On Wednesday, February 7, 2024, Medomak Valley High School sophomore Sadie Smith competed in the Maine “Poetry Out Loud” regional competition at The Public Theater in Lewiston, and helped complete a circle of love for learning about and reciting poetry, according to Samuel Pennington.

Sadie recited two poems: After the Winter by Claude McKay and Hope is the Thing with Feathers by Emily Dickinson. Twelve other participants from other schools recited poems they had chosen.

During the competition, Sadie was seated next to the student representing Kennebunk High School. The Kennebunk student’s teacher is Ivy Gardner, a Washington, Maine native and a 2010 graduate of Medomak Valley.

Rewind to 2008, when “Poetry Out Loud” was in its infancy. Melissa Barbour, Gardner’s then-teacher and Sadie’s teacher now, introduced the program to her English II students. After 16 years of “Poetry Out Loud,” Gardner and Barbour met again with a new generation of talented scholars who breathe life into the celebrated poetry of the world.