Poetry Out Loud to Award More Than $100,000 In Prizes

The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation have partnered with the Illinois Arts Council Agency and Quad City Arts to support Poetry Out Loud 2021-22 a FREE high school program which encourages the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through analysis, memorization, and recitation. This dynamic program helps high school students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, learn of their literary heritage, and compete for more than $100,000 in awards.
 
WINNERS AT THE STATE LEVEL WILL RECEIVE: A $200 cash prize and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., A $500 cash stipend for her\his school to purchase poetry materials, an opportunity to compete at the 2020 National Finals for the title of National Champion and a $20,000 prize.  
 
The competitions will begin at the school or classroom level to identify student winners to represent their school at the regional and state contests. The Regional Contest will be held via Zoom in February, date TBA and will be determined with help from the schools. State Finals will be held in March. The state winner will represent Illinois at the National Finals in Washington, D.C., in late April.

Interested in getting your student(s) involved or learning more about Poetry Out Loud? Fill out our online form and Regional Coordinator, Tracy White will contact you! All resources and materials are provided!  ​
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Photo of top nine finalists © James Kegley

More about Poetry Out Loud
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. Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the state and jurisdictional arts agencies.
 
Since 2005, Poetry Out Loud has grown to reach more than 4.1 million students and 68,000 teachers from 17,000 schools and organizations in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.
 
Poetry Out Loud provides free curriculum materials—all available online—including a  poetry anthology, a comprehensive teacher’s guide, videos of student performances, lesson plans, and promotional and media resources. Hard copies of materials are available for teachers participating in the official program but anyone can access the online materials.

View the Poetry Out Loud 2021 National Champion in the video below, and start writing! 
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