Between What We See and What We Hear: Where Speech Becomes Wonder

Poetry Recitation Competition, Semifinals and Finals

Hosted by St. George's College
Thursday 6 and Friday 7 November 2025

“Tangible idea,

intangibile

word:

poetry

comes and goes

between what is

and what is not.”

(From Octavio Paz’s “Between What I See and What I Say…”, poem selected by our 8th Grade 1st Place winner)

There are as many ways we can read poetry as there are poems and readers in this world.

We can read it silently, under the bedcovers with a smuggled torchlight, or nestled in an armchair nibbling on an apple, stitching a broken heart, warmed by a smouldering fire. Or beneath the knowing gaze of a favourite teacher, who has an inkling our silence is only another sign of a restless mind pining for a word-drenched page to rest upon for a while.

We can read it aloud for ourselves, throwing the words out in successive breaths to hear how they hang in the air and earworm their way back to us; to use rhythm as a temporary compass in our meaning-aching blindness; and, once it finds us, for the quiet solace of matching our heartbeats to it.

We can also read it aloud to others (and ever, ever to ourselves), as our participants do every year in our Poetry Recitation Competition: to share with audiences the wonder we have uncovered, delving into the cracks of what is and what is not, making the intangible tangible in the few moments between rising to speak and offering a thankful bow, as our hearts reclaim the beat they missed. Speech, enacted. Speaking to birth listening.

Poetry heightens, unmoors, and grounds us. It frees us from the world so we can touch it from within.

As Octavio Paz said: “Between what I dream and what I forget: poetry.”

This year’s theme for Duologue and Poetry is “Voices of Wonder: Tales and Verses Through the Years.” In honour of our 20th Anniversary, we selected poems that had been especially popular throughout the years. We hope this selection inspired our students and teachers to open their hearts to the wonder and delight of speaking in English!

We had 156 participants in the competition, a very high number, considering this year we allowed only one participant per grade per school. What has happened, year on year, is more schools have been entering participants in more grades, and adding a poetry recitation unit in their curriculum. As well, many of our participants semifinalists’s teachers had attended the poetry teacher workshop and had done the suggested activities. This has enhanced the competition both in quantity and quality, letting us keep on discovering even more voices!

36 schools participated in our virtual Round 1, with 29 schools advancing to the semi-final. Split over two days (Grades 6 to 8 on 6 November; Grades 3 to 5 on 7 November), we had 10 semi-finalists in each grade, from schools spanning La Serena to Curicó. 60 semifinalists in total, 30 for each date.

In what constitutes a first, we had 12 finalists (4 per grade) from 12 different schools on the first date! The second date wasn’t far behind: 12 finalists from 11 different schools. Another figure to show how this competition has grown in depth and breadth the last few years.

This year we changed the format and had all grades semifinals and finals in the big auditorium, by taking turns between grades. This way every participant had the chance to recite their poem in the big stage and everybody got to see everyone else. We hope it was as enjoyable for our audience as it was for us!

Congratulations to Colegio Pumahue Peñalolén who were this year’s recipients of the Travelling Trophy for Outstanding Achievement in Poetry Recitation. This trophy goes to the school with most points awarded for participation and podium places.

Further down below, you can see who our finalists were for each grade.

OUR THANKS

We would like to thank Diego Valenzuela, Elisa Hurtado, their team and students from St. George’s for another flawless event. Every year feels like coming home!

Big thank you to Bookland and Ojitos de Ternura, who gifted our Poetry finalists with some very appetising prizes!

Last, but certainly not least, our thanks to the (nearly 90!) Judges throughout the competition -virtual round 1 and in-person semifinals/finals-, as their prestige, experience and dedication ensure we can provide our students with the academic heft they deserve. They come from chilean universities, schools, language institutes, independent practices, from Arica to Punta Arenas (for real!): Abigail Uribe, Alison Berríos, Ámbar Vázquez, Andrea Gaete, Andrés Araya, Ariana de Andrade, Benjamin Macdonald, Carla Varas, Carol Johnson, Carol Peake, Cecilia Torres, Christine Jeppesen, Claire Kamerling, Conrad Herold, Constanza Videla, Consuelo Narvaez, Cristián Palacios, Daniela Nova, Eduardo Vásquez, Elisa Hurtado, Elizabeth Jelves, Erika Mery, Esperanza Mella, Eva Ballew, Fabiola Troncoso, Felipe Reyes, Flor Toledo, Francisco Toro, Gloria Faúndes, Heidi Núñez, Irene Gómez, Jaime Correa, James Kirk, Jan Updegraff, Joaquín Álvarez, Jon Kearns, Katherine Toro, Leonardo Hernández, Leyla Cárdenas, Loreto Abascal, Luis Daniel Ortiz, Macarena Sepúlveda, Marcela Santana, María Francisca Villarroel, María Teresa Gil, Marta García, Maya Westcott, Michael Ayandokun, Miriam Rojas, Natalia Díaz, Neela Chatta, Octavia Salinas, Olivia Wolford, Paloma Olavarría, Pamela Llanos, Pamela Medina, Patricia Castro, Paula Bórquez, Pilar Herrera, Philip Rovnak, Rachel Murton, Rodolfo González, Rodrigo Martínez, Rodrigo Santos, Sandra Raggi, Sean Butler, Teresa Percic, Teresa Muñoz, Thamy Aravena, Tom Connelly, Trinidad Rojas, Valerie Fauvage and Vera Callejas.