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.
Register for 2024 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 here to register for the 2024 POL season. Registration closes October 31, 2023.
2023-2024 Timeline and Important Dates
August 28, 2023– School Registration Opens
September 1, 2023 – Teacher's Guide and Poetry Out Loud Anthology available online
September 16, 2023 – Virtual POL Information Session 1
October 5, 2023 – Virtual POL Information Session 2
October 19, 2023 – AZ POL Information Panel
October 31, 2023 – School Registration Closes
January 2024 – Classroom/School-wide Contests
February 2024 – Regional Competition Schedule
| Northern Region | Central Region | Southern Region | |
| Semifinals Event | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Event Location/Time | Northern Arizona University/TBD | Arizona State University/TBD | The University of Arizona Poetry Center/TBD |
March 2024 – Arizona POL State Finals Competition in Flagstaff, AZ
| Invitation | Arizona POL State Finals Event |
| Event Location/Time | Northern Arizona University/TBD |
| Live Stream | Watch Online |
April 30 - May 2, 2024 – POL National Semifinals and Finals in Washington, DC
| Invitation | POL 2024 National Semifinals |
| Event Location/Date/Time |
TBD |
| Live Stream | Watch Online |
| Invitation | POL 2024 National Finals |
| Event Location/Date/Time |
TBD |
| Live Stream | Watch Online |
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
Sophie Daws
sdaws@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.
Videos from 2023 Poetry Out Loud
Watch the 2023 Recap here:
Enjoy the 2023 highlight reel here:
Watch the Full 2023 Arizona State Finals here:
Videos from 2022 Poetry Out Loud
Watch the 2022 Arizona State Finals here:
Enjoy a highlight reel of the 2022 State Finals here:
Resources for Teachers and Students
The Poetry Out Loud website offers extensive learning tools, including eligible poetry for the competition, classroom ideas, teacher resources, and specific information about evaluation criteria. It also contains highly-useful performance and audio guides, a great way to learn about dramatic appropriateness and articulation.
The Poetry Out Loud You Tube page now contains new lesson plans for POL teachers and organizers.
Join Poetry Out Loud on Facebook.
Download the Poetry Out Loud brochure, AZ POL Offerings handout, and POL Info Sessions and Panel flyer here to learn more about the program.
Special thanks to our generous sponsors: Poetry Out Loud, National Endowment for the Arts, Arizona Commission on the Arts, and Poetry Foundation.
