Winners Out-Loud
BY LELA GRIFFIN
KONKLIFE STAFF WRITER
On Friday, February 28th, 2022, Poetry Out Loud came to Key West High School. Participating students had to present two memorized poems, doing their best to accentuate the emotion of each piece’s words. The competition was tough, and the contestants were tougher.
The third place winner was a junior named Meredith Delostrinos, who is in Choir, Book Club, Creative Writing Club, Team Blue (environmental awareness club), Executive Board, Conchettes, and NJROTC. Delostrinos said she decided to compete because she likes to do things out of her comfort zone. She is actually a returning competitor from her 9th grade year. Delostrinos chose Anthem for Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen (because of her interest in the military) and Lazy by David Yezzi. Meredith tried really hard to manifest her nervous energy (as she said) into excitement. Delostrinos mentioned that when they announced the winners, she had the mentality of “if I win, I win, if I lose, I lose.” Let’s hope she brings that same energy at next year’s competition.
The second place winner was a freshman named Lela Griffin, who enjoys playing tennis, watching anime, and reading comics. A possible career in voice acting inspired her to join the competition. Griffin performed “They buried their son last winter” by Serhiy Zhadan and “Grief” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. “During the competition, I felt nervous, but talking to the other contestants around me, I felt a lot better. Griffin said she already plans to join next year’s competition, hopefully more prepared than she was this year.
The first place winner was a Junior named Victoria Mayor, who enjoys tutoring at The Learning Center, listening to music, and drawing. Mayor said she signed up for the competition because when she performed for her class, she felt a lot of confidence. Mayor noted that since she did well in front of her classmates, performing in front of an audience of high school students and judges would be a cinch. Her 1st poem was Corn Maze by David Barber, and her 2nd was The Ecchoing (note to editor: that is the actual spelling for echoing’) Green by William Blake. Mayor said she chose Corn Maze because it is about Autumn, which is her favorite season, and that she chose The Ecchoing Green about Spring, since it is the opposite. She noted that while presenting, she looked above the audience instead of at them to calm her nerves. And it worked! Audience members were overheard comparing her speaking voice to someone who does TedTalks. As the first place winner, Miss Mayer is the only KWHS student advancing to state finals on March 5th in Tampa.
Congrats to everyone that participated. A parting quote from the second place winner, “If there’s anything you want to do, do it. The feeling of regret is a lot worse than the feeling of failure.”
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Thank you, Lea, for a wonderful article. I did not know the winner’s Blake poem. As an “Old John with white hair” myself now, I find it particularly affecting. I’d have loved to hear it read by a young woman with a “Ted Talk” voice.