Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

By KARLA POMEROY

WORLAND - Worland High School junior Jade Hefenieder won the first WHS Poetry Out Loud competition Monday night in the Little Theater.

Hefenieder, and two fellow competitors, Raychel Duffy and Isabelle Burky, each performed two poems in front of four judges and a small audience.

Local Poetry Out Loud organizer Pam Greek said the competitors had to select their poems from the list provided by the national Poetry Out Loud organization. One poem had to be 25 lines or fewer and one had to be written before the 20th century.

Hefenieder selected two poems with a similar theme of a lost love. The first poem she performed was "No I Wasn't Meant to Love or Be Loved" by Miraza Asadullah Khan Chalib. The second poem was "When You Are Old," by William Butler Yeats.

Hefenieder, who competes in poetry for Worland High School forensics team, said she enjoys the art and philosophy around poetry. She said she selected the two poems because she's always been interested in love and its passion. "I'm interested in the philosophy behind love, is it God or is it timing," she said. Hefenieder added that both poems examine how someone views love after the have lost someone they loved.

Winning the local competition, qualifies Hefenieder for the state contest March 2-3 at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne. A win in Cheyenne and she will advance to the national competition in Washington, D.C., April 27-29.

Hefenieder must recite three poems from memory instead of two for the state and national contests.

According to the Wyoming Arts Council website, "The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation joined together to create Poetry Out Loud, a program that encourages the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance."

According to the Poetry Out Loud website, "Each winner at the state level receives $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip with an adult chaperone to Washington, DC to compete for the national championship. The state winner's school receives $500 for the purchase of poetry materials. The first runner-up in each state receives $100, with $200 for their school. At the national finals, a total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends is awarded annually.