AGAWAM — When Abigail Drumm, a senior at Agawam High School, won the Poetry Out Loud competition recently, she beat 17,400 other students from across Massachusetts who were vying for the title.
Drumm, who turned 18 the day after becoming champion at the Old Meeting House in Boston, is the only student from western Massachusetts to emerge victorious in nine years. She is now preparing to compete for the national title in Washington, D.C. next month, giving her a chance to become the first-ever winner from Massachusetts.
During an interview with The Republican, her mother, Sue, reminded her she is scheduled to go first in D.C.
“Now that she just reminded me, I’ve become a little nervous,” she said. “It’s crazy. I’m setting the tone for the entire event, so I just need to make sure I do well.”
Poetry Out Loud is a national competition celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Tens of thousands of high school students from all fifty states plus American Samoa, Guam, Washington, D.C. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands tried getting to the nationals by competing at the local level in their schools.
Only the 55 champions, one from every state, commonwealth and territory, are making it to nation’s capital to compete for the title and $20,000 prize.
“I wasn’t a huge fan of poetry growing up. I always loved music and lyrics. It frustrated my little mind that poems were just words that rhyme, but they didn’t have music to go with them,” said Drumm. “I carried that belief with me until 10th grade when my teacher introduced me to Shakespearean sonnets.”
Neither Drumm nor any of the contestants write poetry for the competition. They memorize and recite three selections from an online collection of 1,200 pieces.
Judges choose winners based on the presenters’ physical presence, voice and articulation, interpretation and understanding of the poems, according to Meg O’Brien, director of education for The Huntington, which runs the contest in Massachusetts.
“The final category has its own adjudicator—an accuracy judge. That person is following along with the poem, checking they have both memorized and recited it word for word, as it was written by the poet,” she said.
Practicing and parsing poems
A poem starts as words on a page but becomes much more when the poetry is read out loud. Drumm and the other competitors interpret the work for their audiences, not by delivering a lecture but through body language, tone and the volume of their voices.
“It’s incredible that I can take a poem from generations ago and apply it to the world around us, despite myself and the poet being from different worlds and backgrounds. I can still learn from them, and they can influence my creativity and empathy,” said Drumm.
The 18-year-old first entered the annual competition in her sophomore year when she won in her school but did not make it to the finals. She was school champion again last year, making it to the first, but not final round of competition in Boston.
Drumm plans to attend the University of Hartford’s music conservatory after she graduates from high school this year to study music education.
She has built poise and confidence over the years, she said, by performing in high school and community theater productions.
When she is preparing to recite a poem, she parses the piece, analyzing phrases and interpreting words. She focuses on the poet’s intent.
“I try to look at life through the lens of that poet. I don’t think it’s entirely possible to get into the shoes of a poet, especially ones from so long ago. I’m just interpreting their words and putting my own meaning behind them. I try to figure out what they’re saying,” she revealed.
High-level citation
Agawam High School senior Agbigail Drumm, left, received a citation from Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll at the Statehouse in Boston recently.Submitted
Sue Drumm has been on the road with her daughter during this experience, driving her to Boston several times for competitions and more recently, an appearance at the statehouse when the high school senior recited a poem during a celebration of Poetry Out Loud’s 20th anniversary.
The senior received a citation from Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and the state senate as Drumm’s mother looked on with competing feelings of pride and anxiety.
“I get excited and nervous for her. We’ve always told our kids they don’t have to win everything as long as you go and know in your heart you’ve done the best that you could. It doesn’t matter if you win because you’ve put yourself out there and it makes us proud,” she said.
O’Brien said her favorite part of the competition is seeing some students emerge from the shadows, or their shells, performing when it counts during one of many high stakes moments they will face in their lives. She said there are also insights competitors gain into themselves and their world.
“Memorizing someone else’s work and interpreting it requires an amount of empathy and understanding,” she said.
“You are trying to understand the person the poem is coming from, the moment in time that it was written, what was happening around the poet. There is a rigor to analysis and understanding that is an authentic breeding ground for empathy and compassion,” continued O’Brien.
Drumm is spending the days ahead practicing the poems she will recite in Washington on May 6 and 7, rereading, refining but not over-rehearsing. She wants to be authentic, using the experience to learn more about her poets and herself.
“Every human experience is different,” she said. “I found by interpreting these poems, I have gained more insight into myself and the world around us.”
