While many Americans were lamenting that a famous groundhog saw his shadow on Feb. 2, Northwestern Lehigh High School junior Kelty Tarvin was lending her voice to poetry at an annual celebration hosted at the Allentown Art Museum.

Tarvin was one of six students from area high schools who memorized and delivered three poems at Poetry Out Loud, a national initiative that is more than a decade old.

“It’s a rare group,” Tarvin said. “It’s a good crowd to be around sharing their experience and passion for poetry.

“I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

Pennsylvania’s Poetry Out Loud Manager Gayle Cluck offered a brief history in her welcoming remarks.

“The art museum is one of 15 regional arts groups to partner with the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts,” she said. “Over 104,000 students have participated in Poetry Out Loud over the years.”

English teacher Ann Way originated Poetry Out Loud at Northwestern.

“It’s become an institution, a tradition,” Way said. “It’s awesome just to see such talented kids.”

Way and Language Arts Department Chair Pam Henderson are perennial fans of the event.

Both teachers coached Tarvin in enunciation and presentation prior to attending the evening’s performance.

“[Poetry] gives voice to intense feelings,” Henderson said, who reads a poem at the beginning of each class. “I want students to know that poetry is not something to be frightened of.”

In addition to the two teachers, a contingency of friends and family members joined Tarvin at the presentation.

“I was a little bit surprised for her to step up and go for it but happy she was able to take that step,” Tarvin’s mother said.

“I’m supporting my sister,” said Molly Tarvin, Kelty’s twin, who was also at the event. “In flex she [would] practice in front of me but at home, she [was] always downstairs doing all the normal stuff.”

Jesse Parker, who represented Northwestern at Poetry Out Loud last year, also attended the event.

“Kelty was my support system last year and I wanted to be her support this year,” Parker said. “I like poetry in general and I write poetry myself and I liked choosing the poetry.”

“I saw [Jesse] do it last year,” Kelty said. “It was a lovely thing to do considering the limited arts at our school.”

Each participant had to select and memorize three separate poems.

“I picked them from the emotions I was feeling when I read the poems and from connecting with the poet’s tone,” Kelty said. “It was definitely a challenge but once you get the hang of it, [memorizing them] was doable.”

Emely Minaya of Whitehall High School will advance to the final round in Harrisburg in early March.

The winner of the state contest will proceed to nationals in Washington, D.C.

The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Allentown Art Museum have sponsored the event for more than 10 years.

Northwestern has participated in the contest since 2008.

In addition to Parker, past participants in Poetry Out Loud included Kelsey White, Jake Hoover, James George, Jarrod Walczer, Justin Lingenfelter and Ethan Goss.