Middle School’s Declamation Celebration delivers

From believing in oneself to believing in the power of a shared mission, from standing up for others to standing up for the rights of all animals, from wisdom as new as the internet to wisdom as old as an epic poem, the 39th annual Declamation Celebration had something for everyone. 

In all, 16 Declamation Celebration finalists recited a roughly three-to-five minute passage of meaning to them March 5 in the CFA’s Hale Theater. They were surrounded by fellow students, faculty, staff, and proud family members as they shared speeches, poems, novel excerpts, and TED Talks; the declaimers showcased both technical skill and oratorical passion. 

“Thank you to all the declaimers,” said Middle School Director Galen Hamann P ‘31 at the end of the celebration. “You are so inspirational.” 

Ian Kahn ‘32 kicked things off by reciting “I Believe in Superheroes,” a spoken word poem by National Slam Poetry champion, Emmy-nominated lyricist, and multiplatinum songwriter IN-Q. 

“Real courage is looking in the mirror,” Kahn declaimed. “It’s deciding what you want to do, then making it appear.” 

Soumayä Fort addressed the crowd next and delivered an impassioned defense of animals in general and livestock in particular, reciting an excerpt from an address originally given in 2001 by U.S. Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia. 

“These creatures feel,” declaimed Fort. “They know pain. They suffer pain just as we humans suffer pain.” 

Other great declamations followed. Atlas Card ‘29 read an excerpt from Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures and brought listeners into the inner world of a giant Pacific octopus. Shivani Anand ‘30 read an excerpt from Linda Sue Park’s A Long Walk to Water and brought to life the thoughts and feelings of a young Sudanese refugee. And Anne Suwastan ‘29 recited an excerpt from Alex Michaelides’ The Fury and asked one of the novel’s central questions: “Which comes first: character or fate?” 

Performing an excerpt from Canwen Xu’s TED Talk “I Am Not Your Asian Stereotype,” Yvonne Guo ‘29 described the self-consciousness and isolation felt by those trying to navigate among cultures and feeling the need to conform to mainstream assumptions. 

“I distanced myself from the Asian stereotype, as much as possible, by degrading my own race and pretending I hated math,” Guo, speaking as Xu, told the audience. “And the worst part was: it worked.” 

The remaining declamations spoke to a variety of perspectives and experiences. Emily Tormey ‘29 performed an excerpt from Rick Riordan’s Stonewall Book Award acceptance speech, an honor Riordan earned for his inclusion of a gender-fluid character in his series of Magnus Chase novels when some had wanted him to steer clear of such issues.

“But silence is not neutral,” Tormey declaimed. “It’s an active choice.”  

Jackson Lieberman ‘31 performed an excerpt from Steven Spielberg’s commencement address to Harvard University where Spielberg urged students to trust their intuition. Emile Brooks ‘32 recited an excerpt from “The Note,” an essay written by Alex Morgan in which the soccer superstar explored the challenges of women’s sports and the drive needed to overcome such challenges. Pola Hordejuk ‘31 recited an excerpt from Greta Thunberg’s famous address before the U.N. Climate Action Summit — remarks in which the young activist decried the inaction of older generations — and Calvin Jacobs ‘29 declaimed an excerpt from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem “The Building of the Ship.” 

Parker Costello ‘31 recited parts of John F. Kennedy’s “We choose to go to the moon” speech about the American spirit and the necessity of space exploration. Shannon Kyller ‘30 chose AI — specifically, Mustafa Suleyman’s TED Talk “What Is AI, Anyway?” — for her declamation. Nate Smallwood ‘29 performed an excerpt from Barack Obama’s Nobel Lecture, and Caden Bihldorff ‘29 went decidedly old school by reading a passage from the epic poem Beowulf. 

“I have traded my whole life for my people’s needs,” Bihldorff, speaking as the Scandinavian hero, declared. 

Amelia Crespo ‘29 was the last but by no means least declaimer. She performed “An Ode We Owe,” a poem by Amanda Gorman which urges unity to heal the wounds of a shared planet. 

“Above all, I dare you to be good so that the world might be great,” said Crespo. 

While only the Declamation Celebration finalists perform before the entire Middle School, all Middle School students take part in Declamation, memorizing their selections and then performing them before their peers in English class. 

At the March 5 celebration, Middle School English Department Head Brian Cibelli thanked the finalists for sharing such wonderful performances with the Thayer community. 

“The students are the best part of this celebration every year,” Cibelli told the audience.

The following are the Declamation Celebration’s 16 finalists and the pieces that they chose to share: 

Ian Kahn ‘32: “I Believe in Superheroes” by IN-Q
Soumayä Fort ‘31: An excerpt from remarks by Senator Robert Byrd addressing cruelty to animals
Atlas Card ‘29: An excerpt from Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Shivani Anand ‘30: An excerpt from A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
Anne Suwastawan ‘29: An excerpt from The Fury by Alex Michaelides
Yvonne Guo ‘29: An excerpt from Canwen Xu’s TED Talk “I Am Not Your Asian Stereotype” 
Emily Tormey ‘29: An excerpt from Rick Riordan’s Stonewall Book Award acceptance speech 
Jackson Lieberman ‘31: An excerpt from Steven Spielberg’s commencement address at Harvard University 
Emilie Brooks ‘32: An excerpt from “The Note” by Alex Morgan 
Pola Hordejuk ‘31: An excerpt from Greta Thunberg’s speech at the U.N. Climate Action Summit 
Calvin Jacobs ‘29: An excerpt from “The Building of the Ship” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 
Parker Costello ‘31: An excerpt from John F. Kennedy’s “We choose to go to the moon” speech 
Shannon Kyller ‘30: An excerpt from Mustafa Suleyman’s TED Talk “What is an AI, Anyway?” 
Nate Smallwood ‘29: An excerpt from Barack Obama’s Nobel Lecture 
Caden Bihldorff ‘29: An excerpt from Beowulf 
Amelia Crespo ‘29: “An Ode We Owe” by Amanda Gorman