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NHS student wins state prize

On March 2, 14-year-old Niwot High School student Joséphine Briggs finished as runner-up in the Colorado Poetry Out Loud contest. The statewide contest requires high school-aged students to memorize and recite multiple poems that meant something special to them.

Briggs chose three poems: "Hope is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson, "Spanglish" by Tato Laviera, and "Enough" by Suzanne Buffam. The first trial was to compete at her high school and then after getting picked by her school, Briggs was able to compete at the statewide championship.

Briggs was excited to recite "Hope is the thing with feathers," as she is a huge fan of the Apple TV series, "Dickinson." She grew up reading Dickinson's poems and always wanted to showcase he words. Briggs admires Dickinson for her queer activism, as Briggs herself is a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

Her favorite poem in her recitation was "Spanglish," as it connects with her bilingual roots. Briggs grew up in a bilingual household in the Hispanic community, and had always struggled with her cultural identity.

"'Spanglish' encapsulates that experience I've had," Briggs said. "And when I recited it, I did the sort of motion of like, my arms being pulled in two different directions, which is something that I've always felt growing up, you know, like, being pulled to the Spanish-speaking me and also the English-speaking community. And kind of trying to find your place where you fit in....At the end of the poem, I feel like it comes full circle, where it talks about how you kind of just create your own blend of culture and your own identity."

"Enough" was a poem Briggs enjoyed for its ambiguity. "I didn't really know what it was about when I read it. And, so, it was one of those poems that you have to read over and over again, and kind of figure out what the author is trying to convey. But I interpreted it as a cycle of repressed emotions, particularly with the women of the family. And I was kind of attracted to that, because that's a lot of what I experienced in my family.

"I come from a long line of very strong women and because of that, they're not always like, super vulnerable with their emotions, because they're supposed to be strong and bold." Briggs felt like the author was trying to break that cycle of repressed feelings, and Briggs strives to seek that resolution in herself and in her family.

Not only did Briggs win second place and a $300 prize, she is also an affluent teenager. Briggs enjoys writing her own poetry in her free time, but is more interested in pursuing law in the future. She dreams of becoming an immigration attorney and studying abroad somewhere she's never been before.

Briggs is also a member of the NHS Speech and Debate team, the Best Buddies Club (that helps kids in the neurodiverse community), the Lafayette Youth Advisory Commission (where they work to combat obesity in the Hispanic community), and is currently training to become president of the Gender Studies Club.

If you are interested in reading the poems Briggs recited, you can check them out for free on the Poetry Foundation website: https://www.poetryfoundation.org. You can also watch the PBS12 broadcast recording of "Words by Heart: A Showcase of the 2022 Colorado Poetry Out Loud State Finalists."

The film showcases poetry recitation performances along with interviews and candid moments with each of the 2022 POL state competitors. The state contest was kicked off by Governor Jared Polis, emceed by award-winning poet Seth Brady Tucker, and judged by some of Colorado's finest poets and performers: https://www.pbs12.org/schedule/program-details/?pgm=Words-By-Heart--A-Showcase-Of-The-2022-Colorado-Poetry-Out-Loud-State-Finals&id=120220427200000.

 

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