Logan High School senior vies for state title in poetry competition | News

Madeline Arizona Hamm, a Logan High School senior, will compete for the title of Poetry Out Loud State Champion Friday, March 4 at the Ross Community Studio at WOSU Public Media in Columbus.

According to Justin Nigro, operations & public affairs director for the Ohio Arts Council, Poetry Out Loud is a nationwide competition similar to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

“High schools register each year with the Ohio Arts Council and hold contests within their schools, with student winners advancing regionally, statewide, and nationally,” Nigro said in an email. “Poetry Out Loud is presented by the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation in partnership with the Ohio Arts Council.”

Hamm first became interested in poetry in fifth grade during a poetry unit in English class. She loved learning about poetry, she said, and found herself writing it as she got older.

“I’ve been writing it for a few years,” Hamm said. “Generally, just… as a way to express how I’m feeling.”

However, it wasn’t until 2021 that she considered performing poetry before audiences.

“Last year for our thespian showcase I performed a poem that I had written and the theater teacher at the high school told me that I should try Poetry Out Loud. She connected me to the people to get started with it,” Hamm told The Logan Daily News. Later, she performed the same poem at the 2021 Lancaster Festival. “But when I had (written) it, I had never planned to read it,” she recalled.

Hamm said it was exciting to perform her poem instead of simply having someone read it.

“It is very different and has different emotions and feelings to it” when performed, she said. She prepared to read the poem by deciding which parts and words she wanted to emphasize and express.

Hamm found that Poetry Out Loud was a great fit for her. She successfully competed in Poetry Out Loud’s local competition and later its regional semifinal held at Stuart’s Opera House on Feb. 12, which can be viewed on YouTube at www.youtube.com/atch?v=YINLhfcuOTU/. Her English teacher has been especially encouraging throughout the competition, she said.

“Because I really like acting, (bringing) poems to life with my own interpretation ⁠– I really (enjoy it),” Hamm said.

Within the competition, participants select poems from the Poetry Out Loud database, sometimes within certain guidelines ⁠– for example, Hamm had to choose three poems for the state competition, one of which had to be pre-20th Century, another 25 lines or fewer.

“At the local and regional level, you do two poems, and then you keep those two poems for the state level, but then you have another poem that you had already (chosen) before,” Hamm said.

Hamm had to pick three poems to perform at Friday night’s competition: “Movement Song” by Audre Lorde, “Truth is I would like to escape myself” by Nour Al Ghraowi and “The Coming Woman” by Mary Weston Fordham .

She chose poems she related to the most, she said, “So I could express them better than if I picked one that I didn’t really have experience with.”

Hamm said she likes poetry because every person’s interpretation of a poem is different.

“I like the way that it can be changed and interpreted differently by different people, especially freeform where there’s not a specific way it has to be and the way that the words flow,” she said.

Poetry Out Loud benefits all students who participate, Nigro stated.

“Students build self-confidence by practicing public speaking, and they learn about our nation’s literary heritage by deepening their knowledge of poetry,” he said in his email message.

Hamm is excited yet nervous about performing Friday night.

“I make sure that I have it fully memorized and that even when I’m not paying attention to the words I’m saying, I can still say them. And then additionally, with that, it’s more about being in the moment while I’m reciting instead of just trying to recite it from memory,’ Hamm said. “So once I feel comfortable with the poem, it’s a lot easier to not feel nervous, but then I will be nervous right before I go on stage and I’m usually able to calm down after I say the first line.”

Friday’s state finals consist of three rounds; each student will recite one poem per round. The winner will be determined by the cumulative scores from each round; the winner with the highest score will become Poetry Out Loud 2022 Ohio state champion. Judges include poets Steve Abbott, Nancy Kangas and Rose Smith

The winner of the Poetry Out Loud state final will receive the title of Ohio Poetry Out Loud State Champion, $200 and a framed original print by artist Wendy Partridge. The winner’s high school will also receive $500 to purchase books for its school library.

The winner of tonight’s finals will go onto the national semifinals, which will be held virtually on May 1; the winners of the semi-finals will go onto the national finals, which will also be held virtually on June 5. The final winner will receive the title of Poetry Out Loud National Champion, $20,000 and the winner’s high school will receive another $500 for library books.

As Friday’s in-person audience was limited, the event was live streamed at livestream.com/wosu/POL2022/ and will be available for viewing after the event ends.