Standup comedy and long, solo talks to the bathroom mirror got Stroudsburg High School senior Taha Vahanvaty to his place in the national finals of the Poetry Out Loud competition.
The competition asks students to perform three poems, reciting the author’s words with strict accuracy while demonstrating a personal understanding of the piece.
“It almost has to sound like their own words coming out,” said Shari Griswold, the English teacher who suggested that Vahanvaty enter the competition.
Vahanvaty won the school-wide competition this year and last year, earning a regional competition spot each time. The journey ended there last year, but he placed first in the state competition this year. Judging of the national competition starts Sunday; Vahanvaty will first find out whether he made the top nine, and then possibly his place within that group.