This year's Vermont Poetry Out Loud winner, Winooski High School junior Mapenzi Selemani, has a suggestion for those who are nervous about public speaking: Take your time.
"Stage fright is real!" she said.
is a nationwide high school competition. It starts on the local level with classroom recitations of poems and sonnets. From there, students move on to state-level competitions. As Vermont's state champ, Selemani will represent the Green Mountain State at the Poetry Out Loud championships on May 6th and 7th in Washington D.C.
Each student selects the poems they will present. Selemani said that the poem " by Thomas Hood reminded her of her childhood in Zambia.
"It just felt like it was meant for me," she said. "Everything in there, although it may be paraphrased differently, I just felt a strong connection to the house where I was born."
She also recited "," a poem by William Wordsworth about humans' disconnect from nature.
Selemani鈥檚 teacher Caitlin MacLeod-Bluver said that one of the unique things about working in Winooski is teaching students whose families have been in Vermont for generations alongside those whose families have only been in the country for a short time, like Mapenzi's family.
"My classroom represents America in so many ways, and what is the American dream if not creating spaces for everyone to succeed?" MacLeod-Bluver said. "Creating opportunities for us to have dialog with each other, to recognize each other's differences and then ultimately celebrate them. Poetry, reading books, reading history, is a way for us to have those conversations, and it allows us to learn more about each other."
MacLeod-Bluver, who was named Vermont Teacher of the Year in January, said the students have been writing their own poems and working towards a poetry showcase on April 16.
"Every day, we're starting class by watching a poet performing their poem out loud and then using those poems as inspiration," she said.
One poem in particular, , resonated with students including Selemani. Many students started their poems using the prompt, 'Something You Should Know About Me.' Selemani said she learned more about her friends and they learned more about her too.
"I talked about my connection with poetry in there, and how I found a different passion that I've never really thought of," Selemani said.
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