POL rocks my world
When I was a freshman, I could hardly stand in front of my lone English class without my knees buckling. So in this state of thinking, the demand that I memorize a poem and then proceed to recite it for a grade was simply hogwash. I choose a relatively short work of writing and screwed it up around line three.
I remember watching my first "Poetry Out Loud" assembly. I was blown away. How could people memorize such lengthy works of art? And have the artistic talent, the understanding, to recite someone else's words in front of 800 people? It was breath taking. It was inspiring. It made me appreciate poetry and since, I have made my best effort to exert some measure of passion into the act of recitation.
Today I watched my peers walk across the auditorium stage. They stated their name, their grade, the title and the poet. And then they were in another world. The key to a strong recitation is forgetting that the words of another are exiting your mouth. A memorized poem cannot be a script.
It took me four years to realize how much I love the concept of poetry, the unity of stage fright. So to all of you freshman out there who can't wait to do the same Robert Frost poem next year, think again. Because being someone else in an auditorium for the span of two minutes is an experience unlike any other.
