After an intense night of English and Latin rhetoric, Brian E. Gatten '01 and Andrew Amo '01 emerged victorious in the annual Boylston Prize in Elocution competition last night.

First-place winner Gatten said he believed his selection, "Love Song of J. Alfred Proufrock" by T.S. Eliot, deeply moved the audience.

"I feel like the people in the audience were really listening, as if they felt what I really wanted them to feel," Gatten said.

Amo, who grabbed second place, powerfully boomed his selection from Toni Morrison's Beloved across the auditorium in Boylston Hall.

"I wanted them to relate to the experience of black people in America," Amo said while beaming over his award.

Amo and Gatten competed in a pool of nine finalists for the prize--narrowed from 20 original competitors.

The Boyston Prize in Elocution, established in 1917, awards orators for their artistic ability in public speaking.

The prize, endowed by Ward Nicolas Boylston in honor of his uncle, Nicolas Boylston, who established the Professorship of Rhetoric and Oratory in 1772, provides Harvard students with the opportunity to develop and display their talent in rhetoric.

In the contest, upperclass students deliver memorized selections from English, Greek or Latin literature.

Participants in this year's competition said they were disappointed that rhetoric is not as praised today as it used to be in the past.

Last year's winner, First Class Marshal Amma Y. Ghartey-Tagoe '01, said that this type of public speaking is lacking in today's college education.

"Harvard needs a public speaking class," she said.

Nevertheless, Ghartey-Tagoe said she was impressed by the talent of this year's contestants. She praised the winners on a job well done.

"Do you guys realize that this is one of the most prestigious awards at Harvard?" she demanded of Amo and Gatten.