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 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 2023 Poetry Out Loud
Teachers who would like to participate register themselves for the program. Once registered, each participating teacher/school receives access to 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.
Click here to register for the 2023 POL season. Registration closes October 31, 2022.
2022-2023 Timeline and Important Dates
August 29, 2022– School Registration Opens
September 1, 2022 – Teacher's Guide and Poetry Out Loud Anthology available online
September 17, 2022 – Virtual POL Information Session 1
October 13, 2022 – Virtual POL Information Session 2
October 22, 2022 – AZ POL Information Panel
October 31, 2022 – School Registration Closes
January 2023 – Classroom/School-wide Contests
January 21, 2023 – Poetry Out Loud: All-State Student Fellowship
February 2023 – Regional Competition Schedule
| Northern Region | Central Region | Southern Region | |
| Semifinals Event | February 18, 2023 | February 18, 2023 | February 11, 2023 |
| Event Location/Time | Northern Arizona University, Native American Cultural Center/2pm-4pm | Arizona State University, Memorial Union 202 (Alumni Lounge)/10am-1pm | The University of Arizona Poetry Center, Rubel Room/1pm-4pm |
March 11, 2023 – Arizona POL State Finals Competition in Tucson, AZ
| Invitation | Arizona POL State Finals Event |
| Event Location/Time | The University of Arizona Poetry Center, Rubel Room/1pm-5pm |
| Live Stream | Watch Online |
May 9-10, 2023 – POL National Semifinals and Finals in Washington, DC
| Invitation | POL 2023 National Semifinals |
| Event Location/Date/Time |
Lisner Auditorium, George Washington University/May 9, 2023/ Semifinal One, 9am ET | Semifinal Two, 1pm ET | Semifinals Three, 5pm ET |
| Live Stream | Watch Online |
| Invitation | POL 2023 National Finals |
| Event Location/Date/Time |
Lisner Auditorium, George Washington University/May 10, 2023/7pm ET |
| 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.
Journals, Books and Websites (61 KB PDF) – Explore more poetry through these web-based poetry resources, print and electronic journals, books and more.
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.
