Lily Shi

Junior Holly Templeton performs her poem during the Poetry Out Loud contest on Jan. 27. She received an honorable mention from the judges.

Twenty-six students participated in the annual Poetry Out Loud recitation contest in the Nichols Auditorium on Jan. 27. 

Senior Eric Zhang and junior Daniel Miao won first and second place, respectively, and will participate in the Santa Clara County competition. Sophomore Abigail Sachse and junior Holly Templeton received third place and honorable mention, respectively. 

Eric performed “Backdrop addresses cowboy” by Margaret Atwood. He appreciated the different interpretations and rhythm of the lines, especially when spoken out loud.

“The poem was interesting because it had so many twists and turns,” Eric said. “There was intense emotion that you got to portray. Poetry breaks the formal rules of grammar and form to create emotion through the language itself. It really highlights the beauty of how authors can put together words and syntax. Then you perform it, and it gets more beautiful.”

Participants chose a poem from an online selection ranging from the historically inspired “Charge of the Light Brigade” by Lord Alfred Tennyson to the dialect poem “Ships that Pass in the Night” by Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Frosh Angela Pang selected the poem “The Gamble” by Laura Hershey because of her current volunteer work at a disability center and her speech research topic on assisted dying. 

“A lot of people, even outside of disabilities, are being restricted by their own mind or the people around them,” Angela said. “People are confined and restrained—no one should put up with that. So, the poem reminds me to not stay in that trapped situation and actually make a move.”

English teachers Nicholas Manjoine, Susanne Salhab, Jennifer Siriganian, Lizzy Schimenti and Beth Wahl judged the contestants based on criteria like interpretation, articulation and overall performance. Siraginian hosts the competition annually with the hope of fostering improved public speaking skills and an appreciation for poetry as self-expression for students.  

“Poetry changed my life for the better,” Siraginian said. “My hope is that there’s even one or two students who fall in love with poetry and have a deeper understanding of literature. I’m proud that so many students signed up and attempted to recite poems. The fact that they devoted time and energy to this competition shows that poetry is alive and breathing on campus.”