Bridgewater-Raritan High School held its 10th annual Poetry Out Loud School-Wide Competition on the evening of January 13.

This competition was an opportunity for students to express themselves and showcase their public speaking skills.

In this competition, two rounds are held to give each speaker a chance to perform twice. Each performer picks two poems and recites them out loud, doing their best to deliver their poem with emotion and impact. No two recitations are the same; each speaker interprets every poem in a different way, striving to enthrall the audience and deliver a captivating performance. 

A total of 23 students from various grade levels were selected from their classes to participate in the school wide competition. 

Suhani Patel emerged as the winner of the competition, delivering captivating recitations of “What the Oracle Said” by Shara McCallum and “Poem Toward People” by Ariel Yelen.

She will move on to the Regional Poetry Out Loud Competition at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown on February 10.

Patel , a senior, shared her experience performing in the competition.

“Winning this competition was truly so meaningful to me. I’m applying to college for English Literature and absolutely adore reading and writing poetry, so being recognized for that love felt extremely validating. Now, I’m working on a third poem for the regional competition, which is on February 10. I’m so excited to start working with another poem, as I’ve loved the experience so far,” she said.

Ashley Straka secured second place with her performance of “The world is about to end and my grandparents are in love” by Kara Jackson and “Beautiful Wreckage” by W.D. Ehrhart. Senior Grant Beck placed third with his performance of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost and “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Lord Tennyson. 

The other sudents who performed with Patel and Straka in the competition that was held in the high school’s auditorum were Pramit Bagchi, Saharsh Bangaru, Grant Beck, Nolan Brown, Evans Cordero, James Cornett, Julian DiMaggio, Sohan Gaikwad, Leah Galindo, Ronak Hunashimarad, Suhana Khan, Alina Lauter, Mythili Madhusoodanan, Rania Reddad, Shubham Roy-Choudhury, Harjas Saini, Lahari Thota, Ma Chloe Mignonette Uriarte, Godha Venugopalan, Jonathan Vijay and Lily Xu.

Kathleen Doherty, a Teacher in the English Language and Literature department, has been running the Poetry Out Loud Competition for ten years now. She believes that the competition is more than just a showcase of talent—it is a formative opportunity for the students involved to gain not only a deeper appreciation for poetry, but also a sense of community.  

“One of my favorite parts of Poetry Out Loud, though, are the friendships made during the competition. Although it can get competitive and students want to do their best, they find comradery backstage as they nervously practice their poems and laugh together, awaiting their turn on stage,” said Ms. Doherty.

 Philip D’Apolito, an English Language and Literature Teacher, reflected on the growth he has witnessed in many students through this experience. 

“Poetry Out Loud provides students with a great opportunity to practice their public speaking skills, as well as deepen their appreciation for poetry. I have witnessed a number of students gain confidence by using Poetry Out Loud as an outlet for their creative expression,” he said.