Eight students of all grade levels participated in the Poetry Out Loud spoken-word poetry competition in the Oakton Lobby on Jan 22. Senior Jaden Conley won and will advance to the regional competition in a few weeks.
“I had lost some interest because of balancing school with extracurricular activities, and I felt a bit disconnected,” Conley said. “Once I started performing, though, everything clicked again. That feeling came back, the one that reminds me why I love being on stage and why I keep coming back to performing.”
Conley performed “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes and “Enigma” by Leonora Speyer.
The competition is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, and the national winner receives a prize of $10,000 in scholarship money for degrees in the arts. The national finalists compete in Washington, D.C. There is one finalist from each state. This year, in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States, the selection of poems for students to choose from was all American and over 100 years old. This decision has drawn mixed reactions.
“It’s so great to hear all of these young performers this year. Especially with these poems that are over 100 years old, it feels great,” judge and former theater director Andy Sinclair said.
Contestants were judged on a variety of categories by five different members of the community. These factors include physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding. accuracy and overall performance.
“Judging is really difficult. Every poem is different, so they’re hard to compare; it’s not like ‘oh I like that poem’ or ‘oh I understood that one,’ that’s not part of it. That makes it a lot more difficult,” Sinclair said.
Freshman Gia Polo reflected on her performance after the competition.
“I think that I did okay and everyone else did really well . . . everyone improved a lot,” freshman Polo said. “It’s a really cool opportunity to express yourself in a different way than you normally would. And it’s a great way to meet people as well,” Polo said of the competition.
Niles West has participated in the arts competition for over 20 years, making it a long-standing tradition at the school. Notable achievements include when Niles West alum Gina Kostovetsky made it to the state-wide competition in 2017.
Sinclair expressed his own opinions about the district’s support for students in the arts.
“I mean, I’m always gonna say we should do more, but compared to other places I’ve worked and other schools, this school really honors the arts,” Sinclair said. “My goal is always, though, I wish people in our community would see the talent. I feel like this is one of the most talented schools in our area.”
