What is Poetry Out Loud?
Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation competition that teaches high school students about great works of poetry, develops public performance skills, and gives them a chance to win up to $20,000.
Poetry Out Loud® lifts poetry off the page, creating community and connection. Through this program, high school students across the country participate in a dynamic poetry recitation competition that is designed to improve their public speaking skills, help build confidence, and teach them about literary history and contemporary life. A partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and state and jurisdictional arts agencies, Poetry Out Loud® provides free lesson plans and other educational materials to teachers and organizers, including an online anthology of 1,200 classic and contemporary poems.
Contests
The program starts at the local level with a school or participating organization. Winners then may advance to a regional and/or state competition, and ultimately to the national finals. Awards and placements are determined solely by judges’ scores based on the Poetry Out Loud Evaluation Criteria. Poetry Out Loud takes place in all 50 states, American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since the program began in 2005, more than 4.4 million students and 81,000 teachers from 20,000 schools across the U.S. have participated in Poetry Out Loud.Poetry Out Loud contests start in the classroom. Winners from each classroom advance to the schoolwide competition. Each school then sends a finalist to the Connecticut state finals. Ultimately, one student advances to the National Finals in Washington, DC.
Classroom Time
Poetry Out Loud’s schedule and curriculum can fit into a teacher's busy schedule without much disruption. The program takes place in the classroom over about two to three weeks and does not require full class periods. In fact, Poetry Out Loud satisfies more than half of the NCTE English Language Arts Standards.
Program Materials & Schedule
Poetry Out Loud provides free curriculum materials—all available online—including a poetry anthology, a comprehensive teacher’s guide, videos of student performances, lesson plans, and promotional and media resources. Limited hard copies of materials are available for teachers participating in the official program but anyone can access the online materials.
CT Poetry Out Loud Important Dates:
September 1, 2024: CT Poetry Out Loud School Registration Opens & '24-'25 Online Anthology Goes Live
September 26, 2024: Poetry Out Loud Orientation/ Introduction for New Schools
October 17, 2024: Hybrid Workshop on Physical Presence
Time: 6:00 PM-7:00 PM
Location: 360 Farmington Ave, Hartford, CT 06105
Virtual Option: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
November 21, 2024: Hybrid Workshop on Voice & Articulation
Time: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Location: TBD
Virtual Option: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
December 19, 2024: Virtual Workshop
December 31, 2024: Deadline to register for the '24-'25 season of Poetry Out Loud
January 2025: Workshop Summit (in person - date & location TBA)
January 23, 2025: Virtual Workshop
January 31, 2025: Deadline to Submit School Champion (for registered and participating schools)
February 13, 2025: Deadline to Submit School Champion's Digital Submission for Semi-Finals
February 15, 2025: Semi-Final Competition (digital submissions - date TBA)
March 2025: State Final Competition (in person - date & location TBA)
May 5-7, 2025: Poetry Out Loud National Competition (Washington, DC)
Prizes
The students who win at the state level receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip (with a chaperone) to Washington, DC, for the National Finals.
- The state winner’s school receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books.
- A runner-up in each state receives $100, with $200 for his or her school library.
- Winners receive $50,000 total in scholarships and school stipends at the National Finals, with a $20,000 college scholarship for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion.
Registration:
Register your school for the '24-'25 by completing this form: '24-'25 CT Poetry Out Loud Registration
*Registration is only open to high schools and youth organizations in Connecticut. If you are an individual student who is not affiliated with a school or organization but would like to participate - please contact us and we will pair you with a local school program/ competition.
Have questions? Please contact:
Tekowa Omara-Otunnu
Program Manager, Arts Education
DECD.PoetryOutLoud@ct.gov