SAXTONS RIVER — Vermont Academy sophomore Jamie Lumley, of Putney, is the school's first Poetry Out Loud champion, and is set to represent the school at Poetry Out Loud's state competition in Barre on March 13.
This is the first time Vermont Academy has participated in this national recitation contest created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation and administered with state arts agencies such as Vermont Council for the Arts.
The contest encourages the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation, and helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.
Lumley rose above 10 finalists to secure his spot at Barre.
The Poetry Out Loud curriculum, implemented in Vermont Academy's 10th-grade English classes, included an intense study of poetry and focused on extracting meaning and emotion from the poets' words and images.
Area poet Vernandah Porche led the students in a workshop designed to “pull apart” existing poems to recreate new poems and images. Students performed their “found poems” at the end of the workshop. The play and study of poetry was a true examination of the power of language and led to class-level, and then grade-level, competitions, the school reported.
Jamie and runner-up George Atkins of Saxtons River were selected from all 10th-grade English students in a competition held Jan. 31 in the Academy's Horowitz Hall.
In preparation for the state competition, Jamie and George must prepare three poems. One must be 25 lines or fewer; the other must have been written before the 20th century.
Each winner at the state level will receive $200 and an all-expenses paid trip with an adult chaperone to Washington, D.C., to compete in the national finals. The state winner's school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books.