Meet the 2025 Poetry Out Loud State Finalists

Trey is a senior at Columbia City High School, and this is his second year participating in Poetry Out Loud. While some might say Trey’s love of mathematics is completely different to his musical and poetic side, he would argue that they are much more similar than they appear. Trey hopes to become a poet, composer, and artist of math in his future.

Kennedy is a sophomore at Forest Park Jr Sr High School. She loves to read, is secretary in her student council, and loves expressing herself through poetry.

Xavier, a senior at Richmond High School, proudly represents the Impact Youth Center’s Wayne County Writers in today’s competition. An accomplished athlete, Xavier is a semi-state qualifier in cross-country, a former member of the varsity swimming team, and currently competes in basketball and track & field. Off the field, he nurtures a passion for poetry and cherishes spending quality time with his siblings and family. Xavier approaches today’s competition with enthusiasm and a deep appreciation for the art of poetry, viewing it as a powerful means to express and connect.

Jehanna is a vibrant computer engineer who is returning to POL representing Evansville IN Early College where she is on path to receiving an associate degree in Cloud Computing. Her work and art creations are a poetic expression of her inspirational character. She has won numerous scholarships and competitions for her video games and when she is not creating new video games in her free time, she is creating new characters in her sketchbook, singing, or reciting some of her favorite poems.

Charlotte Wooton, a 9th grade student at Homestead Highschool, has been published in a book among other young adult poets. Charlotte is a young woman is drive and determination to live her life out loud. 

Ava Madrazo is a tenth grade student at Herron High School. This is her second year competing in Poetry Out Loud. She participates in several clubs and activities at her school, including Quiz Bowl and Girls Basketball. She believes that poetry matters because it gives a distinct voice to all writers, and she can’t wait to hear all of the unique poems at this year’s state competition.

Elle Strother is a senior at West Washington Jr./Sr. High School. She is involved in drama club, National Honor Society, student council, BPA, and Community Theater. After high school, Elle plans to attend college and study forensic science. This is her second year participating in Poetry Out Loud. 

Kealy Baugher is a Sophomore at CSA New Tech in HOSA and the National Honors Society and on student council and the Columbus North Women’s soccer team. She lives by Martin Luther King Jr’s quote, “ Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” She believes poetry is our way of communicating beyond the rules of everyday chatter or formal essays

Eve-Marie is a sophomore and this is her second year competing in Poetry Out Loud. In addition to being passionate about lyric poetry, she loves dance (ballet and modern), the visual arts, foreign languages, and classic literature. She hopes to study language and literature in college 

Ayo Akande is a 10th grader at Franklin Central High School. She loves creating projects, speaking about topics she’s passionate about and learning new things. Ayo was also the head of the debate club at her former school. She sees poetry as a means of self expression and discovery. It will mean a lot to her if she wins Poetry Out Loud.

Sarah is a junior at Bloomington High School South, she enjoys reading poems and speaking in public, and she hopes to study a career in healthcare to help people in need. Her wish for this competition is to have fun and make lasting memories.

Bobbie Graves is a Senior at Switzerland County High School. In her time at school, she is an active member of the band, multiple academic teams, and the drama club. Bobbie is excited for the competition and is hoping to excel.

Tony Brewer is a poet and audio artist from Bloomington, Indiana, where he is executive director of the Spoken Word Stage at the 4th Street Art Festival. He has published 13 books and chapbooks and has been offering Poetry On Demand at coffeehouses, museums, cemeteries, churches, bars, and festivals for over fifteen years. Tony was named Indiana’s 2024 Literary Champion by the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards.

elle roberts is an Indianapolis-based writer, artist and facilitator exploring the connections and collisions between the political, personal and poetic. They share essays, music and political education workshops in community spaces throughout and beyond central Indiana. They hold a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from Purdue University. In case of wonder, they spell their name all lowercase after bell hooks.

Author of two full-length poetry collections and four poetry chapbooks, Hiromi Yoshida is a finalist for the New Women’s Voices Poetry Prize, and a semifinalist for the Gerald Cable Book Award. She is the Poetry Editor of Flying Island Journal and Editor of Stormwash: Environmental Poems. She serves on the board of directors for the Writers Guild at Bloomington, while coordinating the Guild’s Last Sunday Poetry reading series. Her poems have been included in the INverse Poetry Archive and nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and Best of the Net.

Corey Ewing is a native of Indianapolis, IN that pursued a love of poetry across the country on a whim. He would return home to support various poetic projects including Word As Bond, Fighting Words Poetry, Cafe Creative and currently curates Vocab. He is a former Artist At Work with KHEPRW Institute and continues to teach, coach, and create as an interdisciplinary artist focusing on poetry and photography.

Curtis L. Crisler was born and raised in Gary, Indiana. Crisler, an award-winning poet/author, has a new book called Doing Drive-bys on How to Love in the Midwest. He has six poetry books, two YA books, and five poetry chapbooks. He’s been published in a variety of magazines, journals, and anthologies. He’s co-editor of poetry for the museum of americana. He created the Indiana Chitlin Circuit and the poetry form called the sonastic. He’s the Indiana Poet Laureate and Professor of English at Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW).