C-R freshman runner-up in spoken poetry competition

FINDLAY — Cory-Rawson High School freshman Willow Haley, the runner-up in the Poetry Out Loud Northwest Ohio Regional Semifinal, described the event as an "awesome experience." Poetry Out Loud is a nationwide competition in which students are encouraged to explore their love of poetry and gain public speaking skills. The regional semifinal was held at the Marathon Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday. Haley said she was honored to participate. To qualify for Tuesday's event, participants had to first win a competition at the school level. Tracy Stockwell, an English teacher and librarian at Cory-Rawson High School, led a Poetry Out Loud competition at the school for the first time this year. Just three students signed up this first year, although, Stockwell noted, "it is kind of a big commitment." Students had to choose a poem, memorize it and get up in front of adults and recite it. In December, Cory-Rawson held its own competition with several school staff and administrators serving as judges. Haley was chosen as the winner. "But everybody got cupcakes," in recognition of their commitment, Stockwell said. She said this was something the students participating had chosen to do. "Not for a grade, not for an assignment, not because they were told to," but because they were enthusiastic about it and wanted to do it, she said. Stockwell on Monday described Haley as confident and self-possessed, adding that she was eager to cheer her on. "She's very excited to compete," she said. Stockwell said she was glad she'd decided to hold the competition at Cory-Rawson, and would love to see more schools participate. Haley was one of just two students competing on Tuesday, as not many schools had held Poetry Out Loud competitions. Bryson Chriss, a senior at St. John's Jesuit High School in Toledo, was the winner of the regional semifinal. Chriss read the poems "Invitation to Love" and "We Wear the Mask," both by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Haley read the poems "Bolivar" by Luis Lloréns Torres and "Prairie Spring" by Willa Cather. She said she chose her poems based on subjects she found relatable. For example, the third line of the Cather poem, "The miles of fresh-plowed soil," took her back to seeing her father on the tractor on their family farm. Craig VanRenterghem, education director for the MCPA, said in his opening remarks that each school champion had spent many hours preparing for the event. Haley said she was interested in participating because she intends to study political science and expects public speaking may be a part of her future career. Students selected poems from a database provided by Poetry Out Loud. This year, VanRenterghem noted, the database is particularly focused on the theme of America 250. He said he sees students gain confidence, and enjoys "seeing students fall in love with poetry." Jonie McIntire, Joyce Lewis-Johnston and Kerry Trautman served as judges. All are themselves poets, and each read their own work at Tuesday's event. Lewis-Johnston said she was happy to serve as a judge for the first time several years ago, because Poetry Out Loud offers an opportunity to inspire young people to engage with poetry. "I've been a poet my whole life, and fell in love with it as a child," Trautman said. As Chriss approached to thank the judges after his win, they wished him well and offered guidance on preparing for the state competition. As winner, he will compete in Columbus against students from throughout Ohio. The winner of that state competition will then compete in the national finals in Washington, D.C., in April. Stockwell recalled that, in her own school years, assignments including memorization and recitation were more common than they are now. "This kind of takes me back… I do think there is a beauty to that whole thing of recitation," and an art to putting emotion and expression into your voice, she said. Poetry Out Loud is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Ohio Arts Council.