Kareem Sayegh won the Illinois state title in March to qualify for this week's national contest. Gargoyle photo by David Porreca (click to enlarge)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Impressing a panel of judges that included writer Garrison Keillor and actress Tyne Daly, senior Kareem Sayegh placed third at the Poetry Out Loud national finals Tuesday night.

Sayegh won a $5,000 scholarship for himself and a $500 stipend for Uni High, which the school will use to buy poetry books.

The Illinois state champion was one of just 12 students who advanced to the recitation contest's final round at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium.

"I'm very happy to have gotten this high in the competition," Sayegh said. "I'm also ecstatic that I got to meet Garrison Keillor and that he imparted some of his wisdom upon me.

"Another cool thing is that reciters of poetry tend to be very nice, and I was very happy to be reciting next to the fine individuals in the competition."

Fifty-three state champions, including representatives from the District of Columbia, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, took part in the semifinal rounds on Monday.

William Farley of Arlington, Va., won first place. The senior from Washington-Lee High School will receive a $20,000 scholarship. The runner-up prize of $10,000 went to Barbara Gooding of Western Hills High School in Frankfort, Ky.

"I felt like the top three [choices were] good ones, and I feel that all three of us had very different styles and very different backgrounds," Sayegh commented.

Poetry Out Loud is a nationwide recitation competition sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. More than 1,500 high schools and 300,000 students across the country participated this year in a series of contests that began at the regional level.

Participants are judged on physical presence, voice and articulation, appropriateness of dramatization, level of difficulty, evidence of understanding, overall performance, and accuracy.

Sayegh, the Illinois state champion, recited three poems:

• "A Supermarket in California" by Allen Ginsberg
• "The Man-Moth" by Elizabeth Bishop
• "The Windhover" by Gerard Manley Hopkins

The other finalists were Erik Hollis of Arizona; Kaleena Rose Kovach of Colorado; Madeline E. Roger of Kansas, Will Whitham of Maine; Peter Winfrey of Missouri; Mido Aly of Ohio; Wiyaka His Horse Is Thunder of South Dakota; Stanley Andrew Jackson III of Texas; and Audrey Kiely of Vermont.

Besides Keillor and Daly, the other judges for the final round were Tim McCarty, founder of Quest: Arts for Everyone; journalist Jeffrey Brown; and poets Suji Kwock-Kim, Patricia Smith, and Luis Rodriguez.

Scott Simon, host of National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition Saturday, served as master of ceremonies." Singer Natalie Merchant gave a special performances of poetry-inspired songs.

"You might be interested to know that my visit to the White House was possibly the most boring part of the trip," Sayegh added.

Look for an in-depth OG interview with Uni's national finalist in the coming days.