Poetry Out Loud

2023 Maryland State Champion and 3rd Place National Winner Madison Harris reciting a poem at the 2023 National Poetry Out Loud Competition in Washington, Photo by James Kegley. Poetry Out Loud What is Poetry Out Loud? Poetry Out Loud (POL) is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry through recitation competitions for high school students across the country. POL is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts and managed in partnership with Mid Atlantic Arts. The program is administered by participating state and jurisdictional arts agencies. POL can help students improve public speaking skills, build confidence, and grow their appreciation for poetry.  The program provides free educational materials for teachers and organizers. The program starts with competitions held at the local level in a classroom or school, or with a community organization. Winners then advance to a regional and state competition, and ultimately to the national finals. Awards and placements are determined by the evaluation criteria used by judges to score student recitations. Students that are not able to participate in a local level competition may register to participate directly in a regional competition. More than 4.5 million high school students have participated in this program since its inception in 2005. In Maryland, approximately 131,000 students have participated in the program and learned the power of poetry firsthand. Please visit the POL website to learn more about the national program. 2026 - 2027 Overview Program Information MSAC collaborates with Maryland Humanities to produce Maryland's Poetry Out Loud program. Who: Poetry Out Loud is open to all high school students. When: Schools and organizations need to host their local competition by Monday, January 11, 2027. Dates and locations for regional and state competitions will be announced by December 2026. Regional and state competitions take place between the end of January and early March. How: Students select three poems from the POL Poetry Anthology to recite during their assigned competition. The 2026-27 Poetry Anthology will be released on Tuesday, September 1. Awards: There will be monetary prizes for the students who place 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the regional and state competitions. At the national finals, a total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends is awarded annually. Questions : If you have questions, please contact Lizzie Morales, Arts in Education Program Director, at [email protected] and Aditya Desai, Program Officer for Literature at Maryland Humanities, at [email protected] . Competition Levels Regional The top students from each local (school or community) competition will be invited to participate in a regional competition. Independent students or homeschooled students may register to participate directly in the regional competitions. Students participating in the competitions will recite poetry for a panel of judges. State The top three or four students from each regional competition will be invited to participate in the state competition where they will recite poetry for a panel of judges. All events are free and open to the public. Registration The "Intent to Participate" registration form will open on Tuesday, September 1 for independent students. Registration Types: Host School: High school educators that intend to host a schoolwide competition are invited to register their school. Host Organization: Staff from organizations that intend to host a community-level competition for eligible students in their community are invited to register their organization. Independent Students: Students or guardians of students that do not have access to a local school or community competition are invited to register and compete directly in one of the regional competitions.

Host Organization: Staff from organizations that intend to host a community-level competition for eligible students in their community are invited to register their organization. Independent Students: Students or guardians of students that do not have access to a local school or community competition are invited to register and compete directly in one of the regional competitions.