The World Languages Department announced the following winners of the Upper School Rienzi competition, who recited their poems at an assembly on March 8. Rienzi is an enduring Poly tradition that showcases students’ oral skills in an array of languages, as well as American Sign Language (ASL). The theme for this year’s Upper School Rienzi Poetry Recitation was “Nostalgia.”

After an introduction about the theme by Spanish teacher Maité Iracheta, the program began. She reminded students to hold tight to their accomplishment of reciting their poems to their peers and teachers in Chapel. “Carry the verse with you,” she said, “Be that person who can surprise family, friends, or college interviewers with a sudden burst of the lines you’ve learned. They’ll be astonished. No robot can improvise such a gesture. Poetry is a human thing, the fire that cooks the soup and proof of our existence.”

Families and friends may view the assembly in its entirety here.

Congratulations to the following students, who presented the poems noted below.

LEVEL I

ANCIENT GREEK

The Odyssey, Book 11 
by Homer
Video by Ben & Lucas Hunter ’23 & George Thanopoulos  ’23

SPANISH

Si mis manos pudieran deshojar / If my Hands Could Defoliate 
by Federico García Lorca 
Recited by Sienna Klauss ’26

FRENCH

Le calmant / The Sedative
by Marie Laurencin
Recitation by Julie Chalk ’26

ITALIAN

La valigia dell’emigrante / The baggage of the immigrant 
by Gianni Rodari
Video by Justin Mondesir ’23

JAPANESE         

私と小鳥と鈴と / Me, A Songbird, and a Bell
by Misuzu Kaneko
Recitation by Konatsu Iwai ’26

LEVEL II

SPANISH

La nostalgia / Nostalgia 
by Rosario Castellanos
Recitation by Maddy Warwick ’26

FRENCH

Sérénité / Serenity 
by Doria Shafik
Recitation by Anthony Jerome ’26

MANDARIN

思乡病   ◎非马 / Homesick 
by William Mah
Recited by Ian Frempong-Boadu ’26 & Izzy Leyton ’25

DUTCH

De Heerlijke Gezelligheid van Nederland /
The Wonderful Conviviality of the Netherlands 
by Carina Hueber & Sander Swanson
Recited by Sander Swanson ’26

PORTUGUESE

Saudade / Saudade 
by Augusto dos Anjos
Recited by Elena Piquet ’24 & Ben Piquet ’24

LEVEL IIA / III

SPANISH

Blue / Azul, by Agustín Lara 
Recited by Alex Smetana ’25

FRENCH

L’impossible / The Impossible 
by Kamal Serdoumi
Recited by Jane Littleton ’25

MANDARIN

门前 （节录) / In Front of the Door 
by Gu Cheng 
Recited by Jasper Inamoto  ’26

SPANISH

Rima LIII / Rhyme LIII
by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Recited by Nathaniel Hyman  ’26

SWEDISH 

Utan Skicklighet Men Med Förmåga / Without Skill but with Strength
by Johanna Ekström
Recited by Bo Casey ’26

HEBREW

Ani ohev shokolad / I love chocolate 
by Yehonatan Geffen & Yitzchak Klefter
Video by the class

LEVEL IIIA / IV

SPANISH

When We Were Kids / Cuando éramos niños
by Mario Benedetti 
Recited by Jasper Whiteley  ’25

FRENCH

Le pont Mirabeau / The Mirabeau Bridge
by Guillaume Appolinaire
Recited by Khari Freeman ’24

MANDARIN

不需要一个一个说过再见 / No need to Say Goodbye One 
by Peifen Chu
Sung by the class

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
I Want it that Way, by Backstreet Boys
Signed by the class

LEVEL IV / V / AT

SPANISH

Oh tierra, espérame / Oh Earth, Wait for Me 
by Pablo Neruda
Recited by Tristan Kelley ’24

FRENCH

Le mal du pays / Homesick
by Manno Charlemagne
Video by Jackson ten Oever  ’23

MANDARIN 

橄榄树 ◎三毛 / Olive Tree
by San Mao
Sung by the class

SPANISH

Nostalgia del dodó / Nostalgia of the dodo
by Ida Vitale
Recited by Ariana Rodríguez  ’23

FRENCH

Barbara / Barbara 
by Raoul Follereau
Recited by Sofia Schlomm  ’23

ITALIAN

Madrigal: Amarilli bella mia / My Lovely Amaryllis
Sung by Zeke Wise ’24 & Adrianna Neal  ’23
Piano: Simone Ferraresi