Poetry March Madness while similar to the better known NCAA basketball March Madness tournament, is a poetry tournament created five years ago by PHS English teachers Mrs. Klastava and Mr. Hamas to help spread awareness about poetry.

Initially, 16 poems were chosen, and Mr. Hamas’ Poetry Class students recorded themselves reading the poems.  Then, English teachers presented two poems per day to their classes, and students voted for their favorite.  After the first 8 poems were eliminated, this brought them to the ‘Elite Eight’. Students then chose the best four, to bring them to the ‘Final Four’.  Finally, the ‘Championship Pairing’ was announced April 2nd.

This is the fifth year of Poetry March Madness, and to keep the contest fresh, each year Klastava and Hamas try to change the theme, style, and length of the poems.   Each A day two poems were posted with their video links and asked students to vote. As they narrowed down the choices, on April 2 they declared “Perhaps the World Ends Here” by Joy Harjo as this year’s winner.

As they chose poem for each day, voters had their own reasons for choosing the “better” poem. For example, junior Fatima Chughtai said she voted based largely in part on the student performances.  She said, “ the students are putting in an effort to record themselves—which, in poetry, takes a lot of confidence.” Sydney Hain, another student in Fatima’s class, added, “I thought some of the poems were interesting, and I wanted to help some of my favorite ones win the tournament.”

The style and theme for next year’s poems has not been chosen yet, but keep your eyes peeled and ears open for a new set of poems next March!