After signing up for the Poetry Out Loud competition at SM North on a whim, senior Patrick Richardson will have the chance to compete at the regional competition at Olathe South on Feb. 5.

“I’m excited to see what other people can bring,” Richardson said.

The competition was held Tuesday Jan. 11 in English teacher Meagan Deutch’s room. Poetry Out Loud is an organization that holds competitions throughout the country.

Competing students have to memorize poems and they are judged on their ability to recite them.

“We have a building level competition, and then people who win that will move on to the regional competition,” Deutch said. “Then there’s a state competition and then there’s a national competition.” 

There was not a prize for the building level competition, but the grand prize will be a cash prize at the national level.

Four students volunteered to competein the building competition, two of whom did it online.

“It was a little cool doing something with poetry at school,” sophomore Austin Boyer said “it was mainly Deutch just grading us.”

Austin was one of only two people who showed up to the competition in person. “It was close at least, close for the other person,” Boyer said.