Poetry Out Loud

POETRY OUT LOUD is a contest open to all Oregon high school students. It is a free program encouraging young performers to learn about great poems through memorization and competitive performance.

It is sponsored by the National  Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation in cooperation with the Oregon Arts Commission and other state arts agencies.  

Contest Details 

• Schools or organizations can organize a competition for high school age students.  
• Students choose poems from the official Poetry Out Loud anthology. Poems must be memorized. 
• At the state and national level, students  must prepare three poems for competition. At the semi-finals level, students only need to memorize one poem.  
• The top two students from the school/organization competitions advance to a virtual semi-final competition, then to state. One state champion goes on to compete at the national competition in Washington, DC. 
• Each winner at the state level receives $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip with an adult chaperone to Washington, DC to compete for the national championship. The school or organization of the state winner receives $500 for the purchase of poetry materials. The first runner-up in each state receives $100, with $200 for their school. 
• The prizes at the National level include:
  • National Champion: $20,000 award 
  • 2nd place: $10,000
  • 3rd place: $5,000 
  • 4th-9th places: $1,000 

Where can I learn more?  

www.poetryoutloud.org

Contact: 

Aimee Craig
Poetry Out Loud Coordinator
(425) 268-2225 
text accepted  aimee@seechangenw.org
www.poetryoutloud.org