Poetry Out Loud

Thanks to a generous stipend from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, artBeat offered 20 hours of "Aspects of Performance" workshops to DC schools preparing for, Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry recitation contest. Poetry Out Loud (POL) encourages high school students to memorize and perform great poems and invites the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theater into the English class. artBeat was drawn to the project out of a shared belief that memorizing poetry leads to a deeper understanding of these texts and our artistic heritage. In schools where drama programs may be limited, offering performance opportunities also helps youth to develop confidence and body awareness.

Montana Ray, artBeat Director of Education, developed creative exercises based on criteria in the POL judging packet such as articulation, tone, and stage presence. Youth then translated their chosen POL poem into their own vocabulary to demonstrate evidence of understanding and discussed best strategies for memorization. Montana, finally, worked individually with class and school winners to help students find the voice and rhythm inherent in each poem.

In addition to these performance workshops, Montana worked with several classes to develop original creative writing pieces in emulation of works by established authors in the POL anthology. "I am always impressed by the quality of work generated by reading and copying the work of great writers," says Ray. "Great writing has a timeless and accessible quality. A great poem allows each reader to step inside the piece in recitation and evokes images and ideas to be completed by the mind or pen of the student."

To DC Poetry Out Loud participants holding their school-wide recitation contest today: You, OWN that stage!