lot of meaning to a lot of songs.”English Department Chair Jane Osgood watched as each student stood in front of the class to recite their poems. Osgood said because there?s so little memorization required in schools now, she was impressed with how the students were able to present their poems so “you hear what they?re feeling.”?Poetry is meant to be heard, not just read,” said Osgood. “So many students are afraid of poetry ? When it comes alive and you can feel it and speak it and share it with others ? it takes the fear away. And maybe a light goes off that, maybe there is something to this poetry stuff.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].