Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program and recitation contest 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 and dynamic recitation contest to all 50 states and the US territories.

The University of Arizona Poetry Center is thrilled to be the administrative home of Arizona's statewide Poetry Out Loud program. 

 

 

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Register for 2025 Poetry Out Loud 

Teachers and educators who would like to participate register themselves for the program - one registration per school/organization. Once registered, each participating teacher/school receives access to free multimedia curriculum materials – a poetry anthology, teacher's 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.

Click below to register for the 2025 POL season. Registration closes on October 31, 2024. 

Register now!

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2024-2025 Timeline and Important Dates 

August 20, 2024 – School Registration Opens
September 1, 2024 – Teacher's Guide and Poetry Out Loud Anthology available online
October 19, 2024 – Workshop: Engaging Students with Poetry Out Loud: Strategies for Success / Click here to sign-up!
October 31, 2024 – School Registration Closes
November 9, 2024 – Panel Discussion: Best Practices for a POL Schoolwide Competition / Click here to sign-up!
January 2025 – Classroom/Schoolwide Contests
February 2025 – Regional Competition Schedule

	Northern Region	Central Region	Southern Region
Semifinals  Event	February 8, 2025	February 15, 2025	February 15, 2025
Event Location/Time	Northern Arizona University, Liberal Arts (Building 18), Room 120 /3pm	Arizona State University, Walton Center for Planetary Health (WCPH), Auditorium 107/11am	University of Arizona Poetry Center, Rubel Room 102 (Helen S. Schaefer Building)/1pm

March 8, 2025 – Arizona POL State Finals Competition in Tempe, AZ.

Invitation	Arizona POL State Finals
Event Location/Time	Arizona State University, Memorial Union, Pima Auditorium 230/1pm
Live Stream	Click here to watch!

May 5 - 7, 2025 –  POL National Semifinals and Finals in Washington, DC 

Invitation	POL 2025 National Semifinals
Event Date/Time	May 6, 2025/Region 1: 9am-12pm ET; Region 2: 1pm-4pm ET; Region 3: 5pm-8pm ET (Arizona will compete in Semifinals Region 3.)
Event Location	Lisner Auditorium, George Washington University
Livestream	Click here to watch on May 6th!

Invitation	POL 2025 National Finals
Event Date/Time	May 7, 2025/7pm-9:15pm
Event Location	Lisner Auditorium, George Washington University
Livestream	Click here to watch on May 7th!

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Regional Partners

Arizona Poetry Out Loud Regional Partners are organizations with strong ties to their local literary and school communities, and are dedicated to creating opportunities for increased student and school involvement in the Poetry Out Loud program.

Central Region Partner

Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing 
Iliana Garcia 
Iliana.Garcia.1@asu.edu

K'Ehleyr McNulty
KEhleyr.McNulty@asu.edu

Northern Region Partner

Northern Arizona University
Andrea Lenhart
Andie.Lenhart@nau.edu

Southern Region Partner

University of Arizona Poetry Center
Taylor Johnson
tmj@arizona.edu

If you are unsure about your school’s region, or would like more information, please contact the University of Arizona Poetry Center at pceducation@email.arizona.edu. 

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Videos from 2025 Poetry Out Loud