Plato said, “Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history.” And 5th century BC poet Simonides of Ceos wrote, “Poetry is painting that speaks.”
Indeed, poetry is meant to be spoken, and no one has known that better over the last several weeks than hundreds of Idaho students who have been participating in the Poetry Out Loud competition.
“This is the 20th anniversary of Poetry Out Loud,” said Rebecca Martin, education director at the Idaho Commission on the Arts. “It’s a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation; and then, in each state, there’s a partner in an arts organization, and here it's Arts Idaho.”
Each year, students choose a selection from the Poetry Out Loud Anthology, which is updated regularly.
“I chose “Requiem” by Camille T. Dungy,” said Emma Eldred, a senior at Plymouth High School.
Dungy’s work is acclaimed the world over, and her honors have included fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial, and she’s a recipient of the American Book Award in 2011.
Dungy said witnessing an accident in the United Kingdom inspired her to write “Requiem” but it took her a year-and-a-half to complete it. It was first published in 2006, and it remains one of the finest contemporary poems of our generation.
Which brings us back to Emma Eldred who points to the many supportive people in her life – her parents and English teachers in particular – who have inspired her to compete in Poetry Out Loud for three years.
Emma and Rebecca Martin joined Morning Edition host George Prentice to talk about this year’s competition, and Emma graced the conversation with a passage from “Requiem” which you can listen to here.
Find reporter George Prentice @georgepren
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