What is Poetry Out Loud?

Drawing upon elements of spoken word, theater, and slam poetry, Poetry Out Loud cultivates an appreciation of poetry that goes beyond the page. Poetry Out Loud promotes the creativity of performing poetry, not just reading it.

Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program for high-school students and teachers that 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 state arts agencies to bring the Poetry Out Loud program to all 50 states and the US territories.

Teachers who would like to participate register themselves for the program. Once registered, each participating teacher/school receives free multimedia curriculum materials – a poetry anthology, teachers’ guide, poetry books and comprehensive website all aligned to national standards – augmenting their regular poetry curriculum with poetry recitation and a classroom-level competition. School-level recitation champions compete to advance to the regional, state and then national levels.

Be sure to visit our Poetry Out Loud page and download the Poetry Out Loud brochure for more information about the program and our partner organizations, as well as links to learning tools and the online poem anthology.

How to Register?

Registration for Poetry Out Loud 2023 is now open for high school teachers and educators that would like to sign up their classes up for the program. Click here to register before the October 31, 2022 deadline!