On Jan. 28, Pines Charter students gathered at the Broward County Southwest Regional Library auditorium for cookies, coffee, and most importantly, poetry. The Poetry Slam, hosted by the National English Honors Society (NEHS), invited the student body to read their poetry in a coffeehouse-style environment. Moreover, the Slam served as round two for Recite Night finalists, who will further participate in the nationwide Poetry Out Loud competition.
The day after the Slam, NEHS sponsor Sarah Phelps announced the winner of the second round of the competition: junior Faith Banossian, who recited “Meanwhile” by Richard Siken. Despite her anticipation, Banossian admitted that “representing Charter at states [will] definitely be a bit stressful. I’m sure there are people counting on me, which can be a bit overwhelming.”
Banossian further expressed her love for creative writing as “[her] escape from reality.” Oftentimes, she will “write original poetry or short stories about whatever is on [her] mind at the time.”
Additionally, sophomore Mikayla Hines performed her self-written parody poem titled “The Day of Thanksgiving,” in which she invited the audience to a not-so-perfect Thanksgiving dinner. “I’ve never been much of a poet and all my attempts at being ‘serious’ felt shallow, so I decided to channel this anger into a poem,” the sophomore said. Hines was the only performer at the Poetry Slam to recite a parody poem. However, the piece was a refreshing laugh in the midst of the sad, sappy, and sentimental poems.
Since Hines does the morning announcements for Charter each day, she has often felt the student body only identifies her for her voice rather than her personality. With this in mind, the sophomore wanted to channel her humorous persona through her recitation.
Moreover, senior and NEHS Treasurer Dante Perez read “Becoming a Redwood” by Dana Gioia in hopes of advancing to the Poetry Out Loud States Competition. Perez delivered a deep and thoughtful performance on stage, but unfortunately forgot the last few lines of his chosen poem.
“It’s such a strange feeling in the moment because one moment you are completely immersed in the poem and then, suddenly, you have no clue where you are,” Perez said.
The senior continued to say, “although [my recitation] didn’t go as planned, I was happy that I had the opportunity to participate in such a wonderful event.” Despite his stumble, Perez picked himself back up, remaining professional and finishing his poem on a positive note.
From the student-written poetry and recitation finalists, Charter was able to successfully bring their talent to the stage, performing in front of a crowd of at least 200 people. Their bravery is not to be overlooked; recitations require a great deal of confidence and humility. With that, NEHS’s 11th annual Poetry Slam was undoubtedly a triumph.
