Chester High School students competed in the local Poetry Out Loud event on Friday, January 24, 2025.

Poetry Out Loud is a spoken word performance competition. Students compete on stages nationwide, where they recite famous poems from both canon and modern poets. Scores are based on physical presence, articulation, and interpretation, as well as accuracy.

This year, Jason Sibley won first place at CHS with his rendition of “After the War” by Claude McKay.

Chace Murphy took second place for reciting “Across the Bay” by Donald Davie.

Elijah McBurney performed “1st Vote” by Aisha Kamila Moon to secure third place, and Brodie Mattingly took fourth with “Advice to a Prophet” by Richard Wilbur.

Chace Murphy and Brodie Mattingly will go on to compete in the regional competition in Carbondale this February at The 204 ArtSpace. Two winners from Carbondale will go on to compete in Springfield for the state championship title.