Poetry Out Loud

2013 Semi-Finals Results

Congratulations to Mark Niadas (St. Augustine Catholic HS), Jessica Gonzalez (Nogales HS) and Cassandra Valadez (Sunnyside HS), winners of the 2013 Southern Arizona Poetry Out Loud Semi-Finals Competition! Mark, Jessica, and Cassandra will go on to compete at the State Finals in Phoenix on March 20^th. Good luck, Mark, Jessica, and Cassandra! We're so proud of you and all the performers that brought the house down on March 2^nd with their amazing renditions classic poems! Students in the Tucson area have taken the state title four times in the last five years.  The University of Arizona Poetry Center serves as a regional partner to the Arizona Commission on the Arts in administering this national program and helps to send poets into high schools across the Southern Arizona region to coach students in poetry recitation and prepare for competition. The 2013 Arizona Poetry Out Loud State Finals will take place Wednesday, March 20th from 7-9 pm, at Eight, Arizona PBS, 555 N. Central Ave, 6^th Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85004. The event is free and open to the public!

What is Poetry Out Loud?

Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest, a national program for high school teachers and students, seeks to foster the next generation of literary readers by capitalizing on the latest trends in poetry – recitation and performance. The National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation partner with the State Arts Agencies to bring the Poetry Out Loud program to all 50 states and the US territories.

2013 Southern Arizona Poetry Out Loud Regional Finals Competition

The Southern Arizona Poetry Out Loud Regional Finals Competition will take place on Saturday, March 2nd at 1:00 p.m. at the Poetry Center. First and second place winners from schools throughout Southern Arizona will compete to decide which three students advance to State Finals. Participating schools include: Cienega High School, Nogales High School, St. Augustine Catholic High School, St. Gregory College Preparatory School, Sonoran Science Academy, Sunnyside High School, Tucson Magnet High School, University High School, City High School, Desert View High School, Marana High School, Salpointe Catholic High School, Sky Islands High School, and Villa Oasis High School. The competition will be emceed by poet Matthew Conley, and will feature special guest poet, Logan Phillips. Arizona Poetry Out Loud (POL) is administered by the Arizona Commission on the Arts in collaboration with POL Regional Partners, of which the Poetry Center is one

State Prizes

Each winner at the state level receives $200 and an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., (with an adult chaperone) to compete at the National Finals. The state winner’s school receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. One runner-up in each state receives $100; his or her school receives $200 for the purchase of poetry books.

National Prizes

A total of $50,000 in scholarship awards and school stipends are awarded at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, with a $20,000 college scholarship award for the National Champion.

Online registration will open August 6th.  The deadline for teachers to register their schools is November 2nd.

Thinking of adding Poetry Out Loud to your curriculum?  Click here to see the additional resources and support the Poetry Center offers.  

Program Structure and Curriculum

Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure that begins at the classroom level.  Winners advance to a school-wide competition, then to a regional and state competition, and ultimately to the National Finals.

The curriculum for Poetry Out Loud is designed to fit into a teacher’s busy schedule.  The program takes place over the span of two to three weeks, according to each teacher’s interest and agenda, and does not require full class periods during that time.  Poetry Out Loud satisfies most of the National Council of Teachers of English Language Arts Standards.  In addition to memorizing and performing great poems, students have the opportunity to discuss poetry and – if the teacher wishes to use the supplemental lesson plans – to write poetry of their own.

Each participating teacher/school site will receive a toolkit, which includes a program guide to help teach recitation and performance, an audio guide with selected poems recited by distinguished actors and writers, and print anthologies for students to select their poems—free of charge.