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No words needed for this poetry - Omaha.com
Auna Ferguson competed in the Iowa School for the Deaf's first Poetry Out Loud competition Wednesday, giving voice to two poems without saying a word.
The sophomore won and will advance to the state competition March 5 in Des Moines, along with other first-place winners from 20 participating Iowa high schools. The state winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the finals.
She and her six fellow competitors on Wednesday were the first Iowa School for the Deaf students ever to enter the national contest.
More than 100 friends, family members, teachers and students filled the Lied Multipurpose Complex to watch as Auna, senior Carly Weyers and sophomores Johanna Scherling, Ty Waits, John Isaacson and Vince Fox performed. Each had chosen a poem and worked with a mentor to express the poetry through American Sign Language.
Auna, who worked with mentor Peggy Scherling, performed “Be Music, Night” by Kenneth Patchen and “A Birthday” by Christina Rossetti.
“At first I was super nervous. But as I got into the poem, I relaxed,” Auna said.
Scherling said her role as Auna's mentor was to help her take the written words and turn the concepts into American Sign Language.
“She read the poem, I read the poem,” Scherling said. “We wanted to follow how she felt. Auna did most of the work.”
Scherling said she initially had to work with Auna on the use of facial expressions to help convey the mood of the poetry, Auna's use of those expressions and her physical movement helped her win the competition.
Jonathan Scherling, a 2002 Iowa School for the Deaf graduate who introduced the performers, told them, “You did a wonderful job.” Audience members expressed their approval by waving their hands enthusiastically at the end of each presentation.
Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation and state arts agencies.
The program's goal is to encourage young people to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance, while helping students build public speaking skills and self-confidence.
Auna Ferguson competed in the Iowa School for the Deaf's first Poetry Out Loud competition Wednesday, giving voice to two poems without saying a word.
The sophomore won and will advance to the state competition March 5 in Des Moines, along with other first-place winners from 20 participating Iowa high schools. The state winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the finals.
She and her six fellow competitors on Wednesday were the first Iowa School for the Deaf students ever to enter the national contest.
More than 100 friends, family members, teachers and students filled the Lied Multipurpose Complex to watch as Auna, senior Carly Weyers and sophomores Johanna Scherling, Ty Waits, John Isaacson and Vince Fox performed. Each had chosen a poem and worked with a mentor to express the poetry through American Sign Language.
Auna, who worked with mentor Peggy Scherling, performed “Be Music, Night” by Kenneth Patchen and “A Birthday” by Christina Rossetti.
“At first I was super nervous. But as I got into the poem, I relaxed,” Auna said.
Scherling said her role as Auna's mentor was to help her take the written words and turn the concepts into American Sign Language.
“She read the poem, I read the poem,” Scherling said. “We wanted to follow how she felt. Auna did most of the work.”
Scherling said she initially had to work with Auna on the use of facial expressions to help convey the mood of the poetry, Auna's use of those expressions and her physical movement helped her win the competition.
Jonathan Scherling, a 2002 Iowa School for the Deaf graduate who introduced the performers, told them, “You did a wonderful job.” Audience members expressed their approval by waving their hands enthusiastically at the end of each presentation.
Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation and state arts agencies.
The program's goal is to encourage young people to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance, while helping students build public speaking skills and self-confidence.