Squalicum poet, actor and activist is taking the world by storm

After speaking for a few minutes with tenth grader Jade Terriss Talamo, one had the feeling to have just met the “Mary Oliver” of Squalicum High School.

Writing poetry (often with a nature theme like Oliver) since she was 8 years old, Jade is a somewhat recent transplant to Bellingham, moving here from California and attending Whatcom Hills Waldorf School for grades 7 and 8.

Motivated by her passion for poetry and writing, Jade took part in Squalicum’s Poetry Out Loud competition last school year. She consequentially moved on to regionals and then on to the state competition. In March of 2026, she was chosen to represent the entire state of Washington in the national competition. Poetry Out Loud brings one winner from each state to Washington, DC every April. The national event is in its 21st year, funded by the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA.) According to their website, more than 4.6 million students across the country have participated since 2005.

Jade worked on the poem “Militants to Certain Other Women” by poet Katharine Rolston Fisher, chosen from an anthology of selections put together by the NEA. You can read it here. This year’s anthology was comprised of classic and contemporary poems with historical themes to celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the United States. The emcee of the event phrased it this way: "poems on the rich tapestry of American history and culture."

With that focus, Jade developed and fine-tuned her performance of the 1918 poem about women’s suffrage, and delivered a disciplined and powerful recitation. The recurring imagery of the protest banners particularly lifted the poem off the page and the line "Can you think in terms of a nation?"  resonates to this day.

You can see her performance here at the time mark 0:45:56.

She hopes to return again to the national competition this school year.

Aside from poetry, Jade enjoys theatre and will be in Squalicum’s fall production of Radium Girls. Last summer, she joined a summer workshop at Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City.

She is also a climate activist and started a nonprofit organization with her mom Samantha called Kids’ Art for Climate Justice. And bringing it back to poetry, her organization is hosting a nationwide poetry contest, raising money to plant trees. It runs Sept. 1 through March 1 and is open for youth ages 6 to 21. See more on the website under the Projects dropdown. Jade encourages everyone to "use [their] voice to make a positive impact on the environment."

Oh, and one more thing — Jade was celebrated at the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center Peace Builder Awards Gala in October 2026 as a Peace Poetry Contest winner for her poem My Choice, included below.
 

My Choice, by Jade Talamo

I choose to love

the cracks 

in every whole

 

I choose not to be silenced

to stand up

Not stand by

 

I choose change

what is right

Not just what feels right

 

I choose to forgive 

what is mine to forgive

 

I choose a world 

where I can reach the sky

 

I choose to walk to freedom

To see the rising sun

No matter how long the road is

No matter how many times

the sun sets

 

I choose to be 

the smile

 

I chose to thrive

 

I choose to not be grounded

By mere thought alone

 

I choose to be rooted 

like the trees

Standing tall 

in silent space

within

 

I choose to remember

Butterflies 

To remember

 my heart

 

I choose to not be silenced

To become the roaring thunder

The flowing rolling blue 

Foaming at the shore

 

I choose to stand up

Branches reaching

To let my soul sprout 

Wings

 

I choose to plant a seed

In every heartfelt hope 

 

I choose to paint the world 

I want to see

 

The sky 

 

I choose to tumble like the rocks

Washed over and softened 

With every storm -

Ing wave

 

I choose to listen 

To the butterfly’s imprinting

in passing note

 

I choose to live a life 

I want to leave behind

 

So that others can climb on it

Understanding its structure

Playing in its remains

 

Like children at the beach

racing waves

 

Playing in the structure of a whale

Once beached, now become a source

Of nurture 

a shelter 

a shield

A playground for bare feet to explore

 

I choose to hope

 

That someday the children of the world

Will play hand in hand

Squealing in the waves

Laughter reaching out

With the tides

Dancing after the suns shadows