NDA Student Wins County Poetry Competition

Congratulations to Martin L. Nesbitt, Jr. Discovery Academy (NDA) junior Alex Gast, who won this year’s Buncombe County Poetry Out Loud competition.

By Tim Reaves
BCS Communications Department

Congratulations to Martin L. Nesbitt, Jr. Discovery Academy (NDA) junior Alex Gast, who won this year’s Buncombe County Poetry Out Loud competition.

Alex and other NDA students joined competitors from Christ School for the county round. Each student chose two poems to recite from memory and submitted their recitation videos to a Flipgrid. A panel of judges graded the recitations based on physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding, and overall performance. Alex learned of his first round on Thursday. He moves next to the regional semifinals on Feb. 13.

“I’m really honored,” he said. “I’ve had great teacher support and peer support in NDA’s Poetry Club, and it’s paid off. I’m really excited to see what the rest of North Carolina has to offer. I think it’s a really great program, and I’m excited to see what happens.”

Alex won the competition with renditions of “My partner wants me to write them a poem about Sheryl Crow” by Kayleb Rae Candrilli and “Sweet Tooth” by Russell Edson. The first is a haunting, bittersweet reflection on how “love is most astonishing when it persists after learning where we come from.” The second is a short, whimsical poem about a man with “a sweet tooth the size of an elephant’s tusk.”

"I am thrilled that Alex won the competition," said NDA English teacher and local Poetry Out Loud organizer Suzanne Pruett. "He has worked hard to find poems that he really could connect to, helping to make his recitation meaningful. I am very proud of the work he has put in and the work he continues to invest in the regional competition. He is an amazing student and poet."

Poetry might not be the first thing that comes to mind for a STEM-focused high school, but NDA teachers and students know how important the arts are for a well-rounded education. That attitude showed in student submissions for the competition.

“All of the kids did really well,” Ms. Pruett said. “Even though the all-virtual format was tricky, their enthusiasm was still present and contagious.”

Poetry Out Loud is “a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country,” according to the contest website. “This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life.”

Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the state and jurisdictional arts agencies.

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