Literary competition is a prestigious Georgia High School Association (GHSA) event, focusing on fine arts and academics, where students compete in performance-based and written contests. The list of events includes Solo Dramatic, Solo Humorous, Duo (Dramatic or Humorous), Personal Essay, Argumentative Essay, Literary Analysis Essay, Domestic Speech, International Speech, Male Vocal Solo, Female Vocal Solo, Trio, and Quartet. Many of this year’s literary competition team practiced diligently to achieve a level of comfortably when it came time to enter the competition; others, however, felt as though they needed more practice. Mannu Singh, the 3rd place finisher for the personal essay, said, “The most challenging part of the competition was that we didn’t get enough time to prepare, so [my] biggest takeaway is to start early and prepare.” This sentiment was shared by Mannu’s fellow teammate, Emma Reed. “Whether that’s any of the fine arts categories, speaking, or writing events, I would highly recommend prepping effectively. It helps you a ton at the actual event to do well,” Reed said.
This year’s team comprised of fourteen members: Abby Drew Trotter, Kate Wiloughby, Karis Love, Mannu Singh, Bridget Flail, Memphis Grimes, Emma Reed, Krish Patel, James Bradshaw, May Earnest, Bethany Cranford, Madisyn Hughes, and Angel Stephens. Of their fourteen members, seven placed and provided critical points towards Armuchee’s success. The highest placer among the competition was Emma Read, who placed second in her extemporaneous, domestic speech. “I am really happy with how I performed. I got 2nd place, which was very exciting for me. I had never done Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking before, so I really didn’t know what to expect. I was really happy with the result,” Emma Reed said. Outside of Emma, the teams other placers were Kate Wiloughby and Karis Love, placing fourth in duo, Bridget Flail, placing third in the argumentative essay, Memphis Grimes, placing third in the Literary Analysis essay, Mannu Singh, placing third in the personal essay, and Krish Patel, who placed fourth in international speech.
While all of literary competition requires diligent practice and commitment to place, many of those involved claim that there is a clear distinction between events that are more skill focused and events that are more talent focused. “I think the most challenging part of our competition is how competitive our region is, especially in the fine arts categories. As a smaller school, it can be a bit difficult to place in these events, especially when other schools require auditions to even have a chance to perform at literary,” Emma Reed, a member of Armuchee’s choral and theater program, said. While many of Armuchee’s more textual literature and speeches earned points, those involved in the vocal section of the competition cited the immense talent and competition from the other schools as something they felt was unattainable for them to surpass in the current moment. Abby Drew, another member of multiple fine arts programs at Armuchee, shared this consensus. “I would say the most challenging event is definitely the interpretations, because whenever it comes to acting, it’s very, very competitive and very hard to compete against really good actors and actresses,” Trotter said. Outside of just the fine arts affiliated opinions, Mannu Singh said, “The hardest event would have to be any of the singing events because you have to memorize all of your lines and can’t bring in your notes.” While every event is highly competitive in their own right, many of Armuchee’s fine arts members have found themselves struggling to compete with the raw talent of the other school’s fine arts members. One message that has been reiterated by almost all members of the fine arts program is that these events will be one of the team’s largest focuses for areas that need improvement.
Of this year’s fourteen members, nine of them were seniors, with many having previously done literary competition before. Mannu Singh, one of Armuchee’s most consistent placers over the years, found this year to be especially difficult. “I’m honestly disappointed in my performance… Although 3rd place isn’t terrible, I wish I got 1st place, but I realized that you can’t always get what you want, and the important thing is that I scored points for my team and got a medal,” Singh said. Krish Patel, a senior new to literary Competition, shared Mannu’s consensus regarding the competition’s difficulty. “I think the most challenging part was all the other schools had [hard working] and extremely talented people,” Patel said. Despite the veteran’s shared thoughts on this year’s challenges, there was also an agreement amongst them regarding this year’s enjoyment. “We did bad, but it was really fun for us. Even though we didn’t place,” Abby Drew Trotter said.
No team is complete without its coach, however. Emily Mowery has been the literary competition coach for approximately 10 years. Mrs. Mowery acts as a facilitator for the literary team, helping with practice, meeting with the students, and communicating with the leaders of other programs related to literary. When asked if she has any changes planned for next year, Mowery said, “I’d like to get started a little bit early. I know Mr. Ellis will as well with his group, and clearly I’m gonna have to put a new team together.” Mrs. Mowery’s plans also align with her students who felt similarly about the need to practice earlier and more frequently. Mrs. Mowery has also felt a need to address the issue of the literary competition’s large quantity of seniors. “We have so many seniors graduating, and I’ve got to build a new team for next year,” Mrs. Mowery said when asked what her biggest takeaway was for this year. Keeping in mind Armuchee’s large proportion of graduating members this year, Mrs. Mowery will be focusing her efforts on recruiting new members for literary competition. “It takes some outside commitment. While I’m working with kids to get them ready, it does require some outside work, just like you would practice for any sport. You’ve got to practice and prepare for literary as well, because our competition in our region is pretty Challenging,” Mowery said. Overall, Mrs. Mowery is proud of what the literary team accomplished this year and cannot wait to see what the fresh team for next year will do.
Although Armuchee was unable to proceed to state, many of the team’s members cited the event as a fun and enjoyable experience despite its challenges. “I really enjoyed hanging out with the Armuchee team in between different events. It was a nice stress reliever and we all got to know each other better,” Reed said. Similar to Emma, many of those involved claimed to have had more enjoyment socializing with and supporting their teammates than actually competing. “My favorite part about literary outside of the events is debriefing with my friends in the preparation room and talking about everything,” Singh said. That is not to say that Armuchee did poorly by any means. “They did well. We had a number of students’ place, which is continuing a tradition of success,” Mowery said. While this year’s literary competition team might not have done as well as they hoped, the team enjoyed the competition and took the competition as an opportunity to learn, grow in their respective events, and become closer with one another as a team. All that is left for this year’s members to do now is to build up the next year’s team so that they may succeed them, being just as close and even more successful. The future is bright for Armuchee High School’s literary competition.
