Students head to regional poetry contest

Whitefish High School junior Joesph

Perry won the school’s Poetry Out Loud contest last week with his

vibrant recitation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “Annabel Lee.” Perry now

moves on to the regional contest in Missoula, where he’ll compete

for the state championship in Helena.

“Joe’s been really committed to Poetry

Out Loud,” Whitefish English teacher Chris Schwaderer said. “He’s

been very enthusiastic about it, and you can tell his heart is in

the poem. That’s the main objective of this contest — to get

students to feel the poem — and Joe does a great job of that.”

Perry used a powerful combination of

undulation in his tone and pace, and smart hand gestures that put

him over the top.

Joining Perry in Missoula will be

junior Molly Schmidt and freshman Emily Morison, who took second

and third, respectively. Schmidt recited “It Couldn’t Be Done” by

Edgar Albert Guest, and Morison recited “For Love” by Robert

Creely.

The contest started with about 100

students in participating English classes throughout the school.

Students had a choice of 600 poems to memorize and recite in front

of their classes. The top-5 moved on to the school finals, held

Thursday in the library.

“The poetry readings were so good this

year,” Schwaderer said, “it was hard to distinguish who was the

best.”

Winners of the state competition in

Helena will move on to the national finals in Washington, D.C.

Poetry Out Loud was created by the National Endowment for the Arts

and the Poetry Foundation.

1st, Joseph Perry, “Annabel Lee” Edgar

Allan Poe

2nd, Molly Schmidt, “It Couldn’t Be

Done” Edgar Albert Guest

3rd, Emily Morison, “For Love” Robert

Creely

Honorable mention, Sloan Ellis,

“Candles” Carl Dennis

Honorable mention, Michael Reimer, “The

Charge of the Light Brigade” Alfred Lord Tennyson