The 2015 Heights High Poetry Out Loud recitation contest on January 22 yielded top notch performances and a winner who will advance to the Ohio competition in Columbus. The first place winner was Ashmita Samal who will compete in Columbus on March 7. Meryam Azzam placed second and Mekaihlah Harris and Hanae Chaffag tied for third place.
“I am really excited about going to Columbus to perform there,” said Ashmita. Students competing at the state level will recite three poems for the judges.
Event organizer and an English Language Learners teacher Kathleen Scully was thrilled with the performances. “The contestants chose unique and distinctive poems and they all did a wonderful job of presenting the poems,” she said.
The poems selected by the students:
Ashmita Samal, a senior, presented the poems Rain by Kazim Ali and Listening by Jean Valentine
Meryam Azzam, a junior presented the poems Across the Bay by Donald Davie and Mad Song by William Blake
Hanae Chaffag, a senior, presented the poems The Albatross by Kate Bass The Applicant by Sylvia Plath
Meikalah Harris, sophomore, presented the poems What If by Shel Silverstein and Self Titled by M. Harris
The Poetry Out Loud contest is an annual national poetic recitation contest sponsored by the National Endowment of the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council. Students compete in their schools and then advance to the state level. The winners of the state competitions will advance to a late April national competition in Washington DC.