Poetry Out Loud Invites High School Students to Experience Poetry

Poetry Out Loud is a contest open to all Oregon high school students. It is a free and flexible program that encourages students to dive into American poetry through memorization and competitive performance. Poetry Out Loud is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation in partnership with the Oregon Arts Commission.

For the past 14 years, high school students all over Oregon have participated in Poetry Out Loud. Last year alone, 110 teachers in Oregon helped over 4700 students experience poetry. Students gained self-confidence, public speaking skills and increased connection to their own creative expression. Poetry Out Loud is a fun and unique way to introduce students to poetry, offers an opportunity for all students to succeed regardless of personality or learning style, and is easy to implement.

Over the lifetime of this program, Oregon has maintained a commitment to providing travel support to students traveling more than 100 miles to participate in a regional or statewide event. We hope this commitment reduces geographic barriers for students in all parts of Oregon. If you have any questions about how Poetry Out Loud could work in your area, don’t hesitate to reach out. This highly adaptable program can be structured in a variety of ways.

To participate, the school registration form needs to be submitted before January 10, 2020. Detailed information about the program is available at www.poetryoutloud.org, including resources for teaching (such as lesson plans and standards alignment).