DAPHNE, Ala. — With a little memorization and some public speaking skills, teens could earn a $20,000 scholarship and several smaller scholarships  for reciting poetry, organizers said.

Poetry Out Loud supporters — Sue Walker, Alabama’s Poet Laureate, and P.T. Paul, a University of South Alabama graduate student — held two workshops at Daphne High School this week.

English and creative writing classes listened as the women recited poems; organizers explained that the competition will begin at the class level and reach to school, regional, state then national levels, Paul said.

A student will be chosen at the class level, then a school-wide competition will determine students for the regional semi-finals; “Poetry Out Loud” will provide schools with $75 — that is, $25 for paying each of the outside judges, according to the organizers.

Regional, semi-final competitions will choose students from each state to go to the national competition. The state champion will receive $200; that student’s school library will be awarded $500. The first runner-up receives $100, and the school receives $200 for the library, according to organizers.

State winners  will receive an all expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. for the national finals and a chance at either a $20,000 scholarship, a $5,000 scholarship or a $1,000 scholarship, Paul said.

Program coordinators want students to know that English and poetry are worthy subjects that can provide a living and a future, Walker said.

“We tell them that English majors often go to law school,” she said.

They also want to spark a love of reading and writing poetry since schools have many areas to cover in curriculums, she said.

English teacher, Andre LaPalme, agreed.

“They can learn free thinking and an exchange of ideas (from poetry). Many students tend to have preconceived notions of poetry, its rules and limitation. But poetry is bigger than this. It is a basic building block to human understanding,” he said.

During the workshop, students took part in writing exercises and recitation. One aspect had the children draw items from a bag — such as glasses, plush toys and beads — and describe the item by texture, shape or sparked memories.

Teens were also asked to read their poems, which took some encouragement, Paul said.

She and Walker said that public-speaking skills would help the teens throughout life; they need to build confidence, they agreed.

“When instructed to write about the item they had drawn, every student immediately went to work, but when Dr. Walker asked if anyone would volunteer to read what they had written aloud, not a single hand went up,” Paul said. “It was only after much encouragement that students began to read what they had written, but it was worth the wait. There was a wealth of talent in that room, and it was then that Dr. Walker and myself pointed out that the only skill most of the students were missing was the confidence that comes from overcoming the fear of public speaking, and that was exactly the skill that participation in the Poetry Out Loud competition would develop.”

“That Dr. Walker and myself have been invited to the schools to work with the students validates my opinion that we have something to offer them with Poetry Out Loud that goes beyond the monetary prizes and passing fame of competition, and the response of the students confirms that they have the desire and the ability to succeed with a little guidance and encouragement,” she said.

“My 10th-graders were excited and they wrote poems and edited them. Most of them were very excited. I am trying to get them to understand that good poetry is simply good writing — in a different form. Poetry is powerful feelings that convey the human condition,” LaPalme said.

Jonathan Perry, a 10th-grade student, agreed.

“The poetry workshop was very insightful and has definitely sparked my interest in the Poetry Out Loud contest,” he said.

For more, visit poetryoutloud.org or to schedule a workshop, call Paul at 272-0010.