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This year's Middle School finalists in the annual Michael Lopes Poetry Recitation Contest gave impressive recitations of poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Emily Dickinson, Mary Oliver, Julio Noboa Polanco, Robert Louis Stevenson, Nikki Giovanni, and Barbara Vance. Our eight Middle School finalists rose to the occasion April 10, standing tall and confident in Lasdon Theater to recite their poems to faculty, staff, and their classmates.

English teacher and host Maddy Visintainer welcomed the community and described poetry as the way to describe the emotional complexities of existing in our very human world. "We experience our world through emotions," she said. "A fundamental piece of human consciousness." 

Ms. Visintainer quoted American writer, professor, philosopher, intersectional feminist, poet and civil rights activist Audre Lorde who said, "Poetry is not a luxury but a necessity. It is the way we help give name to the nameless so it can be thought." Then on to the middle school finalists who gave impressive, well presented recitations of their chosen poems.

This year's Middle School winner of the Michael Lopes Poetry Recitation Contest is seventh grader Ben McIntosh for the poem "Identity" by Julio Noboa Polanco. Honorable mention recognition went to eighth grader Krisi Friedman for the poem "Why Me?" by Barbara Vance.

Congratulations to Ben and Krisi, and our other Middle School finalists; sixth graders Flint Birnbaum and Olivia Farkas, seventh graders Karen Dey and Aoife Lazzaro, and eighth graders Ruth Doran and Emily Bigman.

The poetry recitation content is an annual tradition at Harvey, and one that the students enthusiastically embrace every spring. The contest calls for students to deliver a published poem of 14 lines or more as they work on elocution and body language, showcasing their understanding and analysis of poetry. Students in every grade from 6-12 select a poem to memorize and recite in their English classes. Those who give especially strong performances advance to the semifinal round where they recite their poems again for an audience made up entirely of Harvey English teachers. The teachers have the difficult task of deciding who will represent the Upper School grades on stage in the finals. Two to three students from each grade are chosen for the final round and a winner is selected by an esteemed panel of judges with areas of expertise in writing and public speaking.

 

A special thank you to our esteemed judges panel:

Em Marie Kohl (they/she) is a neurodivergent white queer creative living on Lenapehoking Land (Brooklyn, NY). Em's personal and community practices move from a trauma informed center. Their writing can be found in Everybody Press Review, Pom Pom Press, The Ana, Inkwell, and Hymn for the Living Poet, amongst others. Em was part of the last creative writing master of fine arts cohort at Mills College (2023) and they hold a bachelor's in fine arts from Rutgers Mason Gross (2013). Every Thursday you can find them co-hosting the queer poetry reading series Exquisites at Polly's Cafe in Brooklyn. Exquisites also hosts nomadic writing workshops and publishes an anthology series twice a year. Em builds community through mutual care and an openness towards spiritual growth.

Brooke Lockyer is the author of "Burr" (Nightwood Editions) called "a charming and appealingly atmospheric debut novel" by the Toronto Star. She holds a bachelor of arts from Barnard College and a master's in English in the creative writing from the University of Toronto. Born in rural Canada, Ms. Lockyer has lived in Japan, New York City, Bristol, and the Mojave Desert. She currently resides with her family in Toronto.

Rod Owens taught English in grades 10-12 at The Harvey School from 2000 to 2015. At the Harvey Summer Camp, Mr. Owens wrote songs and plays, and in 2013 he recorded his album "Strange Opera" with three Harvey seniors. In 2015, Mr. Owens retired to Cape Cod, began acting, and created his one-man show "Come Here, Shakespeare!" On April 12, he performed his show for Harvey students in Lasdon Theater.

Poetry Contest Judges: Brooke Lockyer, Em Marie Kohl, and Rod Owens