Poetry contest loss and plagiarism | Ramblin' & Amblin' | Oct 29, 2026
Ramblin' & Amblin' Field Notes with Mike Hall (Staff Software Engineer)
Recorded on the move: engineering observations, systems architecture, and software craftsmanship reflections.
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• The Sound Above Curriculum: https://www.just3ws.com/series/the-sound-above/
• Canonical Profile: https://www.just3ws.com
Spoken Overview:
"I was in a, uh, poetry club in high school, I was, uh, I had, uh, I was the only guy in this, uh, poetry club, and it wasn't what you think, I actually, uh, the teacher, she, uh, she was really,..."
Recorded: October 29, 2026
The Interviewer
Mike Hall
Host, Ramblin' & Amblin'
Mike Hall
Host, Ramblin' & Amblin'
▶ Speaking
I was in a, uh, poetry club in high school, I was, uh, I
had, uh, I was the only guy in this, uh, poetry club, and
it wasn't what you think, I actually, uh, the teacher, she,
uh, she was really,
a good person, she put this, uh, on Babithanes, if I can
remember her face, which was, uh, probably late 30s, black
woman, wonderful smile, and she, uh, had a love for poetry
and diagramming sentences, I had so much trouble with
diagramming sentences, but, uh, I loved it, and, uh, the,
uh,
um, the thing was, is that it, I, I got to meet, through
this, this club, I, uh, I got to meet Gwendolyn Brooks,
which was interesting, um, because I was a white guy, and,
uh, I was, if I recall correctly, I was the only white
person in this group, and that's, you know, that,
I didn't care at all, uh, it was, it wasn't even a thing, I
'm just painting a picture here, there's, like, five or six
girls, and one boy, because we were in high school, we were
children,
and, uh, we got to meet Poe Laureate, Illinois, Gwendolyn
Brooks, and, uh, I had to sit at the, uh, far end of the
table, for, uh, reasons, because she only wanted the, uh,
uh, the black girls by her, and, uh, you know what, I know,
you might be like,
meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, no, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not
even mad, I, I get it, like,
even then,
yeah, I was,
not, I was, I was unbothered by this,
because I was already kind of aware of things,
uh, you know,
like I said, I still listen to Rush Limbaugh and all that
nonsense, but, uh,
um,
I, I wasn't put out by this,
but I do remember it,
um,
and, uh,
later,
and, and that was, she's an elderly black woman who's been
through
fucking everything, and she
became the Poet Laureate of Illinois,
and she wants to raise up, um,
girls who might not be getting, uh,
the, uh,
support and,
and adulation that they deserve,
and, and being,
uh,
always put underneath a male,
much less a white male,
uh,
she didn't humiliate me,
she just asked me to the,
at the end of the table. Um,
it was,
uh,
not a big deal. What was a big deal
was that there was a poetry contest,
and, uh,
not,
not involving Glenn Lundbrook,
so I'm moving on from that. Um,
but, uh,
there was a poetry contest,
and I submitted a,
uh,
a unique entry,
and if I could ever find this poem,
I would be so happy.
Mike Hall
Host, Ramblin' & Amblin'
▶ Speaking
I just wish I could know what I said,
but, uh,
that was lost in the fire,
um,
when I was, uh,
deployed to Germany,
just like so many other things from my past. Some kids were playing with matches
in a warehouse,
or maybe
the government
somewhere needed,
uh,
something to be,
uh,
taken out. I don't know. The imagination runs wild.
Mike Hall
Host, Ramblin' & Amblin'
▶ Speaking
But, uh,
the, uh,
poem I have is about mountain men,
and it was,
you know,
a theme for me,
I'm sure a lot of people,
you know,
identity and
masculinity
and Chicago
and, uh,
blue collar
and just, uh,
looking at, uh,
the people that came before,
you know,
the mountain men,
the men that were of mountain,
the men,
not,
not men,
mountain men from mountains,
but
mountain men,
men that are mountains. And, uh,
I lost. I came in second place
from another kid
who
was
a weasel. So you can probably
imagine where this is going.
Mike Hall
Host, Ramblin' & Amblin'
▶ Speaking
This kid was a born weasel. We even worked
for a little while
at the same,
uh,
circuit city,
and he was a salesperson
and I worked in a warehouse
because,
of course,
of course,
that's how it was. And, uh,
he
got up
and he so
gave his speech,
he gave his poem,
but it turned out
later,
it turned out later
that he had
plagiarized the poem. It wasn't his poem.
Mike Hall
Host, Ramblin' & Amblin'
▶ Speaking
So retroactively,
I won. and the problem was
everything was already done. It didn't matter. He had already been
in front of
a hundred
people,
whatever,
how many people
were in our,
could fit in the lunchroom
for a presentation
in, uh,
Lockport Township High School
East Campus.
Mike Hall
Host, Ramblin' & Amblin'
▶ Speaking
There was a lot of people. And he got
a round of applause
for his poem
and I got
runner-up,
applied applause,
gave my speech,
gave,
I did read the poem,
but as a runner-up
for my original work. he plagiarized the poem. I don't even know
if he got
detention for it.
Mike Hall
Host, Ramblin' & Amblin'
▶ Speaking
But, uh,
yeah,
he just, uh,
didn't matter
because
he won. no big retraction. No,
uh,
clarification
that actually,
you know,
it turns out
that that person
who we thought
had come in first
had actually,
uh,
been a plagiarist. It was just,
oh,
and then,
you know what,
everybody else
is embarrassed
so they don't want
to say anything.
Mike Hall
Host, Ramblin' & Amblin'
▶ Speaking
So,
needless to say,
I didn't have
too much interest
in the, uh,
poetry club
after that. Not because
I thought
anybody
who
was running it
did anything wrong,
but they were
presented with
a terrible situation
too. They believed
that this person
had written
a, uh,
a, uh,
a fresh play. I mean,
a fresh poem.
Mike Hall
Host, Ramblin' & Amblin'
▶ Speaking
Unique poem. And it turns out
they hadn't. And, uh,
I'm sure
the absolutely
lovely person
who, uh,
founded this group
was frustrated
and embarrassed
too. And the, uh,
group was
disillusioned.
Mike Hall
Host, Ramblin' & Amblin'
▶ Speaking
I don't,
I don't think
the group
lasted another year. But I hate
that I was
even
part of that. and this is
I,
it's not
that I,
I did
anything. It was just
that I didn't
even be angry
with anybody
in the, uh,
group,
but I was hurt
and I didn't
want to be
involved with it
anymore.
Mike Hall
Host, Ramblin' & Amblin'
▶ Speaking
because I knew
that I had
done something
unique and
original and
good. And I,
and I,
and I did
the intent. I followed
the intent. But when winning
and kudos
and,
and,
and just
getting your
applause is all
that matters,
you don't
have that,
um,
foundation.
Mike Hall
Host, Ramblin' & Amblin'
▶ Speaking
But,
you have
the win,
you have
the money,
you have
the, uh,
I mean,
I don't,
I don't,
I don't think
there's money
involved in this,
but you get
what I'm saying. Uh, you get,
you get everything
to the winner. So,
anyway,
that's it. Thanks.
Mike Hall
Host, Ramblin' & Amblin'
▶ Speaking
Bye.