POETRY OUT LOUD COMPETITION

Young Artists | Poetry Out Loud | Congressional Arts Competition

Age does not determine artistic ability, and the Arts Council of Calvert County is on a mission to prove it.

The Arts Council of Calvert County hosted the first county level competition for the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest in January of 2009. The competition, presented in partnership with the Maryland State Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. Students from Calvert and Northern High Schools participated in the Poetry Out Loud county level contest. The winner of this competition will advance to the State Poetry Out Loud contest. The Maryland State champion will advance to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals on April 28-29 in Washington, DC, where $50,000 dollars in scholarships and school prizes will be awarded.

Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country. Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure. Beginning at the classroom level, winners advance to a school-wide competition, then to County and State level competitions, and ultimately to the National Finals in Washington, DC. More than 150,000 students across the country are expected to take part in Poetry Out Loud this year.

Students recite works selected from an anthology of more than 500 classic and contemporary poems. Judges evaluate student performances on criteria including articulation, evidence of understanding, level of difficulty, and accuracy. The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation created a standards-based teacher’s guide, a website, and a CD featuring poetry recitations by well-known actors and writers such as Anthony Hopkins, Alyssa Milano, and Rita Dove.

To learn more about the Poetry Out Loud contest visit www.poetryoutloud.org. 

Competitors of 2010 Poetry Out Loud Competition

2009 Poetry Out Loud Finalists featured below