Poetry Out Loud

Part One: Website Cruising.
1. "Late Echo" by John Ashberry
2. "Retired Ballerinas, Central Park West" by Laurence Ferlinghetti
3. "Mrs. Adam" by Kathleen Norris
4. "Not Guilty" by David Rivard
5. "Chicago" by Carl Sandburg

Part Two: What do you think?
I liked all of the poems I read, with the exception of "Mrs. Adam". I liked "Late Echo" because the description and the serenity I felt that it was meaning. I liked "Retired Ballerinas, Central Park West" because I thought it was a fun poem and it had a lot of cool words and phrases (ie. "It is the final witching hour when swains are full of swan songs") . I liked "Not guilty". It started out slow and with a lot of descriptors, and even though it was sweet, it seemed tough. I liked "Chicago", but I had sort of mixed feelings about it. It was dark, but I liked the rugged part of it. I didn't like Mrs. Adams because I thought it was boring, and the language didn't register with me and didn't interest me. I might choose "Retired Ballerinas, Central Park West" because I really liked that one. I connected with it because when I was ten, my Grandma took me to New York and we went on a horse and carriage ride around Central Park.


Part Three: Scoring Criteria. 
The part I will struggle with, and succeed on is the Physical Presence because I can make eye contact, but I always fidget. I think that Evidence of Understanding will be easy because I can understand what I'm reading pretty well. I am worried about Acuracy because despite lot's of practice, I may miss a word while I recite my poem. I am also worried about Voice and Articulation because I sometimes don't realize how quietly or how loudly I am speaking. Also, I may slow down or speed up during my recition, which doens't keep a good pace and rhythm.

Part Four: Videos.
The first video I watched was of Carolyn Rose Garcia who recited the poem "Pied Beauty" by Gerard Manley Hopkins. I really liked it! I thought she recided the poem really nicely. Her voice was steady, but not too fast and it was easy to understand what she said. She made some movement and gestures, but not too many that it was overwhelming. The second video I watched was Sophia Elena Soberon reciting "Bilingual/Bilingue" by Rhina P. Espiallat. I really like how she used her tone of voice to change the way I thought about the poem. She had good presensce and she had a nice way of talking, with paueses in the right places.

Part Five: Summary.
I think Poetry Out loud is a cool thing. It gives people of all ages to expand how they view poetry (whether they like it or don't), and helps them have a chance to explore poetry. I think the competition is going to hard. I don't expect to win, but I hope that I do well. I am going to memorize "Retired Ballerinas, Central Park West" by Laurence Ferlinghetti. I really like this poem. It's excactly 25 lines, and it has some trick words. I can connect with this poem because my Grandma took me to New York when I was ten (as I said before) and I absolutely loved it. I think this poem conveys the high-energy hustle and bustle of New York City, but also the less busy, more slow parts of the city. I think the website Poetry Out loud has is full of a lot of cool things, but there is so much stuff there, it's hard to find things to focus on.