Freshman to discuss reading habits of students at convention

By — Edited by Lauren Keith

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Hannah Roark’s love of poetry began with stories.

As a senior in high school, the Stillwater, Okla., freshman studied the lives behind the poems she read in an English class.

“I fell in love with the poets first,” Roark said.

That love will lead Roark to San Antonio to participate in a panel discussion about the reading habits of teens and college students on Wednesday. She will recite two poems from 2008’s Poetry Out Loud, a poetry recitation competition, where Roark was a finalist. She said she would offer the student perspective about reading habits in college. The discussion is part of a larger convention sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English.

Maryrose Flanigan, program manager for the National Endowment for the Arts, and Rosalind Horowitz, professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, will also speak during the session.

Roark’s senior English teacher, Sally Walkiewicz, allowed her students to take part in Poetry Out Loud as an alternative to taking the essay portion of a poetry test.

After hearing the background information about the poets in class, Roark chose “Fever 103” by Sylvia Plath, “When I have Fears that I may Cease to Be” by John Keats and “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll for the competition.

To prepare, Roark said she spent time with the poems and memorized and analyzed the words.

“They’re like my friends now,” Roark said.

After memorizing the poems, Roark began practicing in front of a mirror. She said it helped to make the poems her own.

Roark then began reciting the poems in front of her peers’ classes. She said it was helpful to see the audience’s reactions.

Finally, Roark began practicing on stage. She said performing on stage helped to bring the poem back to what the poet had intended for it.

“It was sort of like a journey that had built on itself,” Roark said.

Roark was also involved in drama in high school. She said her drama teacher told her that every performance would be different in some way.

Although Roark said her recitations were always changing, she said she thought it was most important to convey a poet’s meaning and purpose.

Roark worked with her drama teacher while practicing the poems, but she said recitation was completely different from acting.

Rather than using movement to convey emotion and meaning, Roark used facial expressions and her voice. She said she imagined she was feeling the poem as she recited it.

Walkiewicz said Roark was successful because she was willing to take direction and delve into the meaning behind the words.

“It’s all Hannah’s attitude and approach to poetry,” Walkiewicz said. “Her work ethic is astounding, not to mention her acting ability.”

Roark went on to the Poetry Out Loud finals in Washington, D.C., in April where she competed against 51 other contestants. She finished in the top 12.

This semester Roark is enrolled in Mary Klayder’s “Freshman Honors English.” Klayder, University Honors lecturer in English, said Roark also displayed her expertise when reading class literature out loud.

“I can tell this is her special ability,” Klayder said.

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