Pike High School Senior Goes For Poetry Gold

The state Poetry Out Loud competition is this weekend in Indianapolis. The competition is celebrating its 10th anniversary in Indiana and nationwide. One young man from the city's northwest side could be a real contender.

Daniel Robinson is a Pike High School senior who wants to be a champ. A poetry champ.   He's a veteran of the Poetry Out Loud competitions now – he finished second last year and took third place the year before. He has a strategy to win it all this time around.

"This year I’m gonna try and get at people’s heartstrings, see what I can do with that, try to get more emotional with the audience," explains Robinson, "because last year I figured out I can hold an audience."

There is an art to poetry performance. To win, Poetry Out Loud contestants have to convey the nuances and meaning of their poems, without being overly dramatic. It’s not so much acting as inhabiting the words of the poem. Judges use a scoring rubric – complex poems score higher than simple ones, and judges have to be convinced that the students understand the poems they’re reciting.

Robinson got into the Poetry Out Loud competitions after getting involved in theater at Pike.  And though he’s been writing poetry for years, the thrill of performance is a big part of why he wants to compete.

"For me every crowd is going to be different because you don't know what people are going to laugh at and you don't know what people are going to be sad at," says Robinson, "but the more people you've performed in front of the more comfortable you're going to be talking in front of people."

Drama teacher Karin Stratton says the competition connects young people like Daniel to the art of poetry, and it challenges them to engage what can be a difficult literary form.

"It's the opportunity to have self-expression in a positive way," says Stratton, "all kids need that, all teenagers, to remember that we are human beings."

To advance to this weekend’s state competition, Robinson first had to win at Pike. About 15 students showed up at the school library last month to participate. Robinson went prepared to recite three poems, including Kevin Young’s “Negative.” The poem imagines the world seen as a film negative – where dark is light and light is dark – as a way of exploring issues of race. After everyone finished, the judges only needed about 5 minutes to declare him the winner. In a side room after the competition, they immediately began strategizing about the state competition. Stratton suggested switching out one of his poems.

"The one that Cha-Cha did, "Her Head". To take that and add so much layer to it that would be absolutely wonderful." says Stratton about the poem by Joan Murray. "Friendship After Love" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox rounds out Robinson’s roster.  And he says it’s actually the poem he connects with the most. It’s a 19th century poem with a timeless theme – love and loss.

"I can relate to the story and I know I can put real emotions behind it instead of just acting," expresses Robinson, "there's actual emotions coming out when I do that one."

Emma Libersky a Senior from Plymouth is Robinson’s biggest competition.  She’s the state’s first two-time champ and will compete again this year.

The State Finals will be this Saturday at the Central branch of the Indianapolis Public Library.  The winner will represent Indiana at the National Finals in D.C. in late April.