Each year, the Auditorium Theatre invites students from across the Chicagoland area to participate in the annual Too Hot to Handel Poetry Contest, asking them to respond to the prompt “How has my community shaped me?” Three finalists are selected to read their poems on stage before one of our Too Hot performances, including the Student Matinee.
My community is peaceful, quiet, calm, and nice
I feel calm here
The sun rises beautifully
The day is nice
The wind blows
The air is refreshing
I lay in the grass and look up at the clouds
I make faces with it, animals with it
I feel free, relaxed, and calm
I have energy to do anything
I get up to look and smell the beautiful flowers
There’s peace everywhere
By Jaylene L. — 5th grade at Charles R. Henderson Elementary School
My community has shaped me
Into a creative person
In my community we care
For each other and love each other
Here we care, hope, and
We have the potential to be anything we dream
My community is full of joy
Joy makes me feel comfortable
And makes me want to laugh
My hope is that we continue with this pattern
To make sure we continue this pattern
I will do my part
I will continue to love and care and hope
We are a community!
By Maya F. — 7th grade at William T. Sherman Elementary School
My community has made me an intelligent person
My community is brave and majestic
In my community, we encourage each other
We pray and we learn
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “And so even though we face the
difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream”
My dream is that my community always be this way
My hope is that we never change
I will have faith and try to make it happen
Because this is my community
By Reniyah G. — 7th grade at William T. Sherman Elementary
This “exuberant, jazz-gospel makeover” (Chicago Tribune) of Handel’s classic "Messiah" cel...
