By Grey Peterson

FC poets have an opportunity to share their talents in this Friday’s Poetry Out Loud competition.

Poetry Out Loud is a school-wide competition in which students will recite two poems for judges to evaluate.  This competition offers students an opportunity to learn to appreciate poetry and to get their pieces heard. After all, “Poetry is meant to be read aloud,” said English teacher Wallace Austin, who is coordinating the event.

In order to compete in Poetry Out Loud, students must be in grades 9-12, U.S. citizens, and must compete in the school competition before progressing to the state finals.

When asked about what judges are looking for in the students, Austin said,”We look for how students are able to capture the meaning in their poems.” Along with mastering the tone of their poems, students competing will want to be sure that their poems are selected from the Poetry Out Loud online anthology at poetryoutloud.org. One poem must be memorized while the other may be read. 

Entry forms are to be submitted to Austin’s room C109 this Friday, Jan. 27 when they compete.