Bergan Poetry Festival Features Rhythm, Rhyme and a Fine Time

Trinity P. '18 wins Slam; Natalie H. '16, Michelle A. '17, Elle R. '18 and Maria M. '19 take competitive reading competitions
 
For 24 hours last weekend, students immersed themselves in rhyme and rhythm, writing, reading, listening and learning as they celebrated poetry at the Paul. K Bergan Poetry Festival.

The immersion began Friday afternoon when visiting poet Sandra Beasley met with a small group of young poets to discuss and critique their work and it ended with editors of Chimera interviewing the award-winning writer late Saturday. In between, sophomore Trinity P. '18 won the Poetry Slam with a terrific spoken-word performance, four more eloquent students earned laurels (literally) for their competitive readings of published works, and the community enjoyed a reading, workshop and lunch with Beasley, as well as readings by faculty, foreign language students and international students, who shared original poems in both their native languages and in English.
“This may have been the best poetry festival in years,” said Steve McCarty, English teacher, literary magazine advisor, and poetry festival emcee. “The participation and quality of work was terrific."

Three students in each grade who had been chosen by their peers and certified by faculty judges in two previous rounds of competition read in Saturday’s finals. Visiting poet Beasley judged their performances and awarded laurel wreaths to the best.

Natalie H. '16, Michelle A. '17, Elle R. '18 and Maria M. '19 took top honors in Saturday’s poetry reading competition. It was the second title for Natalie H., a senior, who also won her sophomore year. Michelle A.'s moving reading of “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou took junior honors and Elle R. won the sophomore title with “But You Didn’t” by Merrill Glass. In the freshman class, Maria M. slipped from English to Spanish and back seamlessly in an unusual poem entitled, “Bilingual/Bilingüe” by Rhina P. Espaillat.

Junior Hannah B. won the first annual Chimera Poetry Contest when her poem was chosen from among 100 submissions by the literary magazine’s board. Senior Faylyn H., who won the Slam a year ago, placed second in both this year's Slam and the Chimera contest. Elle placed third in the Slam and a poem by junior Jacina H-B. was the third Chimera winner.


Beasley, a 2015 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow, has been honored for each of her published collections of poetry. She won the 2007 New Issues Poetry Prize for her first collection, Theories of Falling, and the 2009 Barnard Women Poets Prize for her second, I Was the Jukebox. Her latest collection, Count the Waves (W. W. Norton, 2015), includes a number of poems from the chapbook that earned her the 2013 Center for Book Arts Poetry Chapbook prize. In small groups and large, Beasley's enthusiastic and animated passion for poetry engaged the students.

Foxcroft’s poetry competition dates back decades. The festival was renamed after a beloved teacher when he retired in 2007. Visiting poets over the years have included Pulitzer Prize winners Archibald MacLeish and Claudia Emerson, National Haiku champ Joel Dias Porter (aka DJ Renegade), alumna poet Tina Barr '73 and performance poets Clint Smith, Jason LeVasseur and Nan Fry. 
Back
This website uses cookies to ensure the best experience for visitors to our website.
By continuing to use this website, you consent to our use of these cookies.
See our Privacy Policy for additional information.



An all-girls boarding and day school in Northern Virginia, Foxcroft prepares young women in grades 9-12 for success in college and in life. Our outstanding academic program offers challenging courses, including Advanced Placement classes and an innovative STEM program. Our premiere equestrian program is nationally recognized, and our athletic teams have won conference and state championships. Experience the best in girls' boarding schools: visit Foxcroft.