Staff reports
After a year on the sidelines, Branford High School is back in the state Poetry Out Loud competition, represented by junior Ella Kelly, who has reached the state final.
Ella will recite her three poems live at the state finals at Hartford’s Bushnell Theater on March 11.
After a very close school championship, Ella Kelly submitted her three recitation videos to the regional competition, which was held virtually. On Sunday, Ella learned that she won the regional competition and is going on to the state championship.
Last year, senior Sushant Kunwar won the BHS school championship, but neither he nor any of the runners-up elected to compete in the state championship. It was the first time in more than 10 years that BHS was not represented in the state championship.
At the school competition, Ella recited “Insomnia” by Dana Gioia. The three other contestants were junior Namhang Chemjong, who recited Robert Browning’s “Life in Love”; junior Mia d’Amuri, who recited T.S. Eliot’s “La Figlia che Piange”; and senior Lia Steskla, who recited “Envy” by Mary Lamb.
“I’m excited and a little bit surprised to have made it to the state championship,” Ella said. “I never thought I would make it this far, but I’m glad to be a part of the competition.”
Seasoned Branford High School judges Karen Izzo and Bing Miller agreed that this was the closest competition in recent memory. “All of them were spectacular!” said Ms. Izzo.
Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recital competition sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Every year, an average of 200,000 high school students participate nationwide. For the competition, contestants have to memorize their poems and are graded on different criteria, including voice articulation, physical presence, and accuracy.
Dozens of high schools across Connecticut send their champions to the state competition, the winner of which represents Connecticut at the national championship in Washington D.C. in June. First prize is $20,000.
