By Josh Perry
Hometown Weekly Staff
Needham High sophomore Ben Cohen competed in the annual Poetry Out Loud competition for the second year in a row and took third place in the state at the Old South Meeting House in Boston on March 13.
Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation competition that Cohen heard about as a freshman when an English teacher assigned him a poem to memorize and recite. He said, “I found the whole concept of performing poetry really interesting.”
Last year Cohen finished second in the state, but he noted that this year’s crop of competitors was “unbelieveable.”
He added, “Finishing in third place in the state finals was amazing…all 24 of the finalists were extremely well-prepared and were excellent performers.”
During the state finals, the competitors had to recite two poems apiece and then were whittled down to a top six who had to recite a third poem. During the competition this year, Cohen recited “Blackberry-Picking” by Seamus Heaney, “Make a Law so that the Spine Remembers Wings” by Larry Levis, and “Novel” by Arthur Rimbaud.
“I knew that I had given a solid performance with each of my two poems, but I was still very nervous before they announced the top six,” said Cohen.
Cohen admitted that the hardest part of the competition is the moment before taking the stage to recite a poem. He explained, “Although I had prepared my poems for four months, I was worried that I’d miss words or draw a blank on stage.”
In the end, those concerns were unfounded as Cohen once again impressed the panel of judges.
“It’s pretty cool to be up there,” he said. “I feel like one part of my brain is reciting the poem while the other part is taking it all in. The connection you have with the audience is a special feeling.”
Cohen believes that the skills he is learning through Poetry Out Loud and the recitation of poetry will benefit him in other aspects of his life.
He said, “The preparation and dedication I needed to have can definitely translate to other parts of my life. I had to sacrifice my time to get the results I wanted. I feel proud of my accomplishment because of the work I put into it.”
He also offered tips for future poets. Cohen said, “Embody your poem and pick a poem that you really like.”
“Length and level of difficulty shouldn’t matter when choosing a poem. It should be a poem that you want to read over and over, and one that you want to perform.”
Learn more about Poetry Out Loud at www.poetryoutloud.org.
Josh Perry is an Editor at Hometown Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.
