VHS student participates in state poetry competition

Published 6:33 pm Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Kate Atwell, a junior at Vashon High School, competed at the Washington state Poetry Out Loud contest over the weekend.

Atwell was among 13 students who took part in the event, held in Tacoma.

“I am really excited,” Atwell said before she left. “It’s really kind of a cool experience and made me get into poetry a little more, and I am glad.”

The road to State started in her English class last semester, when several Vashon classes participated in the Poetry Out Loud competition at the local level. Atwell was voted the top in her class and went on to perform for the school with eight other students, who had also been selected. Atwell won that event, and went to Regionals early last month, where she and one other student from the Puget Sound region were chosen to advance.

Atwell did not place at the weekend competition, but the state’s poet laureate, Elizabeth Austen, was one of the judges and commented on the high quality of those who performed.

“Students often chose really difficult poems and showed an incredible command of the language,” Austen said in a press release.

Atwell recited three poems from memory: “Meditation on a Grapefruit” by Craig Arnold, “Blind Curse” by Simon J. Oritz and “The Man with a Hoe,” by Edwin Markham.

Atwell has spent a lot of time on  stage as a singer and actor, and said she appreciates the recognition.

“It is nice to know that I have nice stage presence, especially for singing. It’s not just that I have a nice voice, but that I have a presence, that is a nice feeling,” she said.