At a surface level, reciting a poem from memory in front of a crowd may seem like a burden. But to many, poetry is a priceless form of self-expression—a way to communicate shared experiences or emotions that are a byproduct of human nature. For them, the value of delivering meaningful poems justifies putting oneself in a vulnerable position.
“Poetry is the way that we express grief and happiness as a society,” English Department Chair Ms. Taylor Smith-Kan said. “Even though it might not often end up in your life as a teenager, it actually does enter into our lives all the time.”
Similarly, Fifth Former Nicholas Zafiriou said, “Poems are often able to capture subtle details about the human experience through their simplicity, but they can also stir up one’s emotions dramatic language in a way that prose cannot always achieve.”
Every winter, high school students from around the country spend countless hours practicing and eventually performing poems of their choosing for the Poetry Out Loud competition, advancing first from their schools to the regional, state, and eventually national levels. Competing students are judged not only on their ability to accurately recite their poem from memory, but also the emotions and feelings they convey using their vocal intonation or body movement.
For Haverford, the first round of the Poetry Out Loud competition narrows the pool of contestants from about thirty down to five. These five contestants will compete in an upper school assembly in Centennial Hall a week after winter break. Only one advances to the regional level, where he competes against students from other schools in the area.
While all students here memorize one poem to deliver in their English classes in front of their classmates and teachers, some choose to go above and beyond and memorize two poems to deliver in front of the entire upper school.
“I already had a poem memorized for class, so it was just a matter of [memorizing one more], waking up early, and going to [compete],” said Fifth Former Joseph Kahana, who has competed in the final five.
Kahana and Zafiriou were among the finalists in the school’s Poetry Out Loud competition last year, alongside other students such as alumni Reilly Pryma ’24 and James Gates ’24 and Fifth Former Lamar Duvernay. By structuring the competition and mandating memorization, Haverford has enjoyed much success, producing multiple runner-ups at the regional level and even two runner-ups at the state competition.
“Something that Haverford kids are really good at is the memory part,” Ms. Smith-Kan said. “The boys here know that they have got to get that poem down, and that is where other schools are not [as strong].”
“Before I recite poetry I always try to take a moment and picture myself inside the poem… I try to become whatever I am reciting about, whether it is a character or a description of something.”
Nicholas Zafiriou ’26
Though the memorization aspect of Poetry Out Loud may seem like the biggest challenge, the emotion and theatrics of the performance are also tricky to nail, meaning contestants must choose what to focus on during their recitation.
“I think that I need to convey the emotions of the poem, and some of these poems are fairly complicated, but I want people to understand the gist of them even if they don’t understand all of the words,” Kahana said. “I also think that it’s a way to express my emotions. A couple of years ago when I was doing ‘The Raven,’ I was very nervous, and I took that nervousness and put it into the poem since the protagonist was extraordinarily nervous. I think that really helped me empathize with them and the audience empathize with them.”
Zafiriou echoed this idea.
“Before I recite poetry I always try to take a moment and picture myself inside the poem… I try to become whatever I am reciting about, whether it is a character or a description of something,” Zafiriou said. “Last year when I recited ‘The Hollow Men,’ a poem that in part dealt with the gloominess of WWI, I imagined myself as a stumbling, lifeless soldier before launching into the recitation.”
Even though the entire ordeal of Poetry Out Loud is challenging for experienced performers and those trying it for the first time, this difficulty can make Poetry Out Loud worthwhile.
“I understand how hard it is, but a lot of the times, the hard stuff that we do in our lives is actually worth it,” Ms. Smith-Kan said. “Forcing you all to get up and read and memorize a poem is a way of giving you that gift, which I know people don’t often see as a gift, and then you have this thing that you own.”
