Poetry Out Loud: My Poem

When we went into the computer lab a couple weeks ago, I had no idea what poem I would do. I read many poems and liked a lot of them, but none of them stood out or gave me a good feeling about presenting it. I finally picked one that I liked and was ready to start memorizing. Then I had to think about how I connected with it, but it just wasn't the right poem for me. So another night, I went on the Poetry Out Loud website and looked for a long time. I finally found a poem called Ice by Gail Mazur. I just felt all fuzzy when I read it and instantly connected with it.

It describes a day in a little town when it's so cold with ice. At the end, a girl skates with her father and has a better time then she could have or anyone else has. Its about the special moments and being with an important person is better than being with everyone else. It makes me think about the special relationship I have with my father and special relationships I have with all the important people in my life.

At the competition, I intend to say my poem with different paces and feelings. My face will be smiling, but serious at times. I don't intend to use very many gestures, but the ones I do use will be small. I am nervous, but very excited to recite my poem!

Poetry Out Loud: So many poems!

Part One:

1. "Dog" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
2. "Learning To Swim" by Bob Hicok
3. "Onions" by William Mathews was suggested to me and I suggested "Dog" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
4. "Hero" by Paul Engle and "Tree" by Joyce Kilmer

Part Two:

• I really liked all of the poems, but my top favorites were "Dog", "Hero", and "Tree". I liked "Dog" because I could really picture it and have thought of some of the things it was saying. I liked "Hero" because it was really thoughtful and inspiring. I liked "Tree" because it was an all together fun and happy poem.
• I wouldn't say I disliked the other poems, but they just weren't my favorites. "Onions" was one of those because it was funny, but I just plain don't like onions. "Learning To Swim" was one because it was about an old man and a little boring.
• "Dog" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti!
• I see the author relating a dog to someone who can't say their opinions and do what they want to do because they are a dog. I'm still a kid, or a teenager, but I haven't yet felt the freedom to do what I want to do and decide everything for myself.

Part Three:

• One of the criteria that will be easiest for me is Voice and Articulation. I am good at speaking and love to speak. If I truly have it memorized, then I will be able to say it loud enough and in a good rhythm. Another criteria that will be easiest for me is the level of difficulty. I still can't believe I chose such a long poem and the overall meaning of it still confuses me. There are also words I don't know how to pronounce or what they mean.
• One of the criteria that will be more difficult is Evidence of understanding. There are many ways of perceiving something and sometimes it's hard for me to tell exactly what the author is trying to say. Another criteria that will be more difficult for me is Dramatic Appropriateness. I sometimes feel weird standing up on my own and trying to act or be dramatic so I think that could be a problem.
• The Evaluation criteria subjects are Physical Presence, Voice and Articulation, Dramatic Appropriateness, Level of Difficulty, Evidence of Understanding, Overall Performance, and Accuracy.

Part Four:

• I watched "Forgetfulness" by Billy Collins performed by Jackson Hille. This was a successful performance because I was very intrigued to keep listening because he made it funny without being overly dramatic. His voice and articulation is very good by using the right tone and spacing out the words.
• I also watched William Farley perform "Danse Russe" by William Carlos Williams. This was a successful performance because he gave out the tone of the poem really well by performing the poem whimsical, but also serious at times. He spoke very well and gave out the right body language for the poem that all just fit perfectly together.

Part Five:

I think the poetry out loud website was very interesting and something fun to get into. I am nervous for when I have to perform because watching those perfect videos makes me think that they had to work very hard at making their performance just right. No matter if my performance ends up being perfect or not, I believe this will be a great and fun experience!