Grants & Programs

Poetry Out Loud: Program Materials & Schedule

Poetry Out Loud: Program Materials & Schedule

Poetry Out Loud curriculum materials include:

2020 Illinois Poetry Out Loud Regional Contest Schedule

Region #1 – Southern Illinois
Contest Date: TBD
Contest Start Time: TBD
Contest Location: TBD
For more information contact: Lisa Janssen, director@carbondalearts.org

Region #2 Southwestern, South Central Illinois
Contact Date: Wednesday, February 13, 2020
Contest Start Time: 4:00 PM
Contest Location: Schmidt Art Center, SWIC Belleville Campus, 2500
Carlyle Ave, Belleville, IL 62221
For more information contact: Amy Brockman, Amy.Brockman@swic.edu

Region #3 Central Illinois
Contest Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Contest Start Time: 4:00 PM
Contest Location: Theatre Three, Hoogland Center for the Arts, 420 S.
Sixth Street, Springfield, IL 62701
For more information contact: Sheila Walk, programs@springfieldartsco.org

Region #4 Eastern Illinois
Contest Date: TBD
Contest Start Time: TBD
Contest Location: TBD
For more information contact: Kelly White, kwhite@40north.org

Region #5 Western Illinois
Contest Date: Saturday, February 15, 2020 (TENTATIVE)
Contest Start Time: 3:00 PM (TENTATIVE)
Contest Location: Annawan High School, 501 W. South Street, Annawan,
IL 61234
For more information contact: Tracy Alan White,
tracyalanwhite@gmail.com

Region #6 Northern Illinois
Contest Date: Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Contest Start Time: 6:30 PM
Contest Location: Nordlof Center, 118 N. Main Street, Rockford, IL 61101
For more information contact: Kate Kilgore,
k.kilgore@artsforeveryone.com

Region #7 Chicagoland – Schools in Chicago only
Contact Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Contest Start Time: 10:00 AM
Contest Location: The Poetry Foundation, 61 W. Superior Street, Chicago,
IL 60654
For more information contact: Timothy David Rey,
timothyr2002@yahoo.com

Region #7 Chicagoland – Suburban schools (outside of Chicago) only
Contact Date: Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Contest Start Time: 10:00 AM
Contest Location: The Poetry Foundation, 61 W. Superior Street, Chicago,
IL 60654
For more information contact: Timothy David Rey, timothyr2002@yahoo.com

TYPICAL YEARLY POETRY OUT LOUD SCHEDULE

Typically all Illinois regional Poetry Out Loud contests are held throughout the month of February. The Illinois state contest is held in early March.

The national contest is held in Washington, D.C., normally in April, and the Illinois state contest winner must register to participate in the national POL contest by mid-March. These dates may shift depending on the scheduled date for the national contest.

Teachers and students should plan on spending approximately three weeks on the POL curriculum materials and preparing for their school’s contest. The schedule for the eight regional contests to be held in Illinois will be posted on this website in early January, providing a window for scheduling the school contest.

Students must participate in a school-level contest prior to competing in a regional contest. All regional contests require that schools register with the regional POL coordinator, the name of their school’s contest winner and the poems to be recited.

Consider the timing of the regional contest for your school when planning the introduction of the POL curriculum and scheduling a school contest.

The POL Teacher’s Guide and list of approved poems is posted on the official Poetry Out Loud website, www.poetryoutloud.org. Teacher’s Guides are updated annually. Reviewing the Teacher’s Guide from a previous year should provide a good understanding of how to plan using Poetry Out Loud in the classroom and how to organize a classroom and/or school contest. Hard copies of the up-to-date Teacher’s Guide are sent to the regional POL coordinators sometime in the fall, an exact date is not known at this time. Contact your regional coordinator to request a hard copy POL Teacher’s Guide.