Poetry Out Loud

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 6, 2024 – Virtual POL Workshop: What’s The Difference? Poetry Recitation vs Performance Poetry
January 2024 – Classroom/School-wide Contests
February 2024 – Regional Competition Schedule

  Northern Region Central Region Southern Region
Semifinals  Event February 17, 2024 February 17, 2024 February 17, 2024
Event Location/Time Northern Arizona University, Liberal Arts, Room 120 (Building 18)/2pm Arizona State University, Memorial Union, Room 202 (Alumni Lounge)/11am University of Arizona Poetry Center, Rubel Room (Helen S. Schaefer Building)/1pm

March 2, 2024 – Arizona POL State Finals Competition in Flagstaff, AZ 

Invitation AZ POL State Finals Event 
Event Location/Time Northern Arizona University, International Pavilion, Building 50A/1pm-5pm
Live Stream Watch Online

April 30 - May 2, 2024 –  POL National Semifinals and Finals in Washington, DC 

Invitation POL 2024 National Semifinals
Event Date/Time May 1, 2024/Region 1: 9am-12pm; Region 2: 1pm-4pm; Region 3: 5pm-8pm
Event Location Lisner Auditorium, George Washington University
Livestream Watch Online
Invitation POL 2024 National Finals
Event Date/Time May 2, 2024/7pm-9:15pm
Event Location Lisner Auditorium, George Washington University 
Livestream 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.