For one local high-school student, poetry is about surface meaning and deeper truths.

Kate Zibluk, a junior at Notre Dame Regional High School in Cape Girardeau, won the regional Poetry Out Loud! competition on Jan. 14 at the Cape Girardeau Public Library, where she recited three poems from memory: "Experience" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "There Are Birds Here" by Jamaal May and "300 Goats" by Naomi Shihab Nye.

Zibluk said she chose the poems from the Poetry Out Loud! anthology because they were especially meaningful to her.

Poetry Out Loud! is a nationwide, annual competition open to students in grades nine through 12.

Students at participating schools are required to choose two to three poems from the organization's anthology, memorize them and perform before a panel of judges.

Kate Zibluk, a junior at Notre Dame Regional High School, poses for a photo Tuesday, Jan. 24. Kate recently won a poetry contest called Poetry Out Loud! She will head to the State Competition in March.Andrew J. Whitaker

"My English teachers at school are working with me to improve my performance, talking me through how I need to present the poems before the judges," she said. "It's intense."

Zibluk said her mother, Sara McNeil, introduced her to poetry when Zibluk was a freshman in high school.

"That year, I read 'The Bell Jar' by Sylvia Plath for a book report, and my mom guided me to Plath's poetry," she said. "It all came together from there."

Zibluk said her mother studied philosophy and English in college and fostered a sense of respect for poetry and literature.

"I really love the arts," Zibluk said.

She intends to study law someday, and the themes in her chosen poems support her ambition.

"There Are Birds Here" is about Detroit.

Even though urban decay is present, this poem is not about the dismal state of the city and its residents, Zibluk said.

Rather, it speaks to the hope inherent in the presence of birds and what they represent.

"I think a lot of people like to imagine that disadvantaged people have these awful lives, terrible situations, terrible outlooks, because that's dramatic, and I don't think that's the case at all," she said. "This poem really speaks to that."

She chose the Emerson poem because of the strength of the idea, the phrasing and the language.

"I've just always loved Emerson," she said. "And '300 Goats' was appealing to me because it's almost comical, but with an underlying message of strength that I thought was really powerful."

Zibluk said she is looking forward to the state-level competition on March 9 in Jefferson City, Missouri.

She never has competed in an event like this, though she has had roles in theater productions at Notre Dame and community theater projects in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

"I'm working with my teachers to learn how to present these poems for a competition like this," she said. "I'm really excited, and I'm really nervous, just because being up in front of people can be a little scary, but mostly I'm excited.

"I'm very excited to be able to do this and that this kind of thing exists in our country -- that we can do competitions like this for the arts, for literature. I think it's just as important as athletics, giving people a chance to compete like this. It's a great outlet for so many people. I love it."

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

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