Poetry Competition

In Term 2, the Year 9 students have focused their English studies on poetry. In addition to reading, analysing, and writing their own poetry, students participated in a poetry recitation competition. Each student chose a published poem, memorised it, and gave a dramatic recitation of it for the class. Students were put into a competition bracket in which they faced off against each other to compete for first and second place and the accompanying prizes.

The Year 9s put forth a fantastic effort, with close contests at every stage of the competition. In 9A, Luke McCracken took first place, reciting ‘Mr Nobody’ by Anonymous, and Jayde Hanna took second with ‘My Love’ by Dorothy Parker. In 9B, Mia-Maree Hart took first place, reciting ‘Spring’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Faris Zhang took second with ‘The Arrow and the Song’ by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Congratulations to these finalists, and to all the Year 9s, for their hard work and passionate performances.

Contemporary poet Dana Gioia argues that studying and reciting poetry has rich benefits:

• “Poetry offers mastery of language, and stocks the mind with images and ideas in unforgettable words and phrases".
• “Poetry trains and develops our emotional intelligence".
• “Poetry reminds us that language is holistic" - that how something is said is part of what is being said.
• “Poetry lets us see the world through other eyes, and equips us imaginatively and spiritually to face the joys and challenges of our lives". (from “The Power of Poetry”)

It is our hope that, through their experience of the playfulness, richness, weightiness, and joy of poetic language, our students will reap these benefits for themselves.

Merry Sari and Laura Cerbus

Year 9 English Teachers