Taking full advantage of the gift of time a snow day affords, Annie added a third poem to her repertoire in preparation for the Vermont State Finals Competition for Poetry Out Loud, held at Burlington's Flynn Center, Thursday evening, March 16th. Competing with other state finalists from Burr and Burton, Champlain Valley, Bellows Free Academy- Fairfax, Peoples Academy, St. Johnsbury Academy, Bellows Free Academy -- St. Albans, Williamstown, Thetford and Rice Memorial, Annie led round one with Shakespeare's "Sonnet 55: Not marble nor the gilded monuments". In Round 2, Annie captivated her audience with her signature recitation of Adelaide Crapsey's "The Properly Scholarly Attitude". Annie's pacing, intonation, physical presence and delivery in both these recitations were impeccable and secured her position as one of the top 3 selected to recite a third poem, Thursday night.
To lean on a line from her rendition of "Clear Night" by Charles Wright, Annie was indeed "strung up in a strong light and singled out" for her excellence, "gears notch[ed] and engines wheel[ed]" in ways that led her to Woodstock's top finish as our first "runner up" in the state Poetry Out Loud competitions over the years.
While it was hard for any of us to discern the difference between Annie's recitations and Greer Kennedy's of St. Johnsbury Academy, top place went to Greer who will travel to Washington, D.C. in early May to represent Vermont in the national Poetry Out Loud contest. In the meantime, keep an eye out for more of Annie's amazing performances this spring in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, the class of 2023 Speak Chorus, and likely many other performance events!
