Poetry out Loud Blog

A Judge’s Experience

Justine Chiappetta — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:52:23 +0000

In the second installment of their coverage of Poetry Out Loud, Poetry Daily interviews Elizabeth Seydel Morgan: educator, poet, and 2010 judge for St. Christopher’s school POL competition.

Any high school student who goes through this competition, at any level, will know how to read a poem for meaning and construction. Much more so than just by “studying” poetry. As for what he or she will take away from the experience aside from enjoying the art of poetry, I would think self-confidence is number one.

Read the rest of this article here. And another shout out to all the states conducting their competitions this week…good luck to all!!!

“The entire experience is full of miracles”

Justine Chiappetta — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:49:55 +0000

Poetry Daily is tracking POL events up to the National Finals in Washington, DC this April. This week they have a special feature: an interview with poet and teacher Ron Smith about his years of experience with the program and students “living the poem.” Here is a quote from the article:

I tell you, the entire experience is full of miracles…I just love to watch people doing something well, to watch a person embodying art—really, becoming more fully, more memorably human.

Read this in-depth article in its entirety here. And don’t forget to support POL in your community and state competitions!

Last Group of State Finals-Mid March

Justine Chiappetta — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:56:41 +0000

The 2010 Poetry Out Loud season is in full swing–congratulations to those states who have already chosen their winners, and good luck to those with competitions coming up this week and weekend! We have heard nothing but good things about the state contests thus far and are extremely grateful to all those State Arts Agencies and volunteers who help pull off such amazing events. Below is the last batch of state competitions, which will take place in two weeks. Remember, if your state hasn’t had their finals yet, go support your community and hear fantastic recitations!

California- March 15
Connecticut- March 16
Illinois- March 18
Kentucky- March 16
Montana- March 20
New Hampshire- March 20
New Jersey- March 18
Pennsylvania- March 15
South Carolina- March 20
South Dakota- march 15
Tennessee- March 20
Washington- March 20

POL Everywhere

Justine Chiappetta — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:57:22 +0000

It’s great to see Poetry Out Loud getting coverage in many local newspapers, websites and blogs! Search Google News for Poetry Out Loud or your community websites to see if your competitions have made the news. Also, check out www.schooltube.com to see some school competitions and student-produced POL videos.

POL state competitions are underway with New Mexico on Sunday and Alaska today, and more during the rest of the week and weekend. In two weeks we will have the busiest week/weekend for POL state finals; check the list below to see if your state is one of the many in that batch. Good luck everyone!

Colorado- March 9
District of Columbia- March 8
Florida- March 13
Georgia- March 14
Kansas- March 12
Massachusetts- March 14
Mississippi- March 11
Nebraska- March 13
Nevada- March 13
North Dakota- March 9
Ohio- March 13
Oregon- March 12-13
Puerto Rico- March 13
Utah- March 11
Virginia- March 11
Wisconsin- March 13

POL State Finals-2nd Wave

Justine Chiappetta — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:24:04 +0000

Good luck to all of our states who will be holding their finals Feb 21st-Feb 28th!

As the first batch of states are days away from holding their championships, here is the 2nd batch of states whose finals are coming up 2 weeks from now (plenty of time to clear the date on your calendar!) Remember, most, if not all, competitions are open to the public; contact your state arts agency for locations and times. Also, please share your thoughts and experiences from your school, regional, or state contests on this blog or Facebook or Twitter…we love to hear from you!

Arizona- March 5
Arkansas- March 6
Iowa- March 6
Louisiana- March 6
Maine- March 5
Michigan- March 6
Minnesota- March 8
Missouri- March 3
New York- March 6
North Carolina- March 6
Oklahoma- March 6
Vermont- March 6
Virgin Islands- March 7
West Virginia- March 6
Wyoming- March 1-2

POL State Finals

Justine Chiappetta — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:51:21 +0000

It’s that time again–the state Poetry Out Loud finals will be starting soon. Ten states are gearing up to start their competitions in 2 weeks. Most, if not all, state competitions are open to the public–contact your state arts agency to make sure and to find out the exact location and time of your area’s event. See and hear some amazing recitations and support your community in POL! Here is a list of the first finals of 2010:

Alabama- Feb 26
Alaska- Feb 23
Delaware- Feb 24
Hawaii- Feb 28
Idaho- Feb 27
Indiana- Feb 27
Maryland- Feb 27
New Mexico- Feb 21
Rhode Island- Feb 27
Texas- Feb 27

The Romantics

Justine Chiappetta — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:41:21 +0000

Feeling a bit “romantic” with Valentine’s Day nearing? This week the UK newspapers, The Guardian and The Observer, are highlighting one Romantic poet a day. On The Guardian’s website, you can read an introduction to each poet, listen to audio of some of their seminal works and download podcasts of discussions. Here is a snippet from the intro to Coleridge by Richard Holmes:

So it’s easy to forget how strange, how captivating, how haunted Coleridge’s actual poems are. Why is it, for example, that so many of them are set at night? Why do their outer landscapes always dissolve into inner dream worlds? Why are they so full of guilt? And yet why are they also so often suffused with beautiful, healing, glimmering moonlight?

So far this week they have covered Byron, Keats, Burns, Wordsworth and Coleridge, with Shelley and Blake to come in the next two days.

A call for poetry teaching to be broadened

Justine Chiappetta — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:35:53 +0000

Former UK Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion, calls for teaching a wider range of poetry in classrooms as well as putting the focus back on listening to and performing poems.

However, he added: “If we give our students only one kind of poetry to read, a kind they immediately recognise, it would be like taking someone to a palace, parking them at the door and telling them to go no further.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Poetry Out Loud on EducationNews.org

Justine Chiappetta — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:54:58 +0000

Writing in EducationNews.org, Robert Oliphant considers the growth possiblities of Poetry Out Loud. Here is a snippet:

Practically considered, what Poetry Out Loud offers its participants is an easy-to-copy access list of established ready-to-memorize targets to choose from, along with biographical information on each poet. To use a Chaucerian phrase, it’s as close to Goddes foyson (plenty) as any learner would want

Read the article here
http://www.educationnews.org/commentaries/21599.html

Keeping Poetry Alive

Justine Chiappetta — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:52:00 +0000

Check out these two recent articles in the Huffington Post about the state of poetry today and how Poetry Out Loud is helping to keep poetry alive.

Is poetry dead? In this article, Michael Koenigs describes ways he tries to make poetry relevant to high school students.

Launched in 2006 and following in the footsteps of the National Spelling Bee, Poetry Out Loud empowers students to learn and build confidence through academic competition…Such bold and well-funded initiatives restore my faith that the plug has not yet been pulled on poetry.

Are we afraid of poetry? Kim Rosen talks about the state of poetry in the US and the world and signs of a public poetry resurgence.

Finally, it seems, we are rising from the sick-bed of Metrophobia, and returning to poetry. Signs of health begin to accrue. Hundreds of thousands of teens throughout the U. S. choose to learn classical and modern poems by heart and practice together for Poetry Out Loud, a national recitation competition.