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 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.
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 | TBD |
| Event Location/Time | Arizona State University, Memorial Union, Pima Auditorium 230/1pm |
| Live Stream | TBD |
May 5 - 7, 2025 – POL National Semifinals and Finals in Washington, DC
| Invitation | POL 2025 National Semifinals, TBD |
| Event Date/Time | TBD |
| Event Location | TBD |
| Livestream | TBD |
| Invitation | POL 2025 National Finals, TBD |
| Event Date/Time | TBD |
| Event Location | TBD |
| Livestream | TBD |
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.
Videos from 2024 Poetry Out Loud
Enjoy the 2024 highlight reel here:
Watch the Full 2024 Arizona State Finals here:
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, Poetry Out Loud flyer, and AZ POL Offerings handout 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.
