Xenia senior wins state poetry crown
Xenia High School senior Hiba Loukssi took home first place at the Ohio Poetry Out Loud State Championship held March 10.
The poetry recitation competition pushes high school students to memorize and perform poems to improve public speaking skills and literary appreciation for poetry. To get to the state finals, Loukssi beat out classmates at the classroom competition level and then advanced to the West Central Ohio Regional Finals in February where she won first place.
“This was my third year competing, and I learned and grew so much from the person I was as a sophomore, who had never spoken to a crowd like that before,” Loukssi said. “I truly love poetry, and this experience has inspired me to write and create my own poems. I am who I am today because of this competition, and I hope to continue to inspire others to compete in Poetry Out Loud and find their own love poetry.”
In Columbus, nine Ohio high school regional finalists competed for a chance to advance to the national competition. Competitors came from all across the state for the competition presented by the Ohio Arts Council. Joining Loukssi from the West Central Ohio Regionals was Piqua High School senior Trista Boeke.
This year’s Poetry Out Loud Ohio State Championship field was all girls, which organizers found particularly significant.
“This was our first all-girl State Finals, and I am so proud of the young women who represented their schools and regions of the state so well,” said Ohio Arts Council Executive Director Donna S. Collins. “Arts education makes a significant impact on students’ learning, and Poetry Out Loud is a fantastic example of how the arts can instill confidence through public speaking and curiosity through the study of great poetry.”
Loukssi recited Ilya Kaminsky’s “Author’s Prayer,” Jamaal May’s “There Are Birds Here” and Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “The Paradox” over three rounds at the 18th annual Ohio state championship.
“The program has such a special place in my heart, and I would do the entire experience over again if I could!” Loukssi said. “Participating in the program helped give me the confidence to be proud of who I am.”
Loukssi’s win earned her a $200 cash prize and $500 for Xenia High School’s library to go toward future learning. Her performance also landed her a trip to Washington D.C. to compete for the national title at the Poetry Out Loud National Championship slated May 8-10. The national competition will bring together finalists from all 50 states and from Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C. Poetry Out Loud’s top champion will win a $20,000 grand prize.
“I am so excited to represent Ohio and cannot wait to compete on that stage in May,” Loukssi added.
The top three finalists from the state competition took home artwork created by Cleveland artist Michael Gill. The piece incorporated a poem by Columbus-based poet Marcus Jackson, who performed several original poems at the competition. Second place went to Anabanel Anne, a freshman from the Columbus School for Girls. Amanda Braig, a junior at McNicholas High School in Cincinnati, scored third place.