“I foamed — I raved — I swore! I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder — louder — louder!”

It was this initial exposure to the classic Edgar Allan Poe short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” during a middle school English class, when DB Henderson first realized the rhythmic and dramatic potential of poetry.

While not technically a poem, the tale of guilt and paranoia, culminating in a hysterical confession of murder by its narrator, is a textbook example of the legendary American writer’s use of pacing, accent and growing suspense to tell a simple story with artistic flair.

“Just the way he used words to build the intensity of the situation,” Henderson recalled. “Like how the floorboard is creaking, at least to his perspective, because that’s what he was seeing. I thought, ‘That is interesting.’”

From this lesson, he would go on to discover the poetry of Poe, along with the different writers and styles of the art form beyond the typical iambic pentameter and soon begin composing his own stories and music and participating in his school’s performing arts programs.

Now a junior at Coronado High School, Henderson will represent Colorado at the national “Poetry Out Loud” competition in Washington, D.C., after being named the state champion last month.

Although he speaks with a softer, more introverted tone in conversation, typical of a teenager, a commanding, articulate, bass-heavy voice akin to the late Shakespearean actor James Earl Jones takes the stage when Henderson recites both classic and original poems.

He ascended to the top ranks of Colorado’s young poets through a local contest at Coronado and later the statewide competition in Denver for his performances of “The Debt,” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and “Friendship After Love,” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

Since he began studying poetry, along with the tempo and pacing of its reading, he said he’s learned how to interpret different works and speak from the perspective of the writers or their characters.

“You can just recite a poem out loud, right? But if there are no dynamics, if you don’t even know how you feel about it, you’re just speaking a poem,” he said.

Presented in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Out Loud encourages high school students to learn about classic and contemporary poetry through memorization, performance and competition. Over 2,400 young Colorado poets participated in this year’s competition.

“As the son of a poet, I appreciate the way poetry brings people together and serves as an important outlet for personal expression,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement announcing Henderson as the winner.

“I am incredibly proud of all the participating young poets and congratulate DB on this exciting achievement. Colorado is cheering you on as you represent our state on the national stage.”

Henderson will compete at the national competition April 28-29 while also commemorating America 250-Colorado 150, a yearlong commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary and Colorado’s 150th anniversary of statehood.

As state champion, he will receive $200 and an all-expense paid trip to Washington with an adult chaperone. Coronado High School will also receive $500 for poetry materials.

Additionally, $50,000 in awards and stipends will be given at the Poetry Out Loud national finals, including a $20,000 award for the national champion, $10,000 for second place, $5,000 for third place and $1,000 for fourth through ninth places.

Henderson’s English teacher and poetry coach, Jason Klingerman, said their school’s Poetry Out Loud club is the only one of its kind in the region and that he brought it to the school two years ago after participating in it himself as a teen.

Asked why he believes his student came out on top, he pointed to both his powerful voice and commitment to improving and refining his craft, which is more commonly found in athletics than in the performing arts.

“So, it’s innate talent, but it’s also the hard work that he’s put in that I think made him successful at the state level,” he said. “And he’ll be successful at the national level as well.”

He pointed to Henderson’s willingness to repeatedly run through his selected poems, his openness to coaching and suggestions, and his ability to perform the same works in a variety of tones and interpretations.

Henderson said this work is still ongoing, as they continue to tweak and refine his delivery leading up to the national competition.  

“There’s just a bunch of little things like, ‘Pause here just for one more beat,’ or ‘Maybe extend it out here just a little bit,’” he said. “So, I basically do a run-through of all the poems, then I focus specifically on each of the poems and think about what I can add.”  

Henderson and Klingerman feel confident going into the larger competition, but Klingerman admitted that, because their club is so young and Henderson could potentially return as a senior, this will also be “a learning experience” for what judges are looking for and what could be prioritized for next year.

As for the future, Klingerman hopes this momentum could lead to future community engagement, which has already begun with Henderson meeting with the Pikes Peak region poet laureate, Ashley Cornelius, ahead of the competition.

“So, I really think it could be an opportunity for the community to really connect with our school and our students,” he said.