Read, Recite, Share Your Voice
Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life.
Get involved today! Contact your state arts agency.
Featured Poet
Given the facts of his life, it’s remarkable that Etheridge Knight wrote any poetry. After dropping out of school in Kentucky in the eighth grade and serving as a medical technician in Korea, where he suffered a shrapnel wound, he became addicted to drugs and alcohol, turned to crime, and in 1960 went to prison for robbery. Inspired there by the words of Malcolm X and Langston Hughes, however, he began to write, and by his release in 1968 was a published poet. Along with his wife Sonia Sanchez he became a key figure in the Black Arts Movement, and continued to create original verse that told blunt truths and shared a hard-earned wisdom.
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For Students
What’s It Like To Compete?
Nervous about reciting? Unsure of where to start? Don’t be—everything you need to help you perform a successful recitation is right here.
““I love the fact that students are not just reading a poem or reading words, but they are actually sharing a part of their identity, sharing what’s important to them. The poems that I chose share a different facet of what I believe in, who I am.”
Sreepadaarchana Munjuluri, 2023 National Champion
For Teachers and Organizers
The Power of Poetry
Every year thousands of teachers integrate Poetry Out Loud into their curricula. This section has everything you need to run a successful program in your classroom.