• ENTRIES.
As many as THREE students from grade levels 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 may
be entered in the POETRY INTERPRETATION District Contest from each
school. Designated adults representing each school will select
contestants to represent the campus at the District Meet based on their
abilities and interest in public speaking and poetry reading, as well
as other factors, which are decided upon by
each school.
• NATURE OF THE CONTEST.
Students in the Poetry Interpretation Contest select a published
poem or group of poems, prepare an introduction to the poem(s), and
present the poem(s) with the introduction in a six-minute time limit at
the contest. There is no minimum time limit. Better
presentation are at least three minutes in length, however.
Contestants who exceed the allotted six minutes shall be disqualified.
Each year the selection category alternates: 2004-Poetry; 2005-Prose;
2006-Poetry.
• CHOOSING A SELECTION.
Students who consider the following in
selecting their poems have the best chance of being successful in
competition while enjoying the process of preparing for the
presentation. Ask these questions:
1) Do I LIKE THE selection? A student must
enjoy a selection if he or she will spend time thinking about it,
analyzing it, and rehearsing it.
2) Is the selection appropriate for ME?
Literary selections written by and for adults offer problems for
elementary and middle school students because the levels of experience,
understanding, and vocabulary are so very different from their own.
Select poems that present a young person’s point of view,
situations that you can identify with, and themes that you understand.
3) Does the selection work for poetry interpretation?
This judgment must not be made too hastily. Almost all selections
become richer and fuller as students work with them; a few selections,
despite rehearsal and exploration, simply do not benefit from an oral
reading.
• DOCUMENTATION.
A requirement of the contest, documentation simply means that the
contestant brings to the contest printed information that proves that
the work is a poem, and not a piece of prose or a portion of a play or
drama reading. A photocopied passage from an encyclopedia,
anthology of poems, or other printed resource provides the best
documentation. Some works may not have printed sources that
indicate specifically that they are poems, and sometimes rhyming works
in children’s literature are actually classified as prose. Therefore, a
library can usually provide the information about the work through
reference in the Duey Decimal System. Ask the librarian for
assistance. A jacket cover usually does not provide the necessary
information; however, the cover along with the table of contents that
lists the poem is acceptable documentation. Contestants may also
bring the actual literary source from which they got the poem(s) to
competition, if necessary. Please be aware that failure to
present the documentation will result in disqualification, even if it
seems obvious that the work is a poem. Consider documentation an
opportunity to find out more about the work you are presenting.
• THE INTRODUCTION.
Students who select a poem that works for them also have an
easier time developing a short introduction. The introduction
should prepare the audience to hear the poem(s). It may be
dramatic; it may or may not say something about the poet; it may
describe the setting of the poem(s); and/or it may introduce other
aspects of the literature. It is important to remember to keep the
introduction fairly short because the poetry reading, including the
introduction, must not exceed six minutes.
• APPROPRIATE GESTURES.
Responsive use of the body (i.e., spontaneous changes in posture,
gesture, and “limited” place-to-place movement) are permissible.
However, this active use of the body should:
(A) be appropriate to the demands of the selection;
(B) be a natural outgrowth from the literature to
be
performed;
(C) not call attention to itself; and
(D) be limited in scope.
The judge’s opinion in this matter is final.
Although the poem(s) may be presented from memory, it is recommended
that the speaker hold a transcript of the poem(s) in a small, dark
colored folder or notebook that does not detract from the
presentation. Holding a transcript can prevent the overuse of
gestures. Remember that voice inflection and interpretation of
the different characters and the scene are the most important
components of a great poetry interpretation. The voice, not the
body, should convey the meaning and feeling in the literary work.
• APPROPRIATE ATTIRE.
Although contestants are not expected to wear a suit and tie or
dresses, appearance can be a factor in the judges’ overall impression
of the presentation. Contestants should not wear logo clothing
(other than the PSIA State Meet t-shirt), especially if the logo is of
the school or symbols of the school attended. Clothing that
appears to be a costume representing your poetic piece is not
acceptable. If a contestant wears one of these unacceptable
pieces of clothing, the contest director may have the student turn
his/her shirt wrong-side out, or otherwise change clothes.
Although dress is not a matter for disqualification; it is, however, a
rationale for deductions in ranking by the judge. Have your
parents and coaches interpret what clean, presentable clothing may be
for your presentation, if you are unsure.
• WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CONTEST.
1) The contest director will announce the time and place that
contestants and one adult should report for evaluation pick-up and/or
awards presentation. (Alternates taking the place of absent registered
contestants should be sure to let the contest director know as they
enter the room to save time in roll call.) 2) The contest
director/timekeeper will call speaker number 1. 3) Timing begins
with the contestant’s first words of the presentation. Because
the PSIA events are meant to be educational, the contestants may remain
in the contest room after their presentations (unless other
arrangemnets have been made by the meet director), and audiences should
be welcomed to the capacity of the room, but no one may enter the room
once the contest has started. The contestant will speak before a
single judge or a panel of three judges. (All speech events are
judged by an odd number of judges.) When only 30 seconds are left in
the allotted time for a speaker, the contest director, who also serves
as the timekeeper, will hold up a “30 seconds left” card in order to
assist the contestant in stopping the speech prior to the end of the
time limit.
• ENTERING POETRY AND A CONTEST IN
CONFLICT ON THE REQUIRED SCHEDULE.
As a district and campus option (to be determined by the adults in
charge of the contest on the campus), contestants may enter the Poetry
Interpretation Contest AND the Ready Writing, Spelling, or Science
contests, which are scheduled at the same time in either the
preliminary or final round. Notification MUST be given to the meet
director in writing that these contests are in conflict, in order that
arrangements may be made for the Poetry contestant to speak first or
second in the preliminary or final round, THEN go to the other
contest. No additional time will be given for the contest in
which the contestant must arrive late. In most cases, very little time
will have been lost if the guidelines are followed, and the contestant
will be able to participate fully in both events. Contestants
entered in Poetry and Mathematics may also need to speak first.
• DISQUALIFICATIONS.
A contestant may be disqualified for only three infractions of the
rules. These are as follows:
1) failing to provide an introduction;
2) speaking over the six-minute time alotted; and
3) failure to provide documentation of the type of literary work
being presented. Other presentation flaws should be noted by the
judge (not the contest director) on the evaluation sheet.
• ADVANCING TO THE FINAL ROUND.
If there are more than 9 students in the competition, two sections of
the contest (preliminary round) will be held. The top 3 ranked
students will advance to the final round from each of the two “prelim”
sections. Contestants may read the same poem(s) as they read in the
preliminary round or a different poem in the final round.
• POSTING THE PRELIMINARY ROUND.
After judges have made their decisions in the preliminary rounds,
contestants pick up their evaluations at the time and place designated
on the schedule. The evaluation forms to be used in this contest
are found on the pages directly following this section of the PSIA
Academic Handbook. At this time the names of the contestants
advancing to the final round will be announced in random order and
posted on a designated bulletin board in a random speaking order for
the final round.
• PREPARATION FOR CONTEST.
Read and follow all instructions provided in the “Information
Pertaining to All Contests” section of the PSIA Academic
Handbook. Observe and practice with students all rules and
procedures delineated in the “Instructions to the Contestant” and in
the “Checklist for Contest Directors” and the”“Checklist for
Judges.” Preparation for the Poetry Interpretation Contest should
include instruction in the curriculum objectives of public
speaking. Practice performing before an audience is
essential. Invitational meets with other schools provide the most
effective practice, as well as boosting enthusiasm for the
contestant. You may wish to prepare your students for the
excitement of winning as well as the disappointment of losing. All
speech activities rely on the subjective opinion of a judge. The
philosophies and techniques of poetry reading differ widely, and your
students need to be aware that their work may be evaluated by people
with a variety of approaches to the field. If you emphasize the
joy of sharing literature rather than the necessity of a first place
ranking, all your students will be winners, especially if they carry
their love of literature into adulthood.
• PERSONNEL NEEDED FOR CONTEST.
1. Contest Director/Timekeeper. May be a
knowledgeable coach of contestants in the contest.
3. Judge(s). One experienced, qualified judge may judge
preliminary rounds. Three qualified judges are preferred.
An odd number of judges is required.
• JUDGING REQUIREMENTS (ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION). (See Contestant
information) Judges for all PSIA speech contest should:
1) Hold a Language
Arts, English, or Speech Communication education certification, OR be
working on a degree in a speech field.
2) Have prior judging
experience of at least three speech contests. Contests may be
invitational or intramural, but preferably, judging experience should
be at the district or state level of PSIA competition.
These are the two “musts” in judging at this point of our program
development. We are asking that persons meeting these
qualifications let your campus coordinator and your district director
know of your expertise in order that you may fill a much-needed
position at your District Meet.
We ask also that you let the PSIA state office know that you meet these
criteria and volunteer to fill one of the 120 much-needed positions at
the two state meets. It is our goal to fill these positions (3
judges per section) prior to the end of the district meet this
year. THANKS!
