Souhegan students excel in Poetry Out Loud

Souhegan High School has held a Poetry Out Loud competition for the last three years, and most English teachers decide to have their students participate. To begin, each student chooses a poem and memorizes it. Then the students perform their poems in front of their English class. The best performers move on to grade finals and the best from each grade advance to the school finals. “Each year, Souhegan has had between 600 and 900 students compete, with nearly all classes participating,” said Jeanne Sturges, the co-coordinator of the competition. “I think Poetry Out Loud is a great opportunity for kids who don’t perform to put themselves out there,” said junior Aislinn Evans, a school finalist. Evans added, “It’s challenging, but it’s good to be put outside your comfort zone occasionally.” Poetry Out Loud emphasizes a lot of key skills. “I think Poetry Out Loud is an excellent program that promotes poetry to high school students,” said Tracey Hoagland, the other co-coordinator. “I also think there are a lot of transferable skills students can get from participating in Poetry Out Loud.