Souhegan Poet Competes In State Semi-Final

A picture may be "worth a thousand words," but a poem can mean thousands of dollars for one talented poet.

Souhegan High School junior Emmy McGuy is headed to the Poetry Out Loud state semi-final Thursday night in Manchester, NH after winning the school competition last month. The semi-finals will take place on Thursday, March, 15 at 7 p.m. in Robert Frost Hall at Southern NH University. 

McGuy has chosen to recite from memory three challenging poems: “The Bearer,” by Hayden Carruth; “The Children’s Hour,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; and “Famous,” by Naomi Shihab Nye.

If she comes out on top in the semi-finals, she will compete in the NH State Final in Concord. The state champion then advances to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals in April in Washington, DC, where $50,000 dollars in awards and school prizes will be distributed.

Nearly 800 Souhegan students chose, analyzed, memorized and performed from memory a published poem from Poetry Out Loud’s online anthology. English teachers in grades 9-12 linked the project to their curriculum. World Literature students choose poems by non-American poets, 9^th graders choose poems based on the themes they are studying in literature, and AP English students choose from a selection of English Romantic poets.

Souhegan’s runner-up was freshman Hannah Whitney. Both McGuy and Whitney won $15,000 renewable merit scholarships from New England College.

Last year, Souhegan’s first year hosting the competition, freshman Olivia Vordenberg was the NH state champion. She represented the state of New Hampshire at the National competition in Washington, DC., finishing 10^th in the nation. 

The competition, presented in partnership with the NH State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. The public is invited and welcome to attend.

For more information on Poetry Out Loud, visit their website at poetryoutloud.org