“I think I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree…”

This poem, plus, nearly a thousand more are among those being recited by LCHS students throughout the month of December.

Students in grades 9-12 are participating in the annual recitation competition.  Students are currently working within their classrooms.  Each class will have a winning recitation, with classroom winners advancing to the school competition in early January.

Mr. Doug Beckman, English teacher, coordinates the event each year.

Students recite poems of various lengths from a specified list.  Some of the student favorites for ease of memorizing are “Fire and Ice,”  “Let It Be Forgotten” and “I, Too.”

However, students are not afraid to tackle more difficult poems such as “Ballad of Birmingham,” “The Charge of the Light Brigade” and “Chicago.”

Classroom winners will then compete against each other with a Top 10 being selected. In the second round, students are encouraged to recite a second poem.  Following the second round, an overall school winner will be announced.

The winner will go on to represent LCHS in Charleston for the two-day state finals in April.

Seckman brought Poetry Out Loud to LCHS several years ago.  The school has had numerous winners, with Kierston Carson finishing third in WV.

For more information about Poetry Out Loud, visit www.poetryoutloud.org.