Katie Spencer '22 Repeats Trip to State Poetry Out Loud Competition

Indian Creek School continued a tradition of excellence, sending two strong contenders to the regional Poetry Out Loud (POL) competition on Tuesday, February 9. Freshman Maddie Mixter represented ICS well, against representatives from Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, and Washington counties.  Junior Katie Spencer also had a strong showing, placing second in the region and earning a spot at the state competition for the second year in a row!

Poetry Out Loud is a literary arts program created by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation. This enrichment contest encourages the mastery of great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. Indian Creek holds a school POL competition each year for students in grades 7-12, with the winner of the high school competition representing the school at pre-regionals, and then regionals. Over the years, ICS has sent two students to the State Championships (Katie placed third in Maryland last year), and one student to the National Finals. 

In this year's virtual competition, Katie recited the poems “Friendship After Love” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, “My partner wants me to write them a poem about Sheryl Crow” by Kayleb Rae Candrilli, and “Semi-Splendid” by Tracey K. Smith. Katie also recited a Smith poem in last year's state finals.  Qualifying with Emily Dickinson's "Hope is the Thing With Feathers," Maddie recited "The Arrow and The Song" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky" by Lewis Carrol ,and "Vain and Careless" by Robert Graves.  

Indian Creek alum Cayla Turner, who placed in the top three at Nationals in 2018 and was subsequently invited to recite a poem for Maryland First Lady Yumi Hogan tuned in to this year's competition to cheer on her fellow Creekers. 

Katie will represent ICS at the Maryland State Poetry Out Loud competition on March 7.  
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Indian Creek school is a co-educational, college preparatory independent school, located in Crownsville, Maryland.  Students in Pre-K3 through grade 12 receive a vibrant educational experience based on excellent academics steeped in strong student-teacher connections.