BOURNE — Superintendent Kerri Anne Quinlan-Zhou and Bourne High School Principal Amy Cetner are pleased to announce students from multiple school districts participated in a poetry workshop and poetry slam hosted at Bourne High School.
On Tuesday, April 4, 67 students from Bourne High School, Bourne Middle School, Falmouth High School, Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, Westborough High School and Dartmouth Middle School came together to participate in a poetry workshop and slam poetry contest in the Bourne High School library.
The event was MCed by Chicago slam poet Mojdeh Stoakley and public interest lawyer Eric “Rota” Sirota. Stoakley and Sirota also lead the morning workshop.
“The workshop taught students how to put elements of their identity into prose and how one’s outward expression can convey a plethora of information,” Library Media Specialist John LeRoy said. “The workshop helped students not only prepare for the poetry slam but channel their feelings in a productive and artistic way.”
The poetry slam was held after the workshop, with 31 students from the workshop choosing to compete. The top six competitors from the first round moved on to the final micro-poem round. The top six finalists were:
- Keaghan Johnson, Bourne Middle School, Grade Eight
- Sydney Emerson, Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, Grade 11
- Claire Koosa, Bourne High School, Grade 10
- Elise Dean, Bourne High School, Grade 10
- Jayden Halstead, Bourne High School, Grade 11
- Shea Reilly, Bourne Middle School, Grade Seven
Dean was named the Grand Champion of the poetry slam. Dean’s round one poem titled “This Poem Doesn’t Have a Title” was about how her self-identity is rooted in her brain rather than her body. Dean’s poem rejected a societal norm that beauty stems from outward appearance. Instead, her poem suggested that beauty, life and pain are all products of our minds. Dean’s second round micro-poem, titled “Star,” compared her to a star in outer space “burning brightly in isolation.”
Bourne High School formed a new Poetry Club in preparation for the event, which advisors planned to dissolve after the poetry slam. However, due to its popularity, the club will continue throughout the rest of the school year and is in the works to become a grant-funded after-school program next year.
“Poetry is a powerful tool for self-expression and magnifying the voice of our students,” Superintendent Quinlan-Zhou said. “I am pleased that such high-caliber artists could work with our students and that we were able to host other schools during this great event.”
The event was sponsored by the Nye Foundation, an avid supporter of the poetry slam.
To learn more about what sets Bourne Public Schools apart, click here.
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