During community time on April 15, Julia Arce, alongside other high school English faculty announced the winners for the 2026 Poetry Contestival. The Poetry Contestival, as suggested by the name, is both a contest and a festival recognizing student written poetry.
The event gives students freedom to write about anything, while possibly getting recognized for their original poem. Overall, it is a tradition that celebrates the literary work of our own community by encouraging creativity among peers, and inspiring students to try something beyond their comfort level.
“Originally, I was confused about what exactly the contestival was, just that we would write poems and Dr. Lessy would choose which ones she liked the most to be entered into the contest,” freshman Blen Getachew said. “I actually missed the second part, and only figured it out after I got a request for one of the poem contestival organizers to access my doc,”
Students had class time to draft and revise their original poems, and submitted their creations to their English teacher. The poems could be written about anything, which allowed them to express personal interests and insights.
“When I write poetry, I express both how I feel and my experiences,” sophomore Taryn Krow said. “The contestival allowed me to feel proud of those experiences and of my creation.”
Renowned poet and Convent & Stuart Hall faculty Justin Robinson was invited to read and evaluate the submitted poems. He selected an overall winner from both Convent and Stuart Hall each, which were awarded to Charlotte Morris, grade 12, and Sam Nevin, grade 11. Additionally, three winners were chosen from each grade level, again separated by Convent and Stuart Hall.
“I appreciate the tradition because it gave me an opportunity to do some writing in class,” English faculty Rose Lessy said. “I liked the opportunity to publicly celebrate the literary arts in a school assembly.”
Additionally, according to Sarah Garlinghouse, the poetry festival has been going on for more than 15 years, and used to take place in the Syufy Theatre. It focused solely on poetry, and only more recently has it moved to the PO gym, which allowed us to accommodate more people comfortably. Additionally, performances in the Performing Arts were added to highlight the celebration of all art. This tradition has always used it as an opportunity for students to share their original poetry, providing the space and time, as well as placing winners. The Poetry Contestival always takes place during national poetry month.
“I didn’t expect my poem to be chosen, so I wrote in a truly genuine way, not feeling like I needed to fit an exact rhyme scheme or format,” Getachew said, “It resulted in a fully organic creative piece that I’m surprisingly proud of.”
