Poetry Out Loud top finishers at FHS
In doing so, he won $100, trophy and a swag bag. Toon will be treated to a trip toFranklin, where he will compete in the state finals competition Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28-March 1, in Mockingbird Theater, 230 Franklin Road.
The winner of the state finals then will compete in the National Finals Monday through Wednesday, May 5-7, in Washington, D.C.
“I’m very happy,” he said about winning the schoolwide finals. “I put a lot of work into this. It was just super fun. Everyone did really great. It was great to see all the hard work we put into our poems come to fruition.”
Right behind Toon, Tiyanna Dudley, a junior, won second place, receiving $75, a swag bag and trophy. Anjali Devarakonda, a freshman, won third place and earned $50, swag bag and a trophy.
Other schoolwide finalists were juniors Natasha Gard and Skylar Gruhn and senior Daniel Martin.
Toon recited the poems, “Zoom” by Simon Armitage and “Catch a Little Rhyme” by Eve Merriam.
“The first (poem) I chose because it’s about the power of words, and that’s really important to me, especially with, obviously, a poetry competition, how words can impact people,” the senior said. “For my second one, I wanted to do something a little more fun, a little more up-hearted, so I chose this Dr. Seuss-like poem called ‘Catch a Little Rhyme.’”
This was Toon’s second year competing in POL. He also is an active member of National Spanish Honors Society, Admiral Performing Arts Company, Model United Nations and Key Club at FHS.
Additionally, he serves his community with the Teen Board in Knoxville, performs on stage and has been in numerous productions with local theaters around the Greater Knoxville area.
Emceed by FHS seniors, Caitlin Schram and Sam Wilson, this marks the 20th anniversary of Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry recitation competition sponsored by National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation and state art agencies, according to Dr. Cedelle Niles, FHS Poetry Out Loud coordinator and English Language Arts teacher.
“For two decades, the program has inspired a love for poetry, strengthened public speaking skills and bolstered students’ self-confidence,” Niles said.
“Coordinating this program at FHS has been a true privilege for me,” she added.
