1 00:00:00,700 --> 00:00:01,501 - Hello, everyone. 2 00:00:01,501 --> 00:00:02,635 My name is David Toland 3 00:00:02,635 --> 00:00:04,070 and I'm honored to serve 4 00:00:04,070 --> 00:00:05,972 as Governor Laura Kelly's Lieutenant Governor 5 00:00:05,972 --> 00:00:08,008 for the state of Kansas. 6 00:00:08,008 --> 00:00:09,476 The program you're about to watch 7 00:00:09,476 --> 00:00:11,878 features the bright young stars of our state performing 8 00:00:11,878 --> 00:00:15,749 at this year's Poetry Out Loud state finals in Topeka. 9 00:00:15,749 --> 00:00:17,617 We're excited to share these poetry readings 10 00:00:17,617 --> 00:00:21,454 with all of you, the people of Kansas, and we're pleased 11 00:00:21,454 --> 00:00:23,857 that the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission is here 12 00:00:23,857 --> 00:00:26,226 to partner with Poetry Out Loud 13 00:00:26,226 --> 00:00:28,395 and to support a wide variety of arts 14 00:00:28,395 --> 00:00:30,296 and cultural development programs 15 00:00:30,296 --> 00:00:32,899 in communities across Kansas. 16 00:00:32,899 --> 00:00:35,635 The arts enrich our communities in so many ways. 17 00:00:35,635 --> 00:00:37,270 They help us tell our story, 18 00:00:37,270 --> 00:00:41,107 who we are, where we've been, and who we want to be. 19 00:00:41,107 --> 00:00:43,209 To get the program started, it's now my pleasure 20 00:00:43,209 --> 00:00:46,913 to turn it over to Kansas' Poet Laureate Huascar Medina. 21 00:00:46,913 --> 00:00:49,249 We hope you enjoy Poetry Out Loud. 22 00:00:52,485 --> 00:00:55,021 (upbeat music) 23 00:00:59,025 --> 00:01:04,397 Ben and Judy Coates proudly support KTWU and arts education. 24 00:01:05,331 --> 00:01:08,001 (electronic music) 25 00:01:28,154 --> 00:01:29,622 - Welcome to the 2022 26 00:01:29,622 --> 00:01:32,792 Kansas Poetry Out Loud recitation contest. 27 00:01:32,792 --> 00:01:34,994 I'm your host, Huascar Medina, 28 00:01:34,994 --> 00:01:37,530 the current Poet Laureate of the state of Kansas. 29 00:01:37,530 --> 00:01:39,399 And I am so grateful that we are able 30 00:01:39,399 --> 00:01:41,501 to gather in the name of poetry. 31 00:01:41,501 --> 00:01:43,103 Speaking of gratitude, 32 00:01:43,103 --> 00:01:45,672 I wanna take this moment and thank our sponsors, 33 00:01:45,672 --> 00:01:48,241 the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, 34 00:01:48,241 --> 00:01:50,110 the Poetry Foundation, 35 00:01:50,110 --> 00:01:53,446 and the National Endowment for the Arts. 36 00:01:53,446 --> 00:01:56,149 Without them, none of this would be possible. 37 00:01:56,149 --> 00:01:59,252 Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program 38 00:01:59,252 --> 00:02:01,454 that encourages the nation's youth 39 00:02:01,454 --> 00:02:03,590 to learn about great poetry 40 00:02:03,590 --> 00:02:06,025 through memorization and performance. 41 00:02:06,025 --> 00:02:09,929 Reciting great poetry connects us to an ageless art form, 42 00:02:09,929 --> 00:02:12,098 to the timelessness of great poets, 43 00:02:12,098 --> 00:02:15,802 to abstract ideas and higher critical thinking, 44 00:02:15,802 --> 00:02:19,439 and ultimately, to deeper life experiences. 45 00:02:19,439 --> 00:02:23,009 Here to explain how the event unfolded 46 00:02:23,009 --> 00:02:25,778 across the state this year is Peter Jasso, 47 00:02:25,778 --> 00:02:28,982 director of the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission 48 00:02:28,982 --> 00:02:33,353 and state Poetry Out Loud coordinator, Cheryl Germann. 49 00:02:33,353 --> 00:02:34,621 - Thanks, Huascar. 50 00:02:34,621 --> 00:02:36,756 In 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts, 51 00:02:36,756 --> 00:02:38,958 and the Poetry Foundation partnered 52 00:02:38,958 --> 00:02:41,060 with state arts agencies across the country 53 00:02:41,060 --> 00:02:43,663 to inaugurate Poetry Out Loud, 54 00:02:43,663 --> 00:02:45,265 a national recitation contest. 55 00:02:45,265 --> 00:02:47,400 The Creative Arts Industries Commission is proud 56 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:49,202 to provide the Poetry Out Loud program 57 00:02:49,202 --> 00:02:50,403 to high school students statewide, 58 00:02:50,403 --> 00:02:54,107 and is excited to partner with KTWU for the first time 59 00:02:54,107 --> 00:02:57,544 to bring poetry into the living rooms across Kansas 60 00:02:57,544 --> 00:02:59,546 and celebrate the hard work and long road 61 00:02:59,546 --> 00:03:02,549 that these students took to get here today. 62 00:03:02,549 --> 00:03:05,084 - Poetry Out Loud begins with teachers and students 63 00:03:05,084 --> 00:03:07,453 in classrooms and schools across the state. 64 00:03:07,453 --> 00:03:10,056 Each school is able to send one representative 65 00:03:10,056 --> 00:03:12,592 to their area's regional competition. 66 00:03:12,592 --> 00:03:14,294 The number of competitors at each 67 00:03:14,294 --> 00:03:15,662 of the four regional competitions 68 00:03:15,662 --> 00:03:19,165 determines how many advanced to today's state finals. 69 00:03:19,165 --> 00:03:21,167 And today, one Kansas student 70 00:03:21,167 --> 00:03:23,937 will become the Kansas Poetry Out Loud champion 71 00:03:23,937 --> 00:03:26,306 and advance to the national finals. 72 00:03:26,306 --> 00:03:28,474 Thank you to Kansas regional coordinators, 73 00:03:28,474 --> 00:03:31,377 Stacy Chestnut, Cynthia Roth, Kayla Pruitt, 74 00:03:31,377 --> 00:03:34,881 and Cody Fenwick for your work in bringing this program 75 00:03:34,881 --> 00:03:36,950 to all parts of the state. 76 00:03:36,950 --> 00:03:40,053 - It is now my pleasure to introduce our panel 77 00:03:40,053 --> 00:03:41,955 of distinguished judges. 78 00:03:41,955 --> 00:03:45,325 Megan Kaminiski is a poet and essayist 79 00:03:45,325 --> 00:03:47,427 and the author of three books of poetry, 80 00:03:47,427 --> 00:03:50,396 "Gentlewomen," Noemi press, 2020, 81 00:03:50,396 --> 00:03:53,066 "Deep City," and "Desiring Map." 82 00:03:53,066 --> 00:03:56,102 "Prairie Divination," her forthcoming collection of essays 83 00:03:56,102 --> 00:03:59,205 and oracle deck with artist L. Ann Wheeler, 84 00:03:59,205 --> 00:04:02,175 turns to the plants, animals and geological features 85 00:04:02,175 --> 00:04:04,544 of the prairie as guides for living 86 00:04:04,544 --> 00:04:06,179 in good relation each other, 87 00:04:06,179 --> 00:04:09,349 and to realigning thinking towards kinship, 88 00:04:09,349 --> 00:04:12,085 community and interdependence. 89 00:04:12,085 --> 00:04:14,254 She is an Associate Professor in English 90 00:04:14,254 --> 00:04:15,989 at the University of Kansas 91 00:04:15,989 --> 00:04:18,758 and leads poetry and nature walks at nonprofits 92 00:04:18,758 --> 00:04:22,262 throughout the state through Humanities Kansas. 93 00:04:22,262 --> 00:04:26,633 A seventh generation Kansan, Erik McHenry teaches English 94 00:04:26,633 --> 00:04:29,369 at Washburn University and was the Poet Laureate 95 00:04:29,369 --> 00:04:33,072 of Kansas from 2015 to 2017. 96 00:04:33,072 --> 00:04:36,743 His books of poetry include "Potscrubber Lullabies," 97 00:04:36,743 --> 00:04:39,946 which won the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, 98 00:04:39,946 --> 00:04:42,515 and "Odd Evening," a finalist for the Poet's Prize. 99 00:04:42,515 --> 00:04:45,251 His poems have appeared in Threepenny Review, 100 00:04:45,251 --> 00:04:47,553 the New Republic, the Yale Review, 101 00:04:47,553 --> 00:04:51,424 the Times Literary Supplement and Poetry Northwest, 102 00:04:51,424 --> 00:04:55,461 from whom he received a Theodore Roethke prize. 103 00:04:55,461 --> 00:04:58,331 He also writes essays and criticism for the New York Times, 104 00:04:58,331 --> 00:05:00,867 the American Scholar, the Boston Globe, 105 00:05:00,867 --> 00:05:03,069 and other publications. 106 00:05:03,069 --> 00:05:06,706 Ronda Miller is a life coach, poet, 107 00:05:06,706 --> 00:05:08,107 and former state president 108 00:05:08,107 --> 00:05:12,145 of Kansas Authors Club, 2018 through 2019. 109 00:05:12,145 --> 00:05:15,415 Miller's five books of poetry include "Going Home," 110 00:05:15,415 --> 00:05:17,116 "Poems from My Life," "MoonStain," 111 00:05:17,116 --> 00:05:22,822 "WaterSigns," "Winds of Time," and "I Love the Child." 112 00:05:22,822 --> 00:05:24,724 Miller teaches the importance of voice, 113 00:05:24,724 --> 00:05:27,960 no matter how you dance, in partnership 114 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,797 with the Johnson County Library, College of Trades, 115 00:05:30,797 --> 00:05:33,900 and Johnson County Department of Corrections. 116 00:05:33,900 --> 00:05:37,704 Mercedes Lucero, the author of "Stereometry," 117 00:05:37,704 --> 00:05:40,640 the winner of the Langston Hughes Creative Writing Award 118 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:42,241 for poetry and a finalist 119 00:05:42,241 --> 00:05:45,712 for the Sandy Crimmins National Prize for Poetry. 120 00:05:45,712 --> 00:05:48,414 Her work has been featured on the project 121 00:05:48,414 --> 00:05:50,950 on the history of black writing 122 00:05:50,950 --> 00:05:54,620 and published in places like CutBank, New Orleans Review, 123 00:05:54,620 --> 00:05:57,790 New Ohio Review, Puerto del Sol, 124 00:05:57,790 --> 00:06:00,560 14 Hills, Paper Darts, 125 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:03,996 the Chicago Tribune's Printers World Journal, 126 00:06:03,996 --> 00:06:08,167 The Pinch and Heavy Feather Review, among others. 127 00:06:08,167 --> 00:06:11,137 Her poem, "Holy Celluloid Poetic," 128 00:06:11,137 --> 00:06:13,606 most recently received first runner-up 129 00:06:13,606 --> 00:06:18,544 in the New Letters Patricia Cleary Miller Award for Poetry. 130 00:06:18,544 --> 00:06:21,047 Here's how the contest works. 131 00:06:21,047 --> 00:06:23,182 Students have each selected three poems 132 00:06:23,182 --> 00:06:25,818 from the "Poetry Out Loud Anthology." 133 00:06:25,818 --> 00:06:28,321 Within their selections, they must include a poem 134 00:06:28,321 --> 00:06:30,723 that was written before the 20th century 135 00:06:30,723 --> 00:06:33,426 and a poem that is 25 lines or fewer. 136 00:06:33,426 --> 00:06:35,928 In each round, students will be called 137 00:06:35,928 --> 00:06:37,997 in a randomly-determined order 138 00:06:37,997 --> 00:06:41,834 to recite one of the three poems he or she has prepared. 139 00:06:41,834 --> 00:06:45,538 Before each recitation, the student should identify 140 00:06:45,538 --> 00:06:49,542 the title of the poem and the author only. 141 00:06:49,542 --> 00:06:52,044 After the student finishes, the judges, 142 00:06:52,044 --> 00:06:54,547 without conferring, will take a moment 143 00:06:54,547 --> 00:06:58,451 to individually mark their evaluation sheets. 144 00:06:58,451 --> 00:07:00,620 The evaluation sheets will be collected 145 00:07:00,620 --> 00:07:02,655 and quickly verified. 146 00:07:02,655 --> 00:07:04,524 The next student will then be called 147 00:07:04,524 --> 00:07:07,393 onto the stage to recite their poem. 148 00:07:07,393 --> 00:07:10,897 During each round of the contest, 149 00:07:10,897 --> 00:07:14,834 the judges will assess each recitation on these criteria: 150 00:07:14,834 --> 00:07:17,737 physical presence and posture, 151 00:07:17,737 --> 00:07:20,573 voice projection and articulation, 152 00:07:20,573 --> 00:07:23,142 appropriateness of dramatization, 153 00:07:23,142 --> 00:07:27,447 evidence of understanding, and overall performance. 154 00:07:27,447 --> 00:07:28,881 Following the second round, 155 00:07:28,881 --> 00:07:31,517 the three students receiving the highest total score 156 00:07:31,517 --> 00:07:34,187 in the first two rounds will be the finalists 157 00:07:34,187 --> 00:07:37,156 competing in round three. 158 00:07:37,156 --> 00:07:38,925 After round three presentations, 159 00:07:38,925 --> 00:07:41,060 final scores will be tabulated. 160 00:07:41,060 --> 00:07:43,463 The student with the highest total score 161 00:07:43,463 --> 00:07:46,065 following round three will win 162 00:07:46,065 --> 00:07:50,903 the Kansas Poetry Out Loud competition. 163 00:07:50,903 --> 00:07:52,872 Let's get started. 164 00:07:52,872 --> 00:07:58,344 Introducing our first contestant, Jaden Huehl. 165 00:07:58,344 --> 00:08:02,548 - "Broken Promises" by David Kirby. 166 00:08:02,548 --> 00:08:07,887 "I have met them in dark alleys, limping and one-armed. 167 00:08:07,887 --> 00:08:11,357 I've seen them playing cards under a single light bulb 168 00:08:11,357 --> 00:08:15,361 and tried to join in, but they refuse me rudely, 169 00:08:15,361 --> 00:08:17,763 knowing I would only let them win. 170 00:08:17,763 --> 00:08:20,600 I've seen them in the foyers of theaters 171 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:23,202 coming back late from the interval, 172 00:08:23,202 --> 00:08:25,238 long after the others have taken their seats, 173 00:08:25,238 --> 00:08:27,974 and in deserted shopping malls late at night, 174 00:08:27,974 --> 00:08:31,043 peering at things they can never buy. 175 00:08:31,043 --> 00:08:33,846 And I have found them wandering in a wood 176 00:08:33,846 --> 00:08:36,883 where I too have wandered. 177 00:08:36,883 --> 00:08:39,185 This morning, I caught one. 178 00:08:39,185 --> 00:08:43,289 Small and stupid, too slow to get away. 179 00:08:43,289 --> 00:08:45,992 It was only a promise I had made 180 00:08:45,992 --> 00:08:48,694 to myself once and then forgot, 181 00:08:48,694 --> 00:08:52,798 but it screamed and kicked at me and ran to join the others 182 00:08:52,798 --> 00:08:58,037 who looked at me with reproach in their long, sad faces. 183 00:08:58,037 --> 00:09:01,407 When I drew near them, they scurried away. 184 00:09:01,407 --> 00:09:04,844 Even though they will sleep in my yard tonight, 185 00:09:04,844 --> 00:09:07,146 I hate them for them for their ingratitude. 186 00:09:07,146 --> 00:09:10,016 I, who have kept countless promises 187 00:09:10,016 --> 00:09:12,852 as dead now as Shakespeare's children. 188 00:09:12,852 --> 00:09:15,054 You bastards, I scream. 189 00:09:15,054 --> 00:09:16,956 You have to love me. 190 00:09:16,956 --> 00:09:20,693 I gave you life." 191 00:09:20,693 --> 00:09:24,564 (audience applauds) 192 00:09:24,964 --> 00:09:28,301 - Our second contestant is Madeline Fritz. 193 00:09:29,735 --> 00:09:34,473 - "Advice From Rock Creek Park" by Stephanie Burt. 194 00:09:35,207 --> 00:09:37,543 (breathes deeply) 195 00:09:38,578 --> 00:09:41,213 "What will survive us 196 00:09:41,213 --> 00:09:44,317 has already begun. 197 00:09:44,317 --> 00:09:46,686 Oak galls, 198 00:09:46,686 --> 00:09:48,321 two termites, 199 00:09:48,321 --> 00:09:51,257 curious, self-perpetuating bodies 200 00:09:51,257 --> 00:09:53,859 letting the light through the gaps. 201 00:09:54,827 --> 00:09:57,563 They lay out their allegiances 202 00:09:57,563 --> 00:10:00,633 under the roots of an overturned tree. 203 00:10:02,301 --> 00:10:05,071 Almost always better 204 00:10:05,071 --> 00:10:08,741 to build than to wreck. 205 00:10:10,476 --> 00:10:13,446 You can build in a wreck 206 00:10:13,446 --> 00:10:16,282 under the roots of an overturned tree. 207 00:10:17,583 --> 00:10:19,585 Consider the martin 208 00:10:19,585 --> 00:10:24,390 that hefts herself over traffic cones. 209 00:10:24,390 --> 00:10:26,359 Consider her shadow, 210 00:10:26,359 --> 00:10:29,895 misaligned over parking lot cement, 211 00:10:29,895 --> 00:10:33,566 Saran wrap scrap in her beak. 212 00:10:35,401 --> 00:10:39,205 Nothing lasts forever. 213 00:10:40,506 --> 00:10:43,509 Not even the future we want. 214 00:10:45,344 --> 00:10:49,915 The president has never owned the rain." 215 00:10:51,550 --> 00:10:54,620 (audience applauds) 216 00:10:57,189 --> 00:11:01,127 - Our next contestant is Nova Hagerman. 217 00:11:01,127 --> 00:11:03,796 - "April Midnight" by Arthur Symons. 218 00:11:05,431 --> 00:11:08,701 "Side by side, through the streets at midnight, 219 00:11:08,701 --> 00:11:12,838 roaming together through the tumultuous night of London 220 00:11:12,838 --> 00:11:15,107 and the miraculous April weather, 221 00:11:16,575 --> 00:11:21,013 roaming together under the gaslight, days work over. 222 00:11:22,148 --> 00:11:25,151 How the spring calls to us here in the city, 223 00:11:25,151 --> 00:11:27,853 calls to the heart from the heart of a lover. 224 00:11:29,055 --> 00:11:33,025 Cool, the wind blows fresh in our faces, 225 00:11:33,025 --> 00:11:36,262 cleansing, entrancing, 226 00:11:36,262 --> 00:11:38,230 after the heat and the fumes 227 00:11:38,230 --> 00:11:41,567 and the footlights where you dance 228 00:11:41,567 --> 00:11:43,302 and I watch you dancing. 229 00:11:44,570 --> 00:11:46,772 Good it is to be here together. 230 00:11:46,772 --> 00:11:48,507 Good to be roaming. 231 00:11:48,507 --> 00:11:51,977 Even in London, even at midnight. 232 00:11:51,977 --> 00:11:54,480 Lover-like in a lover's gloaming. 233 00:11:55,948 --> 00:12:00,419 You, the dancer and I, the dreamer, children together, 234 00:12:00,419 --> 00:12:03,489 wandering lost in the night of London 235 00:12:03,489 --> 00:12:06,025 in the miraculous April weather." 236 00:12:07,293 --> 00:12:10,396 (audience applauds) 237 00:12:11,797 --> 00:12:15,201 - Our next contestant is John Gilmore. 238 00:12:17,036 --> 00:12:19,505 - "The Charge of the Light Brigade" 239 00:12:19,505 --> 00:12:21,807 by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. 240 00:12:23,142 --> 00:12:27,913 "Half a league, half a league, half a league onward, 241 00:12:27,913 --> 00:12:31,217 all in the valley of death rode the six hundred. 242 00:12:32,251 --> 00:12:33,919 'Forward the Light Brigade! 243 00:12:33,919 --> 00:12:36,789 'Charge for the guns!' he said. 244 00:12:36,789 --> 00:12:40,359 Into the valley of death rode the six hundred. 245 00:12:40,359 --> 00:12:43,295 'Forward the light brigade!' 246 00:12:43,295 --> 00:12:45,731 Was there a man dismayed? 247 00:12:45,731 --> 00:12:50,136 Not though the soldier knew someone had blundered. 248 00:12:50,136 --> 00:12:52,438 Theirs not to make reply, 249 00:12:52,438 --> 00:12:55,608 theirs not to reason why, 250 00:12:55,608 --> 00:12:58,978 theirs but to do and die. 251 00:12:58,978 --> 00:13:03,182 Into the valley of death rode the six hundred. 252 00:13:04,416 --> 00:13:07,086 Cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, 253 00:13:07,086 --> 00:13:10,055 cannon in front of them volleyed and thundered, 254 00:13:10,055 --> 00:13:12,258 stormed at with shot and shell, 255 00:13:12,258 --> 00:13:15,161 boldly, they rode and well 256 00:13:16,095 --> 00:13:17,530 into the jaws of death, 257 00:13:17,530 --> 00:13:22,368 into the mouth of hell rode the six hundred. 258 00:13:22,368 --> 00:13:24,270 Flashed all their sabers bare, 259 00:13:24,270 --> 00:13:26,472 flashed as they turned in air, 260 00:13:26,472 --> 00:13:28,941 sabering the gunners there. 261 00:13:28,941 --> 00:13:30,509 Charging an army, 262 00:13:31,544 --> 00:13:33,612 while all the world wondered. 263 00:13:34,647 --> 00:13:36,282 Plunged in the battery-smoke, 264 00:13:36,282 --> 00:13:38,150 right through the line they broke, 265 00:13:38,150 --> 00:13:42,321 Cossack and Russian reeled from saber stroke, 266 00:13:42,321 --> 00:13:44,890 shattered and sundered. 267 00:13:45,958 --> 00:13:48,093 Then they rode back, 268 00:13:49,195 --> 00:13:51,096 but not, 269 00:13:51,096 --> 00:13:52,765 not the six hundred. 270 00:13:53,966 --> 00:13:57,269 Cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, 271 00:13:57,269 --> 00:14:00,673 cannon behind them volleyed and thundered, 272 00:14:00,673 --> 00:14:03,709 stormed at with shots and shell 273 00:14:03,709 --> 00:14:07,213 while horse and hero fell. 274 00:14:07,213 --> 00:14:10,549 They that had fought so well 275 00:14:10,549 --> 00:14:15,187 came through the jaws of death, back from the mouth of hell. 276 00:14:16,555 --> 00:14:20,726 All that was left of them, left of six hundred. 277 00:14:21,927 --> 00:14:24,029 When can their glory fade? 278 00:14:25,030 --> 00:14:27,466 O the wild charge they made! 279 00:14:28,500 --> 00:14:29,835 All the world wondered. 280 00:14:31,437 --> 00:14:33,939 Honor the charge they made! 281 00:14:34,874 --> 00:14:37,443 Honor the Light Brigade! 282 00:14:37,443 --> 00:14:40,079 Noble six hundred!" 283 00:14:41,347 --> 00:14:44,717 (audience applauds) 284 00:14:44,717 --> 00:14:47,386 - Our next contestant is Allie Cloyd. 285 00:14:50,122 --> 00:14:53,259 - "Say This" by Lucia Perillo. 286 00:14:55,794 --> 00:14:58,564 "I live a small life, 287 00:14:58,564 --> 00:15:01,767 barely bigger than a speck, 288 00:15:01,767 --> 00:15:06,071 barely more than a blip on the radar sweep 289 00:15:06,071 --> 00:15:08,807 though it is not nothing. 290 00:15:08,807 --> 00:15:12,378 As the garter snake climbs the rock rose shrub 291 00:15:12,378 --> 00:15:16,148 and the squirrel creeps on bramble thorns. 292 00:15:16,148 --> 00:15:18,784 Not nothing to the crows who heckle 293 00:15:18,784 --> 00:15:21,787 from the crowns of the last light's trees, 294 00:15:21,787 --> 00:15:23,889 winter stripped of green 295 00:15:23,889 --> 00:15:27,593 except for the boughs that ivy wins each hour 'round. 296 00:15:28,761 --> 00:15:32,831 See, the world is busy and the world is quick, 297 00:15:32,831 --> 00:15:35,868 barely time for a spider 298 00:15:35,868 --> 00:15:38,837 to suck the juice from a hawk moth's head 299 00:15:38,837 --> 00:15:43,842 so it can use the moth as a spindle that it wraps in fiber. 300 00:15:44,710 --> 00:15:46,478 While the moth constricts, 301 00:15:46,478 --> 00:15:50,783 until it's thin as a stick you might think was nothing, 302 00:15:51,650 --> 00:15:54,320 a random bit caught in a web 303 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:57,456 coming loose from the window frame in wind." 304 00:15:59,425 --> 00:16:02,795 (audience applauds) 305 00:16:02,795 --> 00:16:04,863 (upbeat music) 306 00:16:04,863 --> 00:16:06,665 - [Huascar] While we prepare for round two, 307 00:16:06,665 --> 00:16:09,268 let's take a moment to meet some of our contestants. 308 00:16:11,503 --> 00:16:12,838 - I'm Allie Cloyd. 309 00:16:12,838 --> 00:16:16,375 I am a sophomore at Manhattan High School. 310 00:16:16,375 --> 00:16:18,677 This is my first time in Poetry Out Loud. 311 00:16:18,677 --> 00:16:20,346 It's been fun so far. 312 00:16:20,346 --> 00:16:23,048 It's very new, but it's been a good experience. 313 00:16:24,450 --> 00:16:26,518 - My name is Nova Hagerman. 314 00:16:26,518 --> 00:16:28,954 I'm a Junior at Wichita East High School, 315 00:16:28,954 --> 00:16:30,823 and I'm from Wichita, Kansas. 316 00:16:31,690 --> 00:16:33,492 It's been very welcoming. 317 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,963 Everybody who's working for Poetry Out Loud 318 00:16:37,963 --> 00:16:39,798 has been very passionate about it. 319 00:16:39,798 --> 00:16:41,300 I can see it in their eyes. 320 00:16:42,601 --> 00:16:44,970 I'm just really excited to perform today. 321 00:16:45,971 --> 00:16:48,640 (upbeat music) 322 00:16:54,847 --> 00:16:58,917 - So my first poem is "Say This" by Lucia Perillo. 323 00:16:58,917 --> 00:17:00,419 And then the next one is 324 00:17:00,419 --> 00:17:03,422 "Emily Dickinson at the Poetry Slam" by Dan Vera. 325 00:17:03,422 --> 00:17:06,325 And I really enjoy both of those poems, 326 00:17:06,325 --> 00:17:08,894 especially "Emily Dickinson at the Poetry Slam." 327 00:17:08,894 --> 00:17:11,130 They're fun to recite and perform, 328 00:17:11,130 --> 00:17:14,233 and it's just a new sort of fun challenge. 329 00:17:15,734 --> 00:17:18,203 - For my first poem, I chose "April Midnight" 330 00:17:18,203 --> 00:17:21,874 by Arthur Symons because it was very romantic and dreamy, 331 00:17:21,874 --> 00:17:24,309 and I lean towards poetry like that. 332 00:17:25,778 --> 00:17:29,081 The second poem was "From Blossoms" by Li-Young Lee 333 00:17:29,081 --> 00:17:32,918 and I was just clicking the random button on the website 334 00:17:32,918 --> 00:17:36,255 and that one popped up and I immediately fell in love. 335 00:17:36,255 --> 00:17:37,923 I love that poem. 336 00:17:37,923 --> 00:17:42,661 And the last one, I had two weeks to choose and memorize. 337 00:17:42,661 --> 00:17:45,130 I chose "In" by Andrew Hudgins. 338 00:17:46,432 --> 00:17:50,235 There was a line in that poem talking about voice 339 00:17:50,235 --> 00:17:51,837 and it just really spoke to me, 340 00:17:51,837 --> 00:17:54,740 and I felt like I was called to do it for today. 341 00:17:55,974 --> 00:17:58,644 (upbeat music) 342 00:18:03,015 --> 00:18:07,319 - I've always enjoyed poetry and spoken word, 343 00:18:07,319 --> 00:18:11,757 and I enjoy it as part of like my forensics pieces, 344 00:18:11,757 --> 00:18:13,258 and it's always especially poems 345 00:18:13,258 --> 00:18:17,096 with like a deeper meaning have always been fun for me. 346 00:18:19,031 --> 00:18:20,833 - When I was younger, I always thought 347 00:18:20,833 --> 00:18:24,436 that I wanted to write longer stories, 348 00:18:25,637 --> 00:18:28,307 but sophomore year, we did a poetry unit 349 00:18:28,307 --> 00:18:30,309 in my creative writing class, 350 00:18:30,309 --> 00:18:35,314 and I just loved how just small little phrases, 351 00:18:36,515 --> 00:18:38,650 just with pretty words, just matched up together 352 00:18:38,650 --> 00:18:40,385 and made this huge image, 353 00:18:40,385 --> 00:18:45,157 this idea, and just called to me more. 354 00:18:45,157 --> 00:18:47,826 (upbeat music) 355 00:18:52,698 --> 00:18:55,267 - Yeah, I think there's something for everyone in poetry. 356 00:18:55,267 --> 00:18:58,904 Poetry can describe a lot of emotions 357 00:18:58,904 --> 00:19:00,372 or how you're feeling 358 00:19:00,372 --> 00:19:04,810 or a lot of maybe change that you want to have made. 359 00:19:05,677 --> 00:19:07,312 There's just a lot of options 360 00:19:07,312 --> 00:19:08,647 and different styles of poetry, 361 00:19:08,647 --> 00:19:10,849 and there really is something for everyone. 362 00:19:12,417 --> 00:19:17,422 - (sighs) I feel like people do not take poetry seriously, 363 00:19:18,157 --> 00:19:19,424 when they really should, 364 00:19:19,424 --> 00:19:21,026 because it's an amazing way to express yourself. 365 00:19:21,026 --> 00:19:23,428 It's beautiful. It's passionate. 366 00:19:23,428 --> 00:19:27,833 And if you have any inkling that's telling you, 367 00:19:27,833 --> 00:19:31,703 that it calls out to you or you want to be poetic, do it. 368 00:19:31,703 --> 00:19:33,872 I feel like so many people are afraid to do it, 369 00:19:33,872 --> 00:19:36,041 and you just gotta be the person who isn't. 370 00:19:37,643 --> 00:19:40,312 (upbeat music) 371 00:19:45,918 --> 00:19:49,888 - We will now begin the recitations for round two. 372 00:19:51,023 --> 00:19:53,492 Our first contestant is Jaden Huehl. 373 00:19:55,227 --> 00:19:59,765 - "The Spirit is Too Blunt an Instrument" by Anne Stevenson. 374 00:20:01,533 --> 00:20:04,069 "The spirit is too blunt an instrument 375 00:20:04,069 --> 00:20:06,471 to have made this baby. 376 00:20:06,471 --> 00:20:09,174 Nothing so unskillful as human passions 377 00:20:09,174 --> 00:20:13,111 could have managed the intricate, exacting particulars, 378 00:20:13,111 --> 00:20:17,182 the tiny blind bones with their manipulating tendons, 379 00:20:17,182 --> 00:20:18,984 the knee and the knuckle bones, 380 00:20:18,984 --> 00:20:22,888 the resilient, fine meshing of ganglia and vertebrae, 381 00:20:22,888 --> 00:20:26,091 the chain of the difficult spine. 382 00:20:26,091 --> 00:20:28,293 Observe the distinct eyelashes 383 00:20:28,293 --> 00:20:30,495 and sharp crescent fingernails, 384 00:20:30,495 --> 00:20:32,764 the shell-like complexity of the ear 385 00:20:32,764 --> 00:20:35,267 with its firm involutions concentric 386 00:20:35,267 --> 00:20:38,403 in miniature to minute ossicles . 387 00:20:38,403 --> 00:20:41,006 Imagine the infinitesimal capillaries, 388 00:20:41,006 --> 00:20:43,976 the flawless connections of the lungs, 389 00:20:43,976 --> 00:20:45,744 the invisible neurofilaments 390 00:20:45,744 --> 00:20:47,312 through which the completed body 391 00:20:47,312 --> 00:20:49,281 already answers to the brain. 392 00:20:50,482 --> 00:20:53,952 The name any passion or sentiment possessed 393 00:20:53,952 --> 00:20:56,188 of the simplest accuracy. 394 00:20:56,188 --> 00:21:00,692 No, no desire or affection could have done with practice 395 00:21:00,692 --> 00:21:04,196 what habit has done perfectly, 396 00:21:04,196 --> 00:21:08,300 indifferently through the body's ignorant precision. 397 00:21:08,300 --> 00:21:12,904 It is left to the vagaries of the mind to invent love 398 00:21:14,339 --> 00:21:17,509 and despair and anxiety 399 00:21:17,509 --> 00:21:19,111 and their pain." 400 00:21:21,847 --> 00:21:24,916 (audience applauds) 401 00:21:26,051 --> 00:21:29,454 - Our next contestant is Madeline Fritz. 402 00:21:30,856 --> 00:21:34,026 - "Hope is the Thing with Feathers" by Emily Dickinson. 403 00:21:35,427 --> 00:21:38,130 (breathes deeply) 404 00:21:38,130 --> 00:21:41,867 "Hope is the thing with feathers 405 00:21:41,867 --> 00:21:45,003 that perches in the soul 406 00:21:45,003 --> 00:21:49,374 and sings the tune without the words 407 00:21:49,374 --> 00:21:51,977 and never stops at all, 408 00:21:51,977 --> 00:21:54,780 and sweetest in the gale is heard, 409 00:21:56,181 --> 00:22:00,285 and sore must be the storm 410 00:22:00,285 --> 00:22:02,888 that could abash the little bird 411 00:22:02,888 --> 00:22:05,157 that kept so many warm. 412 00:22:06,692 --> 00:22:10,429 I've heard it in the chillest land 413 00:22:10,429 --> 00:22:13,498 and on the strangest sea, 414 00:22:14,466 --> 00:22:18,704 yet never in extremity 415 00:22:18,704 --> 00:22:22,574 it asked a crumb of me." 416 00:22:24,910 --> 00:22:28,013 (audience applauds) 417 00:22:29,748 --> 00:22:33,418 - Our next contestant is Nova Hagerman. 418 00:22:33,418 --> 00:22:36,321 - "From Blossoms" by Li-Young Lee 419 00:22:38,156 --> 00:22:41,727 "From blossoms comes this brown paper bag 420 00:22:41,727 --> 00:22:43,462 of peaches we bought from the boy 421 00:22:43,462 --> 00:22:45,464 at the bend in the road 422 00:22:45,464 --> 00:22:48,767 where we turn towards signs painted 'Peaches.' 423 00:22:49,801 --> 00:22:53,505 From laden boughs, from hands, 424 00:22:53,505 --> 00:22:55,674 from sweet fellowship in the bins 425 00:22:55,674 --> 00:22:58,176 comes nectar at the roadside. 426 00:22:58,176 --> 00:23:02,047 Succulent peaches we devour, dusty skin and all, 427 00:23:02,047 --> 00:23:05,117 comes a familiar dust of summer. 428 00:23:05,117 --> 00:23:06,551 Dust we eat. 429 00:23:07,619 --> 00:23:10,355 Oh, to take what we love inside 430 00:23:10,355 --> 00:23:12,724 to carry within us an orchard. 431 00:23:12,724 --> 00:23:16,161 To eat not only the skin, but the shade. 432 00:23:16,161 --> 00:23:18,397 Not only the sugar, but the days 433 00:23:18,397 --> 00:23:23,068 to hold the fruit in our hands, adore it, 434 00:23:23,068 --> 00:23:26,471 then bite into the round jubilance of peach. 435 00:23:27,839 --> 00:23:31,076 There are days we live, as of death 436 00:23:31,076 --> 00:23:33,745 were nowhere in the background. 437 00:23:33,745 --> 00:23:37,849 From joy to joy to joy from wing to wing, 438 00:23:37,849 --> 00:23:42,120 from blossom to blossom to impossible blossom, 439 00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:45,457 to sweet, impossible blossom." 440 00:23:46,658 --> 00:23:49,928 (audience applauds) 441 00:23:49,928 --> 00:23:53,165 - Our next contestant is John Gilmore. 442 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:59,004 - "Invisible Children" by Mariana Llanos. 443 00:24:00,839 --> 00:24:05,243 "Invisible children fall through the cracks of the system, 444 00:24:05,243 --> 00:24:07,779 like Alice and the rabbit hole. 445 00:24:07,779 --> 00:24:10,949 But these children won't find an eat me cake 446 00:24:10,949 --> 00:24:12,751 or a drink me bottle. 447 00:24:12,751 --> 00:24:17,255 They won't wake up on the lap of a loving sister. 448 00:24:17,255 --> 00:24:22,260 They'll open their eyes on the monster called negligence, 449 00:24:23,428 --> 00:24:24,996 who will poke them with its sharp teeth 450 00:24:24,996 --> 00:24:28,033 and bait them with its heartless laughter, 451 00:24:28,033 --> 00:24:31,036 like a wild thing in a wild rumpus. 452 00:24:32,471 --> 00:24:36,341 But the children won't awake to the smell of a warm supper, 453 00:24:36,341 --> 00:24:38,410 nor will they find a purple crown 454 00:24:38,410 --> 00:24:41,680 to draw an escape door or a window. 455 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:42,514 But 456 00:24:43,648 --> 00:24:45,784 instead, they'll make a mirror 457 00:24:45,784 --> 00:24:49,087 of a murky puddle on the city street 458 00:24:49,087 --> 00:24:51,923 which won't tell them they're beautiful, 459 00:24:51,923 --> 00:24:53,859 but it'll show their scars, 460 00:24:55,026 --> 00:24:58,597 as invisible to others as these children are." 461 00:24:59,831 --> 00:25:03,001 (audience applauds) 462 00:25:04,102 --> 00:25:06,972 - Our next contestant is Allie Cloyd. 463 00:25:08,473 --> 00:25:12,677 - "Emily Dickinson at the Poetry Slam" by Dan Vera. 464 00:25:14,913 --> 00:25:18,717 "I will tell you why she rarely ventured from her house. 465 00:25:18,717 --> 00:25:21,453 It happened like this. 466 00:25:21,453 --> 00:25:23,788 One day she took the train to Boston, 467 00:25:23,788 --> 00:25:25,924 made her way to the darkened room, 468 00:25:25,924 --> 00:25:29,628 put her name down in cursive script, and waited her turn. 469 00:25:30,595 --> 00:25:32,364 When they read her name aloud, 470 00:25:32,364 --> 00:25:33,999 she made her way to the stage, 471 00:25:33,999 --> 00:25:36,368 straightened the papers in her hands, 472 00:25:36,368 --> 00:25:40,572 pages and envelopes, the backs of grocery bills. 473 00:25:40,572 --> 00:25:42,941 She closed her eyes for a minute, (inhales) 474 00:25:42,941 --> 00:25:45,644 took a breath, and began. 475 00:25:46,811 --> 00:25:50,949 From her mouth, perfect words exploded. 476 00:25:50,949 --> 00:25:54,219 Intact formulas of light and darkness, 477 00:25:54,219 --> 00:25:57,522 she dared to rhyme with words like cochineal 478 00:25:57,522 --> 00:26:00,959 and describe the skies like diadem. 479 00:26:00,959 --> 00:26:04,763 Obscurely worded incantations filled the room 480 00:26:04,763 --> 00:26:09,267 with an alchemy that made the very molecules quake. 481 00:26:10,402 --> 00:26:12,170 The solitary words she handled 482 00:26:12,170 --> 00:26:15,206 in her upstairs room with keen precision 483 00:26:15,206 --> 00:26:20,011 came rumbling out to make the electric lights flicker. 484 00:26:21,413 --> 00:26:24,950 40 members of the audience were treated for hypertension. 485 00:26:24,950 --> 00:26:26,718 20-year-old dark-haired beauties 486 00:26:26,718 --> 00:26:29,454 found their heads had turned a Moses white. 487 00:26:30,655 --> 00:26:32,657 Her second poem erased the memory 488 00:26:32,657 --> 00:26:35,126 of every cell phone in the nightclub. 489 00:26:35,126 --> 00:26:37,562 And by the fourth line of the sixth verse, 490 00:26:37,562 --> 00:26:39,931 the grandmother in the upstairs apartment 491 00:26:39,931 --> 00:26:41,833 had been cured of her rheumatism. 492 00:26:43,068 --> 00:26:46,037 The papers reported the power outages, 493 00:26:46,037 --> 00:26:49,074 the area hospitals taxed their emergency generators 494 00:26:49,074 --> 00:26:51,710 and sirens were heard to wail through the night. 495 00:26:53,178 --> 00:26:56,681 Quietly, she made her way to the exit, 496 00:26:56,681 --> 00:26:59,884 walked to the terminal and rode back to Amherst. 497 00:27:00,885 --> 00:27:03,288 She never left her room again 498 00:27:03,288 --> 00:27:06,191 and never read such syllables aloud." 499 00:27:07,859 --> 00:27:10,996 (audience applauds) 500 00:27:10,996 --> 00:27:12,464 (upbeat music) 501 00:27:12,464 --> 00:27:13,598 - [Huascar] While the judges compile the scores 502 00:27:13,598 --> 00:27:15,033 from the first two rounds, 503 00:27:15,033 --> 00:27:17,002 let's meet the rest of our contestants. 504 00:27:17,902 --> 00:27:19,571 (upbeat music) 505 00:27:19,571 --> 00:27:23,041 - I am Madeline Fritz, I go by Maddie. 506 00:27:23,041 --> 00:27:24,909 I am from Blue Valley High School. 507 00:27:24,909 --> 00:27:28,647 I am a senior now, so college. 508 00:27:28,647 --> 00:27:32,017 And I am from Overland Park, Kansas. 509 00:27:32,017 --> 00:27:34,085 Yes, this is my first time competing, 510 00:27:34,085 --> 00:27:36,187 and it's been really fun. 511 00:27:37,555 --> 00:27:40,025 I've done a lot of practicing with coaches and stuff, 512 00:27:40,025 --> 00:27:41,860 so I'm very excited for today. 513 00:27:43,028 --> 00:27:44,863 - My name is John Gilmore. 514 00:27:44,863 --> 00:27:48,700 I am from Girard, I go to Girard High School. 515 00:27:48,700 --> 00:27:52,037 I am a senior at Girard High School this year. 516 00:27:52,037 --> 00:27:53,838 This is my first time competing 517 00:27:53,838 --> 00:27:56,474 at this level in Poetry Out Loud. 518 00:27:56,474 --> 00:27:58,343 I've had an amazing experience. 519 00:27:58,343 --> 00:28:02,313 A lot of people who I've met along the way 520 00:28:02,313 --> 00:28:04,082 who are very passionate about poetry 521 00:28:04,082 --> 00:28:05,450 and it's good to see that. 522 00:28:06,384 --> 00:28:08,086 - So my name is Jaden Huehl. 523 00:28:08,086 --> 00:28:10,188 I go Tipton Catholic High School. 524 00:28:10,188 --> 00:28:13,958 I live outside of Silvan Grove on a farm, 525 00:28:13,958 --> 00:28:15,794 and I'm a junior this year. 526 00:28:17,262 --> 00:28:19,698 Yes, it is my very first time competing in Poetry Out Loud. 527 00:28:19,698 --> 00:28:22,000 This is the first time I was ever introduced to it 528 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,035 being that I went to two other schools. 529 00:28:24,035 --> 00:28:26,004 My freshman and sophomore year of high school, 530 00:28:26,004 --> 00:28:28,373 it wasn't really offered or even talked about, 531 00:28:28,373 --> 00:28:30,408 and so I was really excited to get involved. 532 00:28:30,408 --> 00:28:31,743 I loved doing speech, forensics, 533 00:28:31,743 --> 00:28:32,911 debate, all that type of stuff. 534 00:28:32,911 --> 00:28:34,679 So I've loved it so far 535 00:28:34,679 --> 00:28:36,481 and I can't wait to do it in the future. 536 00:28:38,216 --> 00:28:40,885 (upbeat music) 537 00:28:45,323 --> 00:28:48,460 - All of my poems actually have kind of a theme, 538 00:28:48,460 --> 00:28:50,962 which is like hope and deference. 539 00:28:50,962 --> 00:28:54,499 So my first poem, "Advice From Rock Creek Park," 540 00:28:54,499 --> 00:28:57,469 is kind of this warning 541 00:28:57,469 --> 00:29:02,173 about how our society can pollute the earth 542 00:29:02,173 --> 00:29:05,744 and how we don't want that, and the wildlife is struggling. 543 00:29:05,744 --> 00:29:09,481 But they are still gonna be here when we are not. 544 00:29:12,083 --> 00:29:15,854 - I chose the poem "Invisible Children," 545 00:29:15,854 --> 00:29:17,889 that's one of the poems I chose by, 546 00:29:19,357 --> 00:29:22,093 pardon me if I butcher her name, but Mariana Llanos, 547 00:29:22,093 --> 00:29:25,029 and I love the poem 548 00:29:25,029 --> 00:29:29,100 and how it speaks about the kids 549 00:29:29,100 --> 00:29:32,237 that are around the United States, 550 00:29:32,237 --> 00:29:35,573 who are in like shallow and slumped places, 551 00:29:35,573 --> 00:29:38,777 and I like that, the theme of the poem really much, 552 00:29:38,777 --> 00:29:39,711 it speaks to me. 553 00:29:41,446 --> 00:29:43,348 - So I've chosen three different poems. 554 00:29:43,348 --> 00:29:45,917 The first one is "Broken Promises" by David Kirby. 555 00:29:45,917 --> 00:29:49,154 When I first read this poem, it really resonated with me, 556 00:29:49,154 --> 00:29:51,990 'cause I think it's a poem that you can really relate to 557 00:29:51,990 --> 00:29:53,658 on a very personal and deep level, 558 00:29:53,658 --> 00:29:55,059 'cause we all have those promises 559 00:29:55,059 --> 00:29:56,795 that we've made to ourselves 560 00:29:56,795 --> 00:29:58,763 and they come up and they haunt you. 561 00:29:58,763 --> 00:30:00,465 And I think that that's what this poem is really about, 562 00:30:00,465 --> 00:30:02,967 and trying to like explain that feeling 563 00:30:02,967 --> 00:30:06,704 of just your failures and how that affects you. 564 00:30:06,704 --> 00:30:09,107 The second one is "The Spirit is Too Blunt an Instrument," 565 00:30:09,107 --> 00:30:12,477 and it's just talking about how amazing our bodies are 566 00:30:12,477 --> 00:30:16,915 and how amazing making a baby is, and that process. 567 00:30:16,915 --> 00:30:18,650 And it just really spoke to me 568 00:30:18,650 --> 00:30:19,884 'cause when you look at a baby, 569 00:30:19,884 --> 00:30:21,586 you just think of this perfect, precious thing. 570 00:30:21,586 --> 00:30:23,154 It's kind of just appreciating that wonder 571 00:30:23,154 --> 00:30:24,923 and that awe that you really think of. 572 00:30:24,923 --> 00:30:26,591 And then the final, last poem 573 00:30:26,591 --> 00:30:29,928 is "On Monsieur's Departure" by Queen Elizabeth the First, 574 00:30:29,928 --> 00:30:33,164 and for this one, she's very torn, 575 00:30:33,164 --> 00:30:36,668 and I feel like I liked the back and forth in the poem. 576 00:30:36,668 --> 00:30:38,803 I liked how she was expressing her feelings. 577 00:30:38,803 --> 00:30:41,039 And I feel like that's a feeling that a lot of people have, 578 00:30:41,039 --> 00:30:43,208 whether it be, like in her case of love, 579 00:30:43,208 --> 00:30:44,576 or over something else, 580 00:30:44,576 --> 00:30:46,778 it's just that expression of being torn, 581 00:30:46,778 --> 00:30:48,713 and I just like that relatability. 582 00:30:49,881 --> 00:30:52,517 (upbeat music) 583 00:30:56,821 --> 00:30:59,057 - I think poetry is very important 584 00:30:59,057 --> 00:31:04,028 because it just is such a great way to express yourself 585 00:31:04,028 --> 00:31:07,232 in interpreting the world around you 586 00:31:07,232 --> 00:31:09,100 and interpreting people. 587 00:31:09,100 --> 00:31:11,135 And I think it's just, 588 00:31:11,135 --> 00:31:14,973 it's so fun to be able to put together 589 00:31:14,973 --> 00:31:19,644 these verses and words that just kind of flow off the page, 590 00:31:19,644 --> 00:31:21,246 and that's also why 591 00:31:22,347 --> 00:31:25,650 I think I do like reciting poetry so much. 592 00:31:25,650 --> 00:31:27,552 It's just because that feeling that you get 593 00:31:27,552 --> 00:31:30,655 when you're just thinking about what these words mean 594 00:31:30,655 --> 00:31:32,156 and the impact that they have. 595 00:31:33,424 --> 00:31:35,727 - I like poetry because it's almost like seeing 596 00:31:35,727 --> 00:31:37,662 into the inner souls of people. 597 00:31:37,662 --> 00:31:39,898 People like to confess what they feel, 598 00:31:39,898 --> 00:31:42,166 what they think, and these emotions 599 00:31:42,166 --> 00:31:45,169 that they can't normally confess to others. 600 00:31:45,169 --> 00:31:46,804 And that's just cool to see 601 00:31:46,804 --> 00:31:50,541 because maybe I'm not alone in the things I feel. 602 00:31:51,843 --> 00:31:53,811 - So I am definitely someone 603 00:31:53,811 --> 00:31:55,513 who English class is my favorite class. 604 00:31:55,513 --> 00:31:58,249 And so I love looking at deeper meanings 605 00:31:58,249 --> 00:32:00,818 and I think that's the beauty of a good poem, 606 00:32:00,818 --> 00:32:02,387 is when you read it through the first time, 607 00:32:02,387 --> 00:32:03,588 you're like, that's good. 608 00:32:03,588 --> 00:32:06,691 And the 15th time, you're like that's good. 609 00:32:06,691 --> 00:32:08,359 And I love how poetry, 610 00:32:08,359 --> 00:32:11,329 each person takes something different out of it. 611 00:32:11,329 --> 00:32:12,730 I can read the same poem that you read 612 00:32:12,730 --> 00:32:14,933 and we're both gonna feel different emotions, 613 00:32:14,933 --> 00:32:18,036 but it's still that author conveying that emotion to you. 614 00:32:18,036 --> 00:32:20,571 And I just think it's a very beautiful process. 615 00:32:22,140 --> 00:32:24,809 (upbeat music) 616 00:32:27,345 --> 00:32:28,579 - I have. 617 00:32:28,579 --> 00:32:31,716 I find poetry is just a fun pastime 618 00:32:31,716 --> 00:32:35,186 to look at an object and just kind of try 619 00:32:35,186 --> 00:32:38,690 to figure it out through rhyming verse. 620 00:32:38,690 --> 00:32:42,160 I actually composed a little homemade book 621 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:46,731 that my mom printed for our family for Christmas one year. 622 00:32:46,731 --> 00:32:50,234 So I do have an unofficial little book out 623 00:32:50,234 --> 00:32:51,569 of poems out there. 624 00:32:53,171 --> 00:32:56,741 - I have not written any poetry on my own. 625 00:32:56,741 --> 00:33:00,745 We have, I guess, you can say haikus, I've written those 626 00:33:00,745 --> 00:33:03,681 and those are challenging to convey messages, 627 00:33:03,681 --> 00:33:06,617 but I like the style of haikus, though. 628 00:33:07,618 --> 00:33:09,287 - I don't really write poetry 629 00:33:09,287 --> 00:33:11,055 in the sense of maybe anyone else seeing it. 630 00:33:11,055 --> 00:33:12,490 But I do think a sense 631 00:33:12,490 --> 00:33:14,158 that I think everyone writes their own poetry 632 00:33:14,158 --> 00:33:16,260 in their own way, if you ever journal or anything, 633 00:33:16,260 --> 00:33:18,596 'cause the beauty about poetry is it can be yours. 634 00:33:18,596 --> 00:33:20,531 It's not a strict rubric. 635 00:33:20,531 --> 00:33:22,066 And I think if you really think about it, 636 00:33:22,066 --> 00:33:23,301 everyone's written poetry, 637 00:33:23,301 --> 00:33:24,635 and so anytime you're journaling, 638 00:33:24,635 --> 00:33:26,137 any time you're writing down your thoughts, 639 00:33:26,137 --> 00:33:27,405 that is your poetry. 640 00:33:27,405 --> 00:33:29,040 So in a way, yes, and in a way, no. 641 00:33:30,742 --> 00:33:33,411 (upbeat music) 642 00:33:37,048 --> 00:33:38,483 - Absolutely. 643 00:33:38,483 --> 00:33:43,054 I would say just start thinking about things in your life 644 00:33:43,054 --> 00:33:46,157 and things that you would like other people to know. 645 00:33:46,157 --> 00:33:49,560 So you can just start writing down random ideas 646 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:51,329 and just expressing your thoughts. 647 00:33:52,697 --> 00:33:57,168 It's not meant to be this stuffy, constricted, 648 00:33:57,168 --> 00:33:58,836 whatever, type of poetry. 649 00:33:58,836 --> 00:34:01,539 It's just like free verse poetry. 650 00:34:01,539 --> 00:34:04,776 Or I personally like rhyming schemes a whole lot. 651 00:34:06,444 --> 00:34:08,246 Just do it for fun. 652 00:34:08,246 --> 00:34:12,383 - I would say that it's a great release for everyday life. 653 00:34:12,383 --> 00:34:13,818 It's fun. It's creative. 654 00:34:13,818 --> 00:34:16,354 And there are many great poets. 655 00:34:16,354 --> 00:34:18,656 There's many great poems 656 00:34:18,656 --> 00:34:22,460 and it is for the average person. 657 00:34:22,460 --> 00:34:24,896 I mean, it might have to take a little digging, 658 00:34:24,896 --> 00:34:28,132 but the themes and the ideas behind poetry 659 00:34:28,132 --> 00:34:31,636 can be very critical 660 00:34:31,636 --> 00:34:32,570 in a writer's life. 661 00:34:33,971 --> 00:34:35,173 - Well, one thing, 662 00:34:35,173 --> 00:34:36,340 this is what I say about reading as well, 663 00:34:36,340 --> 00:34:38,376 is I think everybody likes to read, 664 00:34:38,376 --> 00:34:40,478 they just haven't found what they like to read yet. 665 00:34:40,478 --> 00:34:42,346 And so I would say the very same thing about poetry. 666 00:34:42,346 --> 00:34:43,548 A lot of people shy away 667 00:34:43,548 --> 00:34:45,116 'cause they had their Shakespearean unit 668 00:34:45,116 --> 00:34:47,151 or whatever it was in high school (laughs) 669 00:34:47,151 --> 00:34:48,553 and then they shied away 670 00:34:48,553 --> 00:34:50,688 'cause that wasn't necessarily their type of poetry, 671 00:34:50,688 --> 00:34:52,123 but there is poetry for everyone, 672 00:34:52,123 --> 00:34:53,724 like I kind of talked about earlier. 673 00:34:53,724 --> 00:34:55,760 There is difference in poems and everything. 674 00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:57,028 That's the beauty of it. 675 00:34:57,028 --> 00:34:58,296 It's different, it's to each individual. 676 00:34:58,296 --> 00:35:00,765 So I would encourage them to find a poet 677 00:35:00,765 --> 00:35:02,700 that really represents them and how they feel, 678 00:35:02,700 --> 00:35:04,635 and that's how they really get into it. 679 00:35:06,170 --> 00:35:08,773 (upbeat music) 680 00:35:17,515 --> 00:35:21,319 - Based on the scores from rounds one and two, 681 00:35:21,319 --> 00:35:24,589 the top three contestants advanced to round three 682 00:35:24,589 --> 00:35:26,724 will be the following students, 683 00:35:26,724 --> 00:35:28,693 Madeline Fritz, (audience applauds) 684 00:35:28,693 --> 00:35:31,863 Nova Hagerman, Allie Cloyd. 685 00:35:33,631 --> 00:35:35,333 We will now begin the final round. 686 00:35:36,467 --> 00:35:39,370 Our first contestant is Allie Cloyd. 687 00:35:41,672 --> 00:35:45,510 - "The Coming Woman" by Mary Weston Fordham, 688 00:35:47,812 --> 00:35:51,516 "Just look, 'tis quarter past six, love, 689 00:35:51,516 --> 00:35:54,252 and not even the fires are caught. 690 00:35:54,252 --> 00:35:57,455 Well, you know, I must be at the office, 691 00:35:57,455 --> 00:36:01,159 but as usual, the breakfast will be late. 692 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:04,996 Now, hurry and wake up the children 693 00:36:04,996 --> 00:36:07,698 and dress them as fast as you can. 694 00:36:07,698 --> 00:36:10,635 Poor dearies, I know they'll be tardy. 695 00:36:10,635 --> 00:36:14,438 Dear me, what a slow pokey man. 696 00:36:14,438 --> 00:36:17,141 Have the tenderloin boiled nice and juicy. 697 00:36:17,141 --> 00:36:20,044 Have the toast brown and buttered all right. 698 00:36:20,044 --> 00:36:22,213 And be sure you settle the coffee. 699 00:36:22,213 --> 00:36:24,282 Be sure that the silver is bright. 700 00:36:26,050 --> 00:36:29,253 When ready, just run up and call me, 701 00:36:29,253 --> 00:36:32,190 at eight, to the office, I go 702 00:36:32,190 --> 00:36:35,893 lest poverty grim should overtake us. 703 00:36:35,893 --> 00:36:37,562 'tis bread and butter, you know. 704 00:36:38,763 --> 00:36:41,666 The bottom from stocks may fall out. 705 00:36:41,666 --> 00:36:43,868 My bonds may get below par. 706 00:36:44,969 --> 00:36:47,838 Then surely, I seldom could spare you 707 00:36:47,838 --> 00:36:49,807 a nickel to buy a cigar. 708 00:36:51,008 --> 00:36:53,945 Already, now while I am eating, 709 00:36:53,945 --> 00:36:56,714 just bring up my wheel to the door. 710 00:36:56,714 --> 00:36:59,283 Then wash up the dishes, and mind now, 711 00:36:59,283 --> 00:37:01,185 have dinner promptly at four, 712 00:37:02,420 --> 00:37:04,822 for tonight is our women's convention, 713 00:37:04,822 --> 00:37:07,758 and I am to speak first, you know. 714 00:37:07,758 --> 00:37:09,794 The men veto us in private, 715 00:37:09,794 --> 00:37:12,830 but in public they shout, that's so. 716 00:37:12,830 --> 00:37:14,665 So bye-bye. 717 00:37:14,665 --> 00:37:17,134 In case of a rap, love, 718 00:37:17,134 --> 00:37:19,670 before opening the door, you must look. 719 00:37:21,038 --> 00:37:25,910 Oh, how could a civilized women exist without a man cook?" 720 00:37:28,613 --> 00:37:31,949 (audience applauds) 721 00:37:31,949 --> 00:37:35,453 - Our next contestant is Madeline Fritz. 722 00:37:36,921 --> 00:37:39,824 - "There are Birds Here" by Jamaal May. 723 00:37:41,626 --> 00:37:42,727 For Detroit. 724 00:37:44,929 --> 00:37:47,898 "There are birds here. 725 00:37:47,898 --> 00:37:52,837 So many birds here, is what I was trying to say. 726 00:37:54,038 --> 00:37:57,341 When they said those birds were metaphors 727 00:37:57,341 --> 00:38:00,845 for what is trapped between buildings and buildings. 728 00:38:00,845 --> 00:38:04,415 No, the birds are here 729 00:38:04,415 --> 00:38:07,518 to root around for bread, 730 00:38:07,518 --> 00:38:12,023 the girl's hands tear and toss like confetti. 731 00:38:12,023 --> 00:38:13,391 No, 732 00:38:13,391 --> 00:38:18,362 I don't mean the bread is torn like cotton. 733 00:38:18,362 --> 00:38:20,398 I said confetti, 734 00:38:20,398 --> 00:38:25,403 and no, not the confetti a tank can make of a building. 735 00:38:26,871 --> 00:38:31,642 I mean the confetti a boy can't stop smiling about. 736 00:38:33,044 --> 00:38:36,747 And no, his smile isn't much like a skeleton at all. 737 00:38:37,948 --> 00:38:41,152 And no, his neighborhood is not like a war zone. 738 00:38:42,887 --> 00:38:45,356 I am trying to say 739 00:38:45,356 --> 00:38:49,126 his neighborhood is as tattered 740 00:38:49,126 --> 00:38:52,496 and feathered as anything else, 741 00:38:53,564 --> 00:38:56,634 as shadow pierced by sun 742 00:38:56,634 --> 00:39:01,639 and light parted by shadow dance as anything else. 743 00:39:03,941 --> 00:39:07,244 But they won't stop saying 744 00:39:07,244 --> 00:39:10,381 how lovely the ruins, 745 00:39:10,381 --> 00:39:14,685 how ruined the lovely children must be 746 00:39:14,685 --> 00:39:17,588 in that birdless city." 747 00:39:19,423 --> 00:39:22,493 (audience applauds) 748 00:39:24,228 --> 00:39:27,765 - Our final contestant is Nova Hagerman. 749 00:39:29,133 --> 00:39:31,635 - "In" by Andrew Hudgins. 750 00:39:33,904 --> 00:39:36,741 "When we first heard, from blocks away, 751 00:39:36,741 --> 00:39:39,510 the fog truck's blustery roar, 752 00:39:39,510 --> 00:39:42,947 we dropped our toys, leapt from our meals 753 00:39:42,947 --> 00:39:45,383 and scrambled out the door 754 00:39:45,383 --> 00:39:48,853 into an evening briefly fuzzy 755 00:39:49,720 --> 00:39:52,656 we yearned to be transformed. 756 00:39:52,656 --> 00:39:55,292 Translated past confining flesh 757 00:39:55,292 --> 00:39:58,929 to disembodied spirit we swarmed, 758 00:39:58,929 --> 00:40:01,165 in thick smoke 759 00:40:01,165 --> 00:40:05,202 taking human form before we blurred, turned vague, 760 00:40:05,202 --> 00:40:09,206 and then invisible in temporary heaven. 761 00:40:10,541 --> 00:40:13,444 Freed of bodies by the fog, 762 00:40:13,444 --> 00:40:16,280 we laughed, we sang, we shouted. 763 00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:18,115 We were our voices. 764 00:40:18,115 --> 00:40:19,884 Nothing else. 765 00:40:19,884 --> 00:40:22,887 Voice was all we wanted. 766 00:40:25,222 --> 00:40:28,025 The white clouds tumbled down our streets, 767 00:40:28,025 --> 00:40:31,328 pursued by spellbound children 768 00:40:31,328 --> 00:40:34,765 who chased the most distorting clouds, 769 00:40:34,765 --> 00:40:36,467 ecstatic in the poison." 770 00:40:37,968 --> 00:40:39,703 (audience applauds) 771 00:40:39,703 --> 00:40:41,138 (upbeat music) 772 00:40:41,138 --> 00:40:43,607 - [Huascar] This concludes round three of our competition. 773 00:40:43,607 --> 00:40:45,843 Coming up next, we'll announce the winner 774 00:40:45,843 --> 00:40:50,080 of the 2022 Kansas Poetry Out Loud competition. 775 00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:52,850 But first let's hear from our judges 776 00:40:52,850 --> 00:40:55,786 as they recite some of their favorite poems. 777 00:40:56,720 --> 00:40:57,888 (upbeat music) 778 00:40:57,888 --> 00:40:59,490 (audience applauds) 779 00:40:59,490 --> 00:41:01,492 - I am going to read a poem 780 00:41:01,492 --> 00:41:03,060 and it's one of my own poems 781 00:41:03,060 --> 00:41:06,297 and I'm a little embarrassed to say I have not memorized it. 782 00:41:07,531 --> 00:41:09,800 But yeah, hopefully, you can forgive me. 783 00:41:11,101 --> 00:41:12,636 "Under Tree Canopy." 784 00:41:13,804 --> 00:41:17,174 By oakleaf hydrangea, sipping creek side, 785 00:41:17,174 --> 00:41:20,945 watching fat bumblebees drunk and stumbling. 786 00:41:20,945 --> 00:41:23,914 In shade, in shelter, 787 00:41:23,914 --> 00:41:27,651 our smallness grows into something strong, 788 00:41:27,651 --> 00:41:30,654 no longer afraid to take up space 789 00:41:30,654 --> 00:41:33,057 or yield to powdery blossom. 790 00:41:34,191 --> 00:41:38,095 Peonies, dogwood, and shining blue star, 791 00:41:38,996 --> 00:41:41,799 gentle teachers of sweetness, 792 00:41:41,799 --> 00:41:45,102 of stopping to breathe and soft touch. 793 00:41:46,770 --> 00:41:50,441 Maybe it's true that we are all alone together, 794 00:41:51,909 --> 00:41:56,213 able to imagine a variety of sadnesses other than our own, 795 00:41:56,213 --> 00:42:01,185 and in that, seeing our chance to open, to face the sun. 796 00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:06,223 Young robins chatter incessant 797 00:42:06,223 --> 00:42:08,592 and willow leaves curl waxy green 798 00:42:08,592 --> 00:42:12,997 and fingers providing company and counsel. 799 00:42:12,997 --> 00:42:17,268 How to fall over again and again, and keep going. 800 00:42:18,435 --> 00:42:21,405 How easy to linger in the wayside, 801 00:42:21,405 --> 00:42:23,908 sit by the water 802 00:42:23,908 --> 00:42:26,377 and allow each verdant brush 803 00:42:26,377 --> 00:42:30,080 to transform seed into wily seedling, 804 00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:32,016 bud to pink flower. 805 00:42:33,417 --> 00:42:37,488 How to realize each expectant whisper in our own heart?" 806 00:42:38,889 --> 00:42:39,890 Thank you. 807 00:42:39,890 --> 00:42:42,960 (audience applauds) 808 00:42:44,428 --> 00:42:48,265 - I am a farm girl from just west of the Arikaree Breaks, 809 00:42:48,265 --> 00:42:50,534 so this is a poem called "MoonStain," 810 00:42:50,534 --> 00:42:53,704 which is the title poem from my book, "MoonStain." 811 00:42:55,239 --> 00:42:57,207 "Barn door's pushed shut 812 00:42:57,207 --> 00:43:01,145 in indication something worth investigating was within. 813 00:43:04,114 --> 00:43:07,017 I tried with all my strength to open, close again, 814 00:43:08,519 --> 00:43:11,789 new birth and pungent urgency led me 815 00:43:11,789 --> 00:43:14,058 to the stillborn calf, quite warm. 816 00:43:15,025 --> 00:43:17,094 I nestled in the hay beside it, 817 00:43:17,094 --> 00:43:19,129 placed my arms around its neck. 818 00:43:19,964 --> 00:43:21,665 I knew what death was. 819 00:43:21,665 --> 00:43:25,669 Had heard whispers of my mother's not long before, 820 00:43:25,669 --> 00:43:28,505 and I could hear the mother cow's loud bawling 821 00:43:28,505 --> 00:43:30,240 from outside the back barn door. 822 00:43:31,442 --> 00:43:34,111 I felt the spirit of the calf lift, 823 00:43:34,111 --> 00:43:37,448 swirl around me, disappear. 824 00:43:37,448 --> 00:43:38,916 It grew cold. 825 00:43:38,916 --> 00:43:40,784 I felt damp fear. 826 00:43:42,186 --> 00:43:45,422 I sat in the caliginous stall until my sister came, 827 00:43:45,422 --> 00:43:47,691 took my hand, ran with me 828 00:43:47,691 --> 00:43:51,061 past my grandmother's blood moonlit garden 829 00:43:51,061 --> 00:43:53,697 of hollyhocks, iris, 830 00:43:53,697 --> 00:43:56,133 rhubarb, strawberries. 831 00:43:56,133 --> 00:43:59,103 Past the spot where a rattler soaked up water 832 00:43:59,103 --> 00:44:01,939 from a sprinkler one August day. 833 00:44:01,939 --> 00:44:06,076 Past the rotted elm, where winged fire ants swarmed in balls 834 00:44:06,076 --> 00:44:07,678 until they tumbled to the ground. 835 00:44:09,079 --> 00:44:12,783 We opened the rusted screen door and tiptoed to bed 836 00:44:12,783 --> 00:44:16,820 where I lay crying because it felt so wondrous, 837 00:44:16,820 --> 00:44:18,989 because it felt so good 838 00:44:18,989 --> 00:44:23,360 until the moon stain no longer spread across the floor." 839 00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:24,995 Thank you. 840 00:44:24,995 --> 00:44:27,965 (audience applauds) 841 00:44:27,965 --> 00:44:29,400 - So my name is Huascar Medina. 842 00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:32,670 This poem is about when I moved to Kansas 843 00:44:32,670 --> 00:44:35,239 and missed San Antonio, where I was from before 844 00:44:35,239 --> 00:44:36,874 and it's called "Surrogate City." 845 00:44:37,908 --> 00:44:41,178 "Mama, etsoy bien. 846 00:44:41,378 --> 00:44:44,548 Mother KC has adopted me. 847 00:44:44,548 --> 00:44:48,585 She, too, wears iron garments of concrete and glass. 848 00:44:48,585 --> 00:44:51,422 Winks at me to cross the streets. 849 00:44:51,422 --> 00:44:56,160 Reminds me I am cared for through sirens in the air. 850 00:44:56,160 --> 00:45:01,165 She hums a highway lullaby of old Paseo Puente, 851 00:45:02,032 --> 00:45:03,701 so I may pass the nights, 852 00:45:03,701 --> 00:45:08,639 skylines don't resemble mi vieja san ciudad in peace. 853 00:45:10,040 --> 00:45:13,977 She embraces your son, the son, el sol, my soul. 854 00:45:13,977 --> 00:45:17,781 Mother KC has been good to me." 855 00:45:17,781 --> 00:45:18,582 Thank you. 856 00:45:19,583 --> 00:45:22,619 (audience applauds) 857 00:45:22,619 --> 00:45:25,289 (upbeat music) 858 00:45:30,994 --> 00:45:34,798 As the 2022 Kansas Poetry Out Loud champion, 859 00:45:34,798 --> 00:45:37,401 the state champion will receive $200 860 00:45:37,401 --> 00:45:39,670 and the opportunity to compete 861 00:45:39,670 --> 00:45:42,573 in the national Poetry Out Loud contest. 862 00:45:42,573 --> 00:45:45,809 This student's school also receives $500 863 00:45:45,809 --> 00:45:49,613 to purchase poetry resources for their school library. 864 00:45:49,613 --> 00:45:53,751 Should the Kansas state winner be unable to participate 865 00:45:53,751 --> 00:45:56,453 at the national Poetry Out Loud finals, 866 00:45:56,453 --> 00:45:58,956 the runner-up will represent Kansas 867 00:45:58,956 --> 00:46:00,524 at the national competition. 868 00:46:01,725 --> 00:46:04,661 The runner-up will also receive $100 869 00:46:04,661 --> 00:46:09,600 and her school will also receive $200 for poetry materials. 870 00:46:10,467 --> 00:46:12,569 The person receiving third place 871 00:46:12,569 --> 00:46:15,906 in the 2022 Kansas 872 00:46:15,906 --> 00:46:18,609 Poetry Out Loud competition is 873 00:46:21,745 --> 00:46:23,447 Madeline Fritz. 874 00:46:24,548 --> 00:46:27,618 (audience applauds) 875 00:46:33,590 --> 00:46:35,459 The second place runner-up 876 00:46:35,459 --> 00:46:39,997 for 2022 Kansas Poetry Out Loud is 877 00:46:39,997 --> 00:46:41,365 Nova Hagerman. 878 00:46:42,399 --> 00:46:45,469 (audience applauds) 879 00:46:51,909 --> 00:46:56,713 Which means the 2022 Kansas Poetry Out Loud champion 880 00:46:56,713 --> 00:46:58,081 is Allie Cloyd. 881 00:46:59,049 --> 00:47:02,052 (audience applauds) 882 00:47:03,987 --> 00:47:07,357 (upbeat music) 883 00:47:07,357 --> 00:47:11,562 Congratulations and thanks to all students, judges, 884 00:47:11,562 --> 00:47:14,832 regional coordinators, parents and teachers, 885 00:47:14,832 --> 00:47:16,266 and our special guests 886 00:47:16,266 --> 00:47:20,204 for attending the Kansas Poetry Out Loud state finals. 887 00:47:20,204 --> 00:47:22,940 Remember that you can watch our state champion 888 00:47:22,940 --> 00:47:26,210 represent Kansas at the national semi-finals 889 00:47:26,210 --> 00:47:29,680 at arts.gov on Sunday, May 1st. 890 00:47:30,781 --> 00:47:41,859 (audience applauds) (upbeat music) 891 00:48:37,915 --> 00:48:41,919 Ben and Judy Coates proudly support KTWU and arts education.