Leah Stallcup’s passion for public speaking led her to consider entering the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts’ Poetry Out Loud competition. Now she’ll be competing for a state title this weekend.
Stallcup, a sophomore from Fayetteville, will represent ASMSA at the statewide Poetry Out Loud competition on Saturday, March 2. The competition, sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council and the Department of Arkansas Heritage will begin at 10:45 a.m. at Ron Robinson Theatre in downtown Little Rock. She qualified for the state contest by winning the school competition held on Jan. 24 at the weekly Wednesday Night Poetry gathering at Kollective Coffee + Tea.
“I am very excited about getting to compete at the state competition,” Stallcup said. “I am very passionate about public speaking and poetry, and I am very thankful for Poetry Out Loud providing students with an opportunity to exhibit and compete in both skills.”
Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country, according to the program’s website. Students recite selected poetry before a group of judges who score the students’ performance and recitation accuracy.
Students qualify for the state competition through a competition sponsored by a school or another recognized organization. The winner of the state competition will have the opportunity to compete in the national competition. The Poetry Out Loud National Finals, sponsored by the National Endowment of the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, will be held in Washington, D.C., on April 30-May 2. The top prize is $20,000 for the National Champion with additional awards for competitors who finish in second through 12th places.
Stallcup has prepared three poems for recitation at the upcoming state competition. They are different poems than what she recited for the school competition. The poems she will recite include:
- “Where Did the Handsome Beloved Go?” by Jalal al-Din Rumi, translated by Brad Gooch;
- “One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII” by Pablo Neruda, translated by Mark Eisner; and
- “Adam’s Curse” by William Butler Yeats.
She was excited to memorize new set of poetry for the state competition and said two of the poems were chosen with input from her mother.
“Jalal al-Din Rumi and Pablo Neruda are both poets that she holds very near and dear to her heart, and I chose to recite these poems as a sort of tribute to her and all that she does for me,” Stallcup said. “‘Adam’s Curse’ I chose because William Butler Yeats carries so much emotion in his poetry. I admire so much the complexity of his words and how it sounds to recite them.
“The poems that I chose for the competition at my school were centered around one thing — love. For the state competition, I wanted the poems I chose to be more diverse in their meaning, and I feel that this group of poems serves that purpose beautifully.”
She is preparing for the state competition by reciting each poem at least twice a day. Now she’s mainly working on presentation.
“I have memorized them, so now I am focusing on the delivery. I have also sat down with my advisor and talked through the poems, which helped me grasp the deeper meanings the poets wrote about and therefore helped me grasp how I should deliver their words,” she said.
Public speaking is one of Stallcup’s passions that she began exploring while in ninth grade. She recited the Future Farmers of America Creed for multiple competitions, including winning a state competition. That experience combined with her interest in artistic writing led her to become involved with ASMSA’s Poetry Out Loud competition.
“I believe the poets are heroes who say what sometimes cannot be said with usual writing. Getting an opportunity to fully delve into, study and recite some poetry from wonderful artists is such an important thing, especially for high school students,” she said.
Stallcup said winning the school competition in January was wonderful, but the opportunity to do so with her fellow students made it more special. The school competition included Cora Breshears of Bonnerdale, Makenna Kutzschebauch of Benton and Hannah Reagler of Hot Springs.
“They gave me so much support and grace before and after the competition, and I hope I did the same for them,” Stallcup said. “The number of smiling faces that night at the poetry competition helped me feel happy and calm in the face of a challenge, and even if I didn’t win the competition, I am sure I would have walked out of it with a smile on my face.”