By Samantha Sanchez
Staff Writer
Poetry Out Loud, a national competition for spoken poetry that Mira Costa holds annually, was held on Dec. 12 in the small theater where third time winner, Miriam Sachs, took first prize.
Six competitors took the stage for their chance to take their spoken poetry talent to the regional level. Judges Shawn Chen, Laura Clarke, Quincy Howerton and Shannon Vaughan all tabulated scores, specific to Poetry Out Loud criteria, to determine the winner.
“Students were judged on physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic approach, appropriateness, evidence of understanding, overall performance and accuracy,” Vaughan said.
Sachs placed first with her poems “Make a Law So That the Spine Remembers Wings” and “The Gaffe.” Junior Darby Power placed second. Both Power and Sachs won gift certificates to the Pages bookstore and Sachs will be going to compete in Poetry Out Loud’s regional competition.
“Everyone competing in Poetry Out Loud is so good,” Sachs said. “I love the community because it is not like a competition, but it is like a family.”
Poets chose two poems from a list provided by Poetry Out Loud to perform in front of the judges and audience. There were two rounds, and one poem was performed in each round, as the mistress of ceremonies, Costa English teacher Diana Sieker, rotated through each poet.
“I chose my poems because they were poems that stood out to me that I felt I could recite the best and had the most meaning to me,” Power said.
In both of the two rounds, poets were introduced by answers to questions that Sieker had asked them prior to the competition.
“Before performing, I’m usually pretty shaken up and worried,” Power said. “But afterwards, it is like a weight has been lifted and I just have happy and bubbly feelings.”
While the judges tabulated the scores of the contestants, audience members were welcomed to come on stage and share a poem of their own. Several competitors, teachers and members of the Jocelyn Center’s senior poetry club went on stage to perform their own poetry or works of other poets.
“I was the prompter for the event, but I wanted to do something more involved,” senior Pooja Nagpal said. “I had my sister’s poem on my iPad and thought it would be a cool opportunity to share it.”
For her third year in a row, Sachs will head to Poetry Out Loud’s regional competition on Feb. 4. According to Sachs, she would like to win and go to state, but her goal is to give the competition her all.
“I love Poetry Out Loud because it was the way I found poetry in the first place,” Sachs said. “It’s like home to me.”
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