Richmond Public Schools Inner District Invitational
2022 — Richmond, VA/US
Poetry Interpretation
Event Description:
Purpose of Contest: To encourage appreciation of the full meaning of the printed page and the oral communication ofthat meaning to others with apparent spontaneity, and with directness, simplicity and sincerity without distracting theaudience through faulty pronunciation or indistinct enunciation.
Poetics: The student’s selection need not rhyme. By definition, neither blank verse nor free verse rhymes. Furthermore,free verse has no meter or rhythm. All forms of poetry share certain literary elements, mainly imagery or language thatappeals to the five senses. Other common elements include metaphor, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, etc. Blankverse and free verse, especially in contemporary forms, also may not appear like poetry on the printed page. When indoubt whether the selection is truly poetry, report your doubt to the tournament director, who will request the publishedsource from the coach to see how the material is identified.
Contest Regulations:
1. Each contestant shall read one prepared poem or poetic group of his/her own choice with a total reading time of notmore than ten minutes. Any contestant who exceeds the established time limit by more than 30 seconds may notrank first or score highest in the round. There is no minimum time requirement. Adjudicator will not provide timesignals, and students may not time themselves. The contestant may preface his/her reading with an introductorystatement that will give the audience a better understanding of the selection read, provided his total time does notexceed ten minutes. Visual contact with the manuscript is required. No reader may use a prepared poetry selection,adaptation or cutting that he/she has read in a regional, super-regional or state contest in a previous year, aselection he/she has written or a selection written about his/her own experiences. Contestant must present thesame selection in each round of a given tournament.