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Poetry Out Loud

Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest

Memorise and perform published poems, from a classroom contest all the way to a national final in Washington.

Run by National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation

Official website How to prepare Reviews and tips

Key facts

Eligible grades
Only currently enrolled students in grades 9 to 12 are eligible, with an exception for 8th-grade students taking a 9th- to 12th-grade class.
A Poetry Out Loud National Champion may not compete in future years. No student may be excluded on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex, disability or national origin.
Source, checked 2026-09-02
Eligible ages
Not confirmed. This organiser may set eligibility by grade rather than age. We do not convert one into the other.
Poetry Out Loud sets eligibility by grade, not age.
Individual or team
Individual
Where it runs
In person · United States, US territories
Entry cost
FreeThe National Endowment for the Arts provides free educational materials and the online poem anthology to teachers and organisers.
Registration deadline
For 2027: the State Contest Deadline is Sunday 7 March 2027 and the State Champion and Chaperone Registration Deadline is Wednesday 10 March 2027. 179 days leftSchool and regional deadlines are set by each state coordinator and fall much earlier, typically from December through February. Contact your state coordinator.
Competition dates
State competitions take place by early March. The 2027 National Semifinals run in three time-blocked sessions by state group, at 9:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET. For reference, the 2026 National Finals were 28 to 29 April 2026 in Washington, D.C.
Difficulty
Some preparation neededYou will want a few weeks of targeted practice. Most motivated students place respectably.
Prizes
A total of $50,000 in awards and school or organisational stipends at the National Finals. The national champion receives $20,000, second place $10,000, third place $5,000, and the other six finalists $1,000 each. The school or organisation of each of the top nine finalists receives $500 for poetry materials. One honorable mention in each of the three national semifinals receives $1,000 plus a $500 stipend for their school.The national champion has historically received $20,000, with substantial awards for runners-up and for state champions, plus funds for their schools to buy poetry materials. Confirm current amounts on the official site.

What Poetry Out Loud is

Poetry Out Loud is a national recitation contest. You choose poems from a large official anthology, memorise them, and perform them, competing from a classroom contest through school, regional and state finals to a national championship. There is no writing involved and no entry fee, and because the anthology is fixed and public, preparation is unusually well-defined.

How the competition works

Recitation of published poems chosen from the official Poetry Out Loud online anthology. Only poems in the catalogue as of 1 September 2026 may be recited in the 2026-27 competition. At the state and national finals students must have three poems prepared. Awards are determined solely by judges' scores against the published Evaluation Criteria.

Eligibility notes

Participation runs through a school or approved organisation that registers with its state arts agency. Homeschool and some out-of-school participation is available in many states.

Is Poetry Out Loud right for you?

Experience needed
None. Many state champions had never performed publicly before entering.
Time commitment
Weeks of rehearsal per poem, spread over the winter.
What you actually do
You stand on a stage with no props, no costume and no music, and recite a poem from memory. Judges score interpretation and accuracy, not theatrical performance.

A good fit if

  • You like poetry but do not want to write it
  • You want a free competition with real cash prizes
  • You want to build public speaking confidence

Probably not for you if

  • Students who want to perform their own writing, who should look at writing prizes instead

Compare this against competitions matched to you

Common mistakes

  • Over-acting. Judges penalise performance that overwhelms the poem; the rubric rewards interpretation that serves the text.
  • Choosing a poem for its length rather than because you understand it. Evidence of understanding is a scored criterion.
  • Leaving the pre-twentieth-century poem until the state round. Prepare all required poems from the start.

How to register

  1. Ask an English teacher whether the school participates. Registration goes through the school to the state arts agency.
  2. Choose poems from the official online anthology, which is free and searchable by length, era and theme.
  3. Memorise and rehearse. At higher levels you need multiple poems including one pre-twentieth-century and one of 25 lines or fewer.
  4. Compete at the classroom contest, then school, then state.

Register on the official site

What skills you need

  • Memorisation
  • Vocal control and pacing
  • Interpretation of poetry
  • Stage presence
  • Handling nerves

How to prepare

The scoring rubric is published, and it is the whole preparation guide. Six criteria are scored, and accuracy is only one of them. Students who read the rubric and rehearse against it consistently outperform students who simply memorise well.

What to study

Poem selection
Choose from the official anthology something you genuinely understand and can sustain. A great poem you find opaque scores worse than a modest one you inhabit.
Interpretation
Judges score evidence of understanding. Know what every line means, including the ones you find difficult, because your delivery will show if you do not.
Physical presence and voice
Stillness, eye contact, pace, volume, articulation. Recorded rehearsal is the fastest way to improve all of these.
Accuracy
An accuracy judge follows the text. Dropped and substituted words cost points, so over-learn well past the point of comfort.
Dramatic appropriateness
The delivery should serve the poem. The most common failure is a performance more interesting than the text.

Full preparation guide, including a week-by-week plan

Recommended resources

Past problems and materials

Only materials the organiser or an authorised archive publishes openly are listed here.

Frequently asked questions

Do I write the poem?

No. Poetry Out Loud is a recitation contest and you perform published poems from the official anthology. If you want to compete with your own writing, look at the Scholastic Awards or the Foyle Young Poets award instead.

How many poems do I need?

The number rises as you advance. School level typically requires one or two; state and national levels require three, including one written before the twentieth century and one of 25 lines or fewer. Prepare all of them from the start.

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