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Poetry Out Loud
About the Program
Poetry Out Loud encourages students to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life.
Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure that starts at the classroom level. Students advance to a school-wide competition, through a regional contest, to State Finals, and ultimately to the National Finals.
Since this arts education program began in 2005, more than 4.6 million students and 89,000 teachers from 22,000 schools across the U.S. have participated in Poetry Out Loud.
Poetry Out Loud provides resources and materials to assist teachers in implementing the program in their schools. Awards are available at the state and national levels.
While teachers, students, and poetry lovers everywhere can use the Poetry Out Loud website and its accompanying educational materials to organize their own recitation contests, the official contest is limited to the programs run by each state's Arts Agency. Teachers can review the How to Participate page to learn more about the program.
