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The annual Michael Lopes Poetry Recitation Contest was held April 11, as our student finalists in grades 6-12 took the Lasdon Theater stage to deliver poems written by noteworthy poets, but internalized and familiarized by our speakers.
Dr. Brendan Byrne, head of middle school, served as host for both the Middle School and Upper School contests. He welcomed the audience of students, faculty, staff, and families to this annual contest tradition, named after Michael Lopes, a beloved teacher here at Harvey, a former English department chair, and himself an accomplished poet.
“A few students from each English class advanced to the semifinal round to deliver their poems in front of the English department, and then the best of the best from each grade advanced to today’s event,” Dr. Byrne said. “The act of memorizing a poem written by someone else may sound like an old-fashioned and outdated endeavor, but in reality I believe it is more valuable today than ever before. We live in a time when we can benefit from practicing a bit more empathy, and memorizing and understanding the words of another person, to the point where you are able to recite them as if you wrote them yourself, is an incredible exercise in empathy. To see a situation from another person’s view, to put yourself in the shoes of a speaker who maybe lived decades ago, and may be from a completely different background, an attempt to hear their words and understand their feelings, to connect with their perspective, and become so familiar with the speakers’ experience that it becomes your own -- that is a practice in empathy,” he concluded.
Three judges made up our panel to select the winners: Pamela Hart, writer in residence at the Katonah Museum of Art; Zepnep Inanoğlu, a Turkish-American poet; and Elizabeth Mahony ‘19, a teacher at Country Children's Center.
As the judges deliberated, the Middle School audience was treated to music by accomplished pianist Johann Fueting ‘29. During the Upper School judges deliberation, junior Steve Liu kept the audience entertained with his vocal rendition of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.”
In the Middle School contest, eighth grader Senna Lieber won for her recitation of Pat Schneider’s poem “Going Home the Longest Way Around.” The judges also awarded an Honorable Mention to sixth grader Sabine Weiss for her recitation of Maya Angelou’s “When Great Trees Fall.”
In Upper School, 11th grader Eli Klagsbrun won for his recitation of “My Music” by Campbell McGrath. The judges awarded Honorable Mention to senior Shae Falconer for her recitation of “The Runaway” by Pamela Sneed.
“Congratulations to all of you who took time to memorize a poem over these past few weeks,” said Dr. Byrne, adding, “Most of all, thanks to the chair of the English department, Ms. Holmes, and to all of our English teachers.”
Middle School Finalists
Grade 6: Sabine Weiss (Honorable Mention), Wayden Ebanks “Listening in Deep Space”
Grade 7: Alana Telford “Once”; Ella Adler “Tarantulas on the Lifebuoy”
Grade 8: Isolda Corena “The Ocean”; O’Launi Ebanks “Good Timber”; Aoife Lazzaro “The Swan”; Senna Lieber (Winner)
Upper School Finalists
Grade 9: Sophie Frankel “The Naming of Cats”; Sophia Henderson “Gacela of the Dark Death”
Grade 9: Sophie Frankel “The Naming of Cats”; Sophia Henderson “Gacela of the Dark Death”
Grade 10: Morgan Marable “The Applicant”; Sam Koester “The Song of Despair”
Grade 11: Chloe Siddons “The Labyrinth”; Eli Klagsbun (Winner)
Grade 12: Sophia Beldotti “Hornets’ Nest”; Shae Falconer (Honorable Mention); Christina Phipps “New Day’s Lyric”
Grade 11: Chloe Siddons “The Labyrinth”; Eli Klagsbun (Winner)
Grade 12: Sophia Beldotti “Hornets’ Nest”; Shae Falconer (Honorable Mention); Christina Phipps “New Day’s Lyric”
Our Judges
Pamela Hart is writer in residence at the Katonah Museum of Art in Katonah where she teaches and manages arts-in-education programs in schools and correctional facilities. Her book, "Mothers Over Nangarhar," winner of the Kathryn A. Morton Prize, was published in 2019 by Sarabande Books. She received a poetry fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She is poetry editor for Afghan Voices, the Afghan Women's Writing Project and assistant non-fiction editor for Consequence Forum, a journal on the consequences of war and geopolitical violence. Her poems have been published in online and print journals.
Zeynep Inanoğlu is a Turkish-American poet, pediatric nurse practitioner, and artist originally from Acton, Massachusetts. She has a bachelor’s in English Literature from Skidmore College and a Master’s from Yale School of Nursing. Her poetry focuses on bodily experience, spirituality, lineage, and medicine. As a writer and healthcare provider, she is especially passionate about the intersection between medicine, art, and the humanities.
Elizabeth Mahony is a Harvey School alumna who is delighted to be back on campus. She graduated in 2019, and during her time here, she was a Wells Speech Contest Winner as well as a recipient of a National Gold Medal at the Scholastic Writing Awards for her speech titled “Risky.” Elizabeth went on to study psychology, English, and creative Writing at Muhlenberg College, where she specifically focused on developing her creative non-fiction and poetry, and ultimately assembled a portfolio of her original writing as a cumulative university experience. Elizabeth also received a Creative Writing Award from Muhlenberg in 2023 for her creative non-fiction work. Currently, Elizabeth is a teacher at the Country Childrens Center, and she is honored to be here with us today to celebrate poetry.
