Brandon Barkey, a senior at Knoxville High School, has the honor of performing two pieces at All-State Speech. Barkey tells KNIA/KRLS News about the pieces he will be performing.

“So, this year I did original oratory and poetry. With the poetry, I wrote three different pieces that all sort of connect and tell the story of a man as he goes through life and tries to figure it out. But it’s not easy, at all. For original oratory, it is just an eight-minute speech that talks about youth mental health, stress, and suicide. So, both very heavy pieces.” 

Barkey also tells KNIA/KRLS News about the goals he had while writing his pieces.

“For me it always felt like if I could make the piece relatable if I could make it emotional, or just a lot of one thing that it would grab the attention and it’s not just you’re there listening to the piece you are in the piece. My main goal with my poetry or my original oratory was I don’t just want to say it I want the audience to be thinking about it at the same time. I want them to be telling their own speech while I’m speaking up there”

Brandon Barkey will be performing at All-State Speech in Cedar Falls Monday, March 28th.