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Jillian Garcia of Decatur’s Eisenhower High School won first place at the Central Illinois Regional Poetry Out Loud Contest, held February 12, 2026, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Garcia referred to her winning the championship as “an absolute dream” and said that she came to both “better understand poems and have a deeper connection to poetry.”
Ace O’Malley of Springfield Southeast High School and Emma Selhime of Pawnee High School placed second and third, respectively.
The Central Illinois Poetry Out Loud Regional Contest was supported by a team of arts professionals with experience in literary arts. The contest was coordinated by Sheila Walk, who has been involved with Poetry Out Loud for all its twenty-one years. Wynton Gage (Springfield), Roy Roberts (Niantic), and Lisa Udel (Jacksonville) served as recitation judges, bringing backgrounds in education, poetry, and performance. Thèa Chesley served as the accuracy judge, ensuring fidelity to the original texts, while Bob Jessup served as scorekeeper and Carey Smith as prompter, supporting a fair and professionally run competition.
More than 155 students and 21 teachers from six central Illinois high schools participated in the 2025–2026 Poetry Out Loud season, which began in classrooms last fall and culminated in the regional competition organized by the Springfield Area Arts Council. “Poetry Out Loud is about more than competition,” said Bella Szabo, Executive Director of the Springfield Area Arts Council. “It gives students the opportunity to engage with language, build confidence, and share their voices with the community. We are proud to support this program in central Illinois alongside educators, artists, and partners who believe in the value of arts education.”
Additional contestants in the Central Illinois Regional Contest were:
Andre Heard, Southeast High School (Springfield)
Nate Horstman, Sacred Heart-Griffin High School (Springfield)
Kaylee Morrow, Pawnee High School (Pawnee)
Anna Reeder, Sacred Heart-Griffin High School (Springfield)
Aoe Reinbold, Springfield High School (Springfield)
Garcia and O’Malley will advance to the Illinois State Poetry Out Loud Contest on March 2, 2026, at 10:00 A.M. at the Hoogland Center for the Arts with special guest Mark Turcotte, Illinois Poet Laureate. This event is free and open to the public. The Illinois State champion will then advance to the national finals in Washington, D.C., winning $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip.
Poetry Out Loud in Illinois is a collaborative project of the Illinois Arts Council and six arts agencies, each of which hosts a regional contest. The Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest is a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through analysis, memorization, performance, and competition. The National Endowment for the Arts, in conjunction with state arts agencies, support this nation-wide program with participants from all fifty states plus American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Springfield Area Arts Council connects people and the arts through support, promotion, and outreach. Through events, grants, and community partnerships, SAAC fosters a vibrant and creative region where the arts thrive. The Springfield Area Arts Council is in the Hoogland Center for the Arts, 420 South Sixth Street, Springfield, IL. For more information and future events, visit the website.
To learn more about the Poetry Out Loud program, visit the national website at www.poetryoutloud.org.
