Back in November, a poetry competition called “Poetry Out Loud” was hosted in A112. This competition was held by Dottie Burkhart, and hosted by Gabrielle Wong. Approximately 20 students did poetry pieces that they handpicked to perform. The competitors in this competition stood before a small exclusive audience of six judges, who helped determine five students to be selected to go to Poetry Out Loud District Finals, which happened all the way back on December 4, 2023 via Zoom. The five students who were selected to represent Mark Keppel were Zenina Adao (Senior), Madison Kang (Junior), Paul Galarza (Junior), Maryam Tall (Senior), and Samantha Rios (Senior). The finalists along with the finalists of similar competitions at Alhambra High School and San Gabriel High School competed for who would represent the Alhambra Unified School District at the state competition in February. Rios was chosen as the representative, and Adao was chosen as her alternate.
Rios, who also works with poetry in Keppel’s poetry club Speak Now All Poets (SNAP) as the social media chair, performed “Advice from La Llorona”, a somber, melancholic poem about grief. At the County Finals, students like Rios will be given the opportunity to see other styles and variations of poetry and meet other students who also enjoy performing and immersing themselves into poetry.
“I think poetry is just something that I overall enjoy so anytime I get an opportunity to do it, I take it. Competing just brings another level to it, as I’m able to do it alongside other people who also share this passion.” Rios shares.
Although she initially never expected to find herself in a high school poetry team, Adao, also a member of SNAP, came to love the art through an assignment in Burkhart’s AP Lang class. Now slated as Rios’ alternate for district representative in the upcoming Poetry Out Loud competition she looks forward to supporting her friend and learning from the competition.
In her journey as a part of the poet community Adao has found her love in love, particularly romantically composed poems which she has found a talent in performing. Her headlining piece, “I am offering this poem” by Jimmy Santiago Baca speaks to the power of love and its fulfillment. Speaking further on the poetry club at Keppel she notes that competitions can actually be an enlightening place. “Everyone is glad to be there and focuses on that aspect rather than how they came to be there”, Adao remarks. Regarding her future Adao looks forward to continuing her growth not only as a poet but as a person as she performs works that stay true to her values.
Poetry Out Loud County Finals will be on February 1st 2023, where Rios (or Adao) will get the chance to represent Keppel’s poetic creativity.
