Niles West student Jaden Conley is the Illinois Poetry Out Loud winner. He will compete in the Poetry Out Loud National Final on April 28. (Provided photo)
After coming up short in 2025, Niles West High School senior Jaden Conley was determined to make it to this year’s Poetry Out Loud National Final – and he did just that.
A state finalist last year, Conley will be heading to Washington, D.C., for the April 28 national competition.
“I got involved in Poetry Out Loud last year in class, and I wanted to take that interest to a higher level,” Conley said. “I got involved in the school and regional competition. I got to the state competition but fell just short.”
Conley said he is “excited” about going to the national competition and squaring off against other state winners.
The senior emerged as this year’s state champion, with three strong rounds of recitations.
He earned state honors with recitations of “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes, “Chicago” by Carl Sandburg, and “Enigma” by Leonora Speyer.
Conley said he identifies with the passion in Speyer’s “Enigma” and believes that helps fuel his performances.
“I love what it is about,” he said of the poem.
The Lincolnwood resident credits Niles West English teacher and poetry coach Sally Graham with telling him to enjoy the moment when reciting and to trust the work that he has done to learn the poems.
Conley said he takes a page out of a famous performer’s book to enhance his poetry recitals.
“Beyonce says she is always nervous before a performance and puts on her alter ego, Sasha Fierce, who is not shy or nervous and is able to dance and perform in public,” Conley said. “I don’t love performing, but when I become Him, he is someone who loves the audience.”
Conley said he has learned to trust his feelings regardless of what anyone else is doing. He said a competition judge told him to listen to criticism but to still make any work his own.
“I have the drive to make the fear disappear,” Conley said.
He is also part of the Black Student Union at Niles West and works 20 hours per week at Target. Conley also writes music, but no one gets to see his lyrics.
“I don’t like to share what I write,” he said.
Conley said he feels prepared for the national competition.
“I have the right mindset,” he said. “I am ready to be Him again.”
He said that he has no idea how many times he has rehearsed the poems.
“I have recited them countless times,” Conley said. “I’ve performed them for family, friends, teachers, even at Target.
“A couple of customers have thought I was talking to them when I am reciting poems in public at Target. One of the poems is literally in Olde Tyme and there is some slang.”
Conley captured the state competition in March at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Springfield. He advanced to the state competition after winning the Chicagoland Suburban regional contest in February.
At the state level, Conley competed against students representing eight regions across Illinois.
Judges described Conley’s work as “phenomenal recitations.”
Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of poetry through free educational materials and a recitation competition for high school students across the country. The program helps students build public speaking skills, develop confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life.
Poetry Out Loud is a partnership among the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and state and jurisdictional arts agencies.
Source link
#Niles #West #student #heading #Poetry #Loud #National #Finals
