Poetry judges selected junior Jaden Conley to advance to the Poetry Out Loud regionals after his performance at West’s competition on the evening of Feb. 3. Monday’s event featured nine students who had advanced from the school-wide semifinals held on Jan. 23. Three of the nine students were recognized as the ‘top-three reciters,‘ but only one was selected to advance to regionals. Runners-up were senior Yohanna Endashaw and junior Nikolas Mestousis.
This is Conley’s first time advancing to the school-wide finals or regionals. Like many Poetry Out Loud competitors, Conley wasn’t sure how his recitation would play out, but he was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.
“I was a little nervous when I got up there, but it ended up being a unique experience. I feel pretty good going into regionals. [Winning] was an accomplishment, and I wasn’t 100% sure I was going to win, but when I did it felt really nice,” Conley said.
For the finals, Conley recited the poems “No, I wasn’t meant to love and be loved” by Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib and “Respectability” by Tina Boyer Brown.
“I chose [the poems] because I had significant meaning to them. How the authors and the poets wrote them was so special,” Conley said.
Senior Yohanna Endashaw has twice won the state-level Poetry Out Loud competition and advanced to nationals. This year, Endashaw’s score fell short of Conley’s by one point, earning her the second-place spot. Endashaw recited “They Are Hostile Nations” by Margaret Atwood and “What Women Are Made Of” by Bianca Lynne Spriggs. As runner-up, Endashaw will accompany Conley to the regional competition in a supportive role.
Third-place winner, junior Nikolas Mestousis, chose his first poem, “Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear” by Mosab Abu Toha for a reason similar to Conley’s: the poem resonated with him.
“I chose “Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear” because the poet was Palestinian and it mentioned the war in Palestine. Mosab Abu Toha, the poet, was captured and tortured by the Israel Defense Forces in 2023. He was wrongfully accused of being a Hamas activist. Though I can’t directly relate to his story, I’ve been surrounded by this issue my whole life. I felt like I could better relate to the poem and put more emotion into it. It’s truly sad what’s happening and that it’s allowed to continue,” Mestousis said.
Although Mestousis will not attend regionals with Conley and Endashaw, his third-place win is still a significant accomplishment, especially for his first poetry recitation competition.
“Third surprised me, I didn’t think I would make it to the competition, let alone place third. I came closer to the winners than I thought I would. I’m quite proud of myself,” Mestousis said.
This year English teachers Sally Graham and Sharon Swanson oversaw the competition. Swanson has been the host of POL for over 20 years, and she claims this year was nothing short of great.
“I thought [the poems] were amazing, [Conley] was amazing,” Swanson said.
Conley will compete at regionals on Feb. 12 at the Poetry Foundation in Chicago.
