Two Catholic high school students participate in the Poetry Out Loud state finals

Friday, Mar. 25, 2016

SALT LAKE CITY — Serena Hawatmeh, a junior at Juan Diego Catholic High School, was named the runner up in the Utah State Poetry Out Loud Final Competition held at Westminster College March 16. 

Hawatmeh placed second to Tessa Thornley, the national finalist from Bear River High School. 

As runner up Hawatmeh received $100 and $200 for the Juan Diego CHS library; she will represent Utah in the national competition in Washington D.C. if Thornley is unable to.

Six Utah schools were represented this year in the Utah State Poetry Out Loud finals. Among the state final contestants was Leena Ngo, a senior from Judge Memorial Catholic High School.  

This year 35 schools and more than 4,000 students participated in Poetry Out Loud from throughout Utah.

These students first competed at the school level and then went on to compete at the regional level.

For the competition, students memorized three of the 600 poems designated by the Poetry Foundation. One poem had to have been written before the 20th century, one was 25 lines or less and one was the contestant’s choice.   

Hawatmeh recited “The Gaffe” by C.K. Williams, “Ode to the Hotel Near the Children’s Hospital” by Kevin Young and “Delia 33: When men shall find thy flower, thy glory, pass” by Samuel Daniel. 

Hawatmeh’s poems tend to be longer than those chosen by other contestants, and involve shifts in emotion, said Delmar Arnold, Juan Diego CHS Poetry Out Loud organizer and English teacher.

Juan Diego students were required to compete in their classrooms, then there were rounds and a school talent show.

Hawatmeh can get to the heart of a poem, it seems like, effortlessly,” Arnold said. “She doesn’t miss a beat when it comes to an emotional change, and she conveys it with her pace and tone. It was clear that she really felt the poems and knew the rhetorical situation of each one and just captured it.” 

An ideal student, Hawatmeh takes every advanced placement class that she possibly can, is an editor of the school newspaper and “is the most modest person in the entire school,” Arnold added.

For Hawatmeh, finding a poem is the hardest step; she is “picky about which kind of poem she wants to recite,” she said. 

To select a poem, she reads several aloud until she finds her voice in one. She then rehearses it line by line, practices constantly, writes it out, rehearses it in the car, and records herself to hear her inflection and tone, seeking the right emotion in her voice. 

Practicing and performing in front of her sisters and the school competitions helped her improve, she said.

“Poetry is a form of expression, another way of storytelling,” Hawatmeh said. “I have not had any public speaking and might not have participated in Poetry Out Loud, but it was required, so I wanted to put my full effort into it and make sure that what I did was something I was going to be proud of, and I think I was able to do that.”

Judge Memorial CHS also required every student to compete in Poetry Out Loud. Each English class selected a finalist to perform before an audience of students, faculty and staff. Ngo was named the school-wide finalist and then Salt Lake Regional winner.

“Leena has tremendous talent,” said Bryan Jeffreys, Judge CHS Memorial Poetry Out Loud organizer and English teacher. “With her poised and powerful recitations, she has reached the finals in our school competition each of the last three years.  Her artistic gifts in literary and visual arts are things to celebrate, and they enrich our school. Leena makes great contributions here at Judge, and she does so with compassion and humility.” 

Ngo recited “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain” by Emily Dickinson, “Bleeding Heart,” by Carmen Gimeniz Smith and “Let the Light Enter” by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. 

Ngo chose “Bleeding Heart” because she has a fear of public speaking and a fear of blood, she said. 

“It was a personal challenge for me,” she explained. “I don’t necessarily memorize the poems, I let them stick to me. I feel the emotion of them and let it become a part of me so I can convey that to the audience.”