Lauren Shepherd Repeats Win in Seward High Poetry Out Loud Contest for 2011-2012

By Kolterman, Clark on December 07, 2011

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SHS Junior, Lauren Shepherd repeated as the winner for the second year in a row, in the local, Seward High “Poetry Out Loud” poetry recitation contest on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 7:00 pm in the New SHS Theater.  The contest featured twenty-five students from SHS in competition for the right to represent Seward High at the Poetry Out Loud regional contest next spring.  Each student was asked to memorize and recite a poem of their choosing from the collection of 400 poems furnished by the contest.  The students were featured in a spotlight, on the stage and with a microphone. 

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Lauren Shepherd presented “The Filling Station” by Elizabeth Bishop.  First Runner-up was Alyssa Sleight with the poem “Part for the Whole” by Robert Francis and Second Runner-Up was Dani Sibbitt with “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost.  Sam Brauer was selected Outstanding Senior with the poem “The People, Yes” by Carl Sandburg, Emily Thrailkill was named Outstanding Junior with her presentation of “Equus Caballus” by Joel Nelson and Emily Siebrandt was named Outstanding Sophomore with the selection “The Lost Land” by Eavan Boland.

Other students in the contest included Carl Heinicke- America by Claude McKay, Cale Miller-Zoom! By Simon Armitage, Andrea Von Kampen-The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, Sam Brauer-The People, Yes by Carl Sandburg, Evan Reeder      -Fire and Ice by Robert Frost, Zach Bruick-First Storm and Thereafter by Scott Cairns, Alyssa Sleight-Part for the Whole by Robert Francis, Emma George-The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry, Bethany Rexus-Alone by Edgar Allan Poe, Sierra Wignall-April Love by Ernest Dowson, Emily Thrailkill-Equus Caballus by Joel Nelson, Lauren Shepherd-The Filling Station by Elizabeth Bishop, Stefanie Rinne-Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, Faith Bohaty-Chorus by Stuart Dybek, Lauren Walz-Let It Be Forgotten by Sara Teasdale, Dillon Holder-The Princess: Now Sleeps by Lord Alfred Tennyson, Ashlyn Hanson-Abandoned Farmhouse  by Ted Kooser,  C.J. Johnson-Zoom! by Simon Armitage, Elizabeth Snyder-Alone by Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Siebrandt-The Lost Land by Eavan Boland, Siana Dyell-Fairy Tale Logic by A. E. Stallings, Hannah Moody-A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sk y by Lewis Carroll, Shelby Lewis-Sea Fever by  John Masefield and  Dani Sibbitt-The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.

The contest was sponsored locally by the Seward Arts Council and they furnished cash prizes and medals for the top three winners and medals for the winners in each class.  The contest is sponsored on the state level by the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Humanities Council and on the national level by the National Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Judges for the evening event included Rebecca Newton of St. Louis and Lucas Schmidt of David City-both students at Concordia University and Ellen Chaffin of Seward.  Accuracy judge was Nancy Schulz, English teacher at East Butler.  Students were rated on physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, level of difficulty, evidence of understanding and overall performance, along with accuracy.

Lauren will now compete at a regional level to qualify for the state contest.  She was the Seward representative last year and qualified for the state contest held in Lincoln at the Sheldon Art Gallery.  She will be asked to memorize and recite three poems at the regional contest.

Actress and writer, Pippa White, represented the Nebraska Arts Council as a visiting artist at Seward High, and worked with the students individually prior to the contest in November.  The teacher sponsor for Poetry Out Loud is Clark Kolterman, educator at Seward High in speech and drama.