Poetry Out Loud

Get Ready! This year's Poetry Out Loud competition will be held towards the end of January. The holiday break is a great time to practice. Here are the rules:

Student Eligibility

• Grade Level: Only currently enrolled  students in grades 9-12 are eligible, with an exception made for 8th-grade students participating in a 9th- through 12th-grade class.

• Citizenship: Competitors at the state and national finals must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents with a valid tax identification or Social Security number. Tax identification or Social Security numbers are required to receive prizes, including cash payments or travel awards. Students are responsible for verifying their eligibility.

• State Finals: A student may not advance to the state finals without competing in a lower-level competition. 

Poem Eligibility

• Poem Anthology: All poems must be selected from the Poetry Out Loud print or online anthology, which is updated every summer. Check the website after September 1, 2013, to view the official POL anthology for the current school year.

• Can’t Find a Poem? Poems may be removed from the online anthology before September 1, 2013. These poems are no longer eligible for competition, unless they are in the print anthology.

• Poem Criteria: At the state and national finals, students must have 3 poems prepared. One must be 25 lines or fewer, and one must be written before the 20th century. The same poem may be used to meet both criteria, and may be the student’s third poem.  More information...

Here is the video of last year's winner: