For the past few weeks, several Lawton High School students have been channeling their best Emily Bronte or William Shakespeare, as they prepared for the annual Poetry Out Loud contest, which was held yesterday at LHS. Seventeen of the school's most passionate poets gathered before a panel of judges to perform two poems each, selected from the Poetry Out Loud website.

The competitors spent the weeks leading up to the contest working with teachers to make themselves competition ready, all the while building their love of language and their self-confidence not to mention the ability to speak in front of others.

When the dust cleared, it was a pair of LHS juniors who claimed the top spots, with Kristine Guerrero being ranked first and La'Daesha Porter taking second place. Guerrero and Parker will now advance to the competition's regional level, being held here in Lawton in February, where they will compete against students from the city's other two high schools, as well as high school students from across Southwest Oklahoma. From their, the winners will advance to the statewide finals, looking to secure a spot in the national Poetry Out Loud finals, to be held in Washington, D.C.

Vintage letter and communication concept.
photo courtesy of ThinkStock/Getty Images/iStockphoto
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