Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Poetry Foundation, and the California Arts Council, Poetry Out Loud inspires high school students to discover and appreciate poetry through a combination of memorization, performance, and competition.

Poetry Out Loud (POL), founded in 2006, is an extraordinary opportunity for all high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. Each year, 365,000 students across the nation, with over 50,000 students in California alone, participate in Poetry Out Loud. The Poetry Out Loud program begins with classroom and school-wide competitions, with winners advancing to county, state, and national levels. POL focuses on poetry as an oral art form, like slam poetry and rap music. Through poetry, students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and internalize our rich literary heritage.

The national Poetry Out Loud competition is open to all high school students (public, private, parochial, independent, continuation, court, charter and home schools). Students don’t enter the POL competition directly, but through their high schools. A school POL liaison may be a teacher, a librarian, or a school staff member. 

Kate Stover
Staff Development & Curriculum Specialist - Visual and Performing Arts