DAPHNE, Ala.—Students from English  teacher André LaPalme’s sophomore and senior classes competed in Daphne High School’s first ‘Poetry Out Loud’ competition Friday.

Sophomore Amanda Hein won for her recitation of Walt Whitman’s “O Captain, My Captain.”

Hein will have a chance to compete at the state level, where she could win an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. to participate in the national contest April 27-28, 2009; the national winner receives a $20,000 scholarship, according to University of South Alabama creative writing graduate student P.T. Paul.

Each winner at the state level wins $200 and the state winner’s school gets a $500 award for purchasing poetry resources, according to www.poetryoutloud.org.

Sophomore Lexi Cory  at DHS’s competition was declared alternate for her reading of Stephen Vincent Benet’s “Difference.”

Students were asked to choose a poem and then recite it from memory to a panel of judges who graded competitors for accuracy and presentation.

The competition is a culmination of in-class workshops conducted by LaPalme, Paul and Dr. Sue Walker, Alabama’s Poet Laureate.

Poetry Out Loud was started by chairman Dana Tioia in 2005 in Washington, D.C. and Chicago as a pilot program; it went national in 2006, according to Maryrose Flanigan, program manager for The National Endowment for the Arts.

This year, more than 200,000 students nationwide will compete, according to www.poetryoutloud.org.

“The overall aim is to get poetry—both contemporary and classic—back in the classroom,” Flanigan said. “We think it’s a great conduit to get kids to write poetry and find their poetic voice.”

The program helps students build public speaking skills, maintain self-confidence and become educated about their literary heritage, according to  the program’s Web site.

“I think it’s just wonderful for them to do this,” Walker said. “It’s a way to learn about poetry and the written word.

When all of the recitations were completed, Walker took a few minutes to lecture on poetry’s importance.

“I think that poetry teaches us—not only about ourselves—but about love, and war and hope,” she said. “I think it’s a good thing to hear poetry read.”

Paul echoed Walker’s sentiments by adding, “Language is a living thing. It evolves. With every generation, language grows.”

Paul was impressed by how the student majority gave flawless readings of their chosen works.

“You brought yourself to the poem,” she said. “You gave it life and beauty.”

Students read poems such as Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” Langston Hughes’ “Harlem” and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls.”

Poetry Out Loud is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation.

At the state level, Daphne High School is part of Region 1 along with Baldwin, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington, Escambia, Mobile, Marengo, Monroe, Washington and Wilcox counties.

So far, only Daphne and Spanish Fort high schools have competed, according to Paul, who told DHS students that the Trojans have an advantage.

“I’m going to tell Spanish Fort High School you’re the ones to beat,” Paul said.

Staff writer Jenny Wilkins contributed to this report.