Liam McLaughlin, who placed first in the 2026 Arizona Poetry Out Loud State Finals, will compete in the Poetry Out Loud National Semi-Finals in Washington, DC on Wednesday, April 28! This will be Liam's second time representing Arizona at the national competition for Poetry Out Loud.

Liam returns to nationals as a senior from Gary K. Herberger Young Scholars Academy. At the state competition, Liam offered fantastic recitations of  "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, "Christmas Bells" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and "A Nation's Strength" by William Ralph Emerson. 

You can watch Liam, and the rest of the 2026 Arizona POL State Finals competition here.

The National Semifinals competition will be held on Wednesday, April 28 at 5:00pm ET (2:00pm MST) at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC. You can tune in and support Liam via the one-time livestream at: Arts.gov/Poetry-Out-Loud.

If Liam advances from the semi-finals round, he will also compete in the National Finals on Thursday, April 29! That event will be held at 7:00pm ET (4:00pm MST) and will also be live streamed at the same link.

Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation competition for high school students that begins in the classroom and culminates in the National Finals in Washington, DC. Drawing upon elements of spoken word, theater, and slam poetry, Poetry Out Loud cultivates an appreciation of poetry that goes beyond the page. You can learn more about POL in Arizona here.