Students in Betsy Rowe-Baehr’s English 9AT class at Jamestown High School stand in front of Chautauqua Institution’s Miller Bell Tower during a visit to the grounds in November for a workshop on poetry and literary arts. Photo courtesy of Dave Munch, Chautauqua Institution

The stage of the Merton P. Corwin Auditorium at Jamestown High School is dim with only a microphone at center stage. Occupying that microphone is JHS freshman Hayden Langford, who is rehearsing a poem into a sea of empty seats, save for the middle seat of the tenth row.

“Now this time when you say ‘peaches,’ I want you to say it like you’re biting into summer time!” bellows that sole audience member.

Even in retirement, longtime high school English and public speaking teacher, Barbi Price, is helping her longtime employer maintain its title as the self-proclaimed “Poetry Powerhouse of Western New York.”

“Reciting poetry really gives students a chance to, without having to write their own poetry, breathe life into somebody else’s poems,” said Price, who retired from JHS in June. “It gives them a taste of performance that is not in a play or a musical. It’s a different avenue. I think it helps them explore, by breathing life into someone else’s words, their own emotions and confront their own views on a multitude of issues.”

POETRY OUT LOUD

Poetry continues to be a landmark part of the Jamestown High School student’s experience. For the last 13 years, students have had the chance to perform traditional works by poets from across the world through the Poetry Out Loud program, which, according to its website, “encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country.”

A school-wide competition is typically held each December. The two winners selected from JHS, then compete at the regional level against students all across western New York. Out of that field, two students are then selected to compete at the state-wide competition for a chance to advance to the national competition. One JHS student has advanced to the National Finals: Chiara Raimondo in 2016.

Though the program has a storied reputation, it always takes a little convincing for students to get up in front of their peers in the school-wide competition.

Luckily, opportunities available in various English classes gives students the chance to workshop their recitation and gain the confidence needed to participate, said JHS English teacher Betsy Rowe-Baehr, who now oversees the program since Price’s retirement.

“My ninth grade students specifically tend to be a little bit less confident about participating in the school-wide competition,” Rowe-Baehr said. “We do a class competition and I wanted to amp them up a little bit and at the last minute, we had five of them decide to participate in the actual competition. We practiced how it felt to read in front of others during a field trip to Chautauqua Institution and then those courageous ones stepped up afterward and decided to do it.”

Langford was among those who decided to give it a try, finishing in second place out of a total 18 participants.

“I liked my poem and I thought this was a great opportunity to do this,” said Langford, who recited “Piano” by D.H. Lawrence. “(Reciting poetry out loud) typically is something I never would do, but I really like the emotion and finding a deeper meaning in the words you’re saying. It’s hard to recognize, but when you get it — it’s a really nice feeling.”

Junior McKenna Schneider, meanwhile, finished in first place in the school competition for the second straight year. Last school year, she advanced to the state competition.

“I like how creative poetry is,” said Schneider. “In a book, you know how it’s going to be said. In poetry, depending on how you say it, it has a different meaning each time.”

After winning once again in December, Schneider now looks forward to joining Langford at the regional competition in Buffalo in February. Each will work with Price to prepare and memorize three poems for the event.

“The first poem that I picked was ‘Candles,’ by Carl Dennis,” Schneider said of her initial winning poem. “I like poems that have something you don’t typically think about in your day-to-day life.”

TRANSFORMING CLASSROOMS

In addition to Poetry Out Loud’s presence at JHS, the art of poetry continues to expand at the high school: Rowe-Baehr’s classes partner with Sony Ton-Aime, director of literary arts at Chautauqua Institution, to not only expose students to the literary tradition on the grounds, but also show students the joy of creating written art.

“We get to experience the institution’s makerspace, their workshops, their guest poets,” she said. “Having (Ton-Aime) as a guest poet speak to the art of student voice has been powerful and it gives teachers like me a chance to let go of the analysis, breaking it down into labels of similes and metaphors, and freeing that space for students to just try and create — that’s transformed my space in the classroom. It’s allowed me to celebrate the trying and the surprises that students unveil from their own backgrounds and settings.”

The partnership has also grown to include local low-power radio station, WRFA-LP 107.9 FM, on which students have the chance to recite their own poetry over the station’s airwaves.

“(Ton-Aime) and I work with students to create their poetry and partnering with WRFA allows us to really take it to the next level in terms of reciting it, which we did as part of WRFA’s ‘Holidays in Poetry’ project in December,” Rowe-Baehr said. “We’ll work with them again in April to have more student poetry featured during National Poetry Month.”

Additionally, a student club — POP: People in Poetry — has been formed that gives students a space to engage in poetry slams, which are lively dramatic poetry events that encourage audience participation.

“This encourages and gives a space to songwriters, rappers, improv performers to let people know they have something to say,” said Rowe-Baehr, who is hopeful to host a poetry slam through the club in the spring and also incorporate guest speakers.

LASTING IMPACT

Throughout her career, Rowe-Baehr has seen the impact that poetry can have on students. One, in particular, reminded her of it following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

“This former student posted on Facebook talking about a poem by Langston Hughes that he memorized for my class,” she said. “He gave me a shoutout and said that he never knew the magnitude of what that moment was, what the poem meant, and that even though he kind of fumbled in his performance, he knows that his voice really matters and that what he did that day took courage.”

“That’s like a dream come true as an educator,” Rowe-Baehr added. “Seeing that kind of growth is incredible and poetry really has been the space where I’ve seen the most transformation.”

It’s an avenue that Langford and Scheider are grateful to have at JHS.

“Once I got here, I realized all the different opportunities that we have and how fun everything can be. I keep reflecting on my experience so far and I just want to do everything,” Langford said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

“I did a little bit of poetry before high school, but I really got into it once I got to JHS,” said Schneider. “I wouldn’t have had the chance to get into it had it not been for this high school.”

“I’m so glad that we continue to do it and that there’s a contingent of students who wanted to do it, not because they had to do it, but that they want to be in the poetry club,” noted Price. “That they want to compete. That they put themselves out there and excel in a way that not many people do.”