By Ashlee Geraghty, Staff Writer

For some people, being up on stage in front of a large crowd is already nerve-racking enough. Imagine having to remember and recite a piece of poetry in front of this large audience. For juniors Kiersten Lewis and Lukas Lewis, and senior Sarah Skinner, they find a way to overcome the nerves.  

Many students participated in their Poetry Out Loud classroom contests and advanced into the school-wide contest in December, where select students were chosen to make a top three. Poetry Out Loud is a contest where students select a piece of poetry and have to recite it in front of an audience. Students are judged on things such as their memorization skills and overall stage presence.

This year’s district competition will be held Thursday (Jan. 26) at 6 p.m. at the Dare County Arts Council in downtown Manteo. At this competition, the top three from First Flight will be competing against students from Manteo High School to see who will represent the district in the statewide competition.

Kiersten Lewis still has the nerves, even with the experience of this competition before. Kiersten went all the way to the district competition her freshman year and placed third.

“I know the process and that helps me realize it’s not as scary as you think it is,” said Kiersten, who will be reciting “The Gaffe” by C.K. Williams and “Thoughtless Cruelty” by Charles Lamb.

Kiersten finds her biggest setback through this all is the crowd and also the memorization: “It’s scary getting up in front of a bunch of strangers and reciting something for them, and also memorizing it is really hard.”

She finds ways to overcome this by reciting her poem constantly to her friends and family, and also by repeating it in her head a bunch of times to keep it fresh in her memory.

“I feel nervous in the beginning, but about halfway through I become more confident in myself,” Kiersten said

Lukas Lewis doesn’t find his biggest struggle to be the crowd, but more so the competition: “I think the hardest part is the competition, being up against other people, because I know Kiersten is infamous for doing really good. It’s not going to stop me from trying,” Lukas said.

Lukas will be reciting “Broken Promises” by David Kirby and “Silence” by Thomas Hood. The large audience is not as frightening to Lukas: “It makes me feel good that other people are getting to hear me do it, but it makes me really nervous because I know I’m being judged,” Lukas said.

The event is free to attend and students are encouraged to watch their classmates in this special event. Poetry Out Loud has been helping students strengthen their memorization skills and boost their confidence for several years now.

“It’s a really fun experience and I encourage others to try it,” Lukas said.

Junior Ashlee Geraghty can be contacted at geraghtyas0916@daretolearn.org.