Register for TN Poetry Out Loud 2018

By Meredith Callis, Arts Education Special Projects Coordinator –

Tennessee’s registration for this year’s Poetry Out Loud event is officially OPEN. Poetry Out Loud offers ALL high school students the opportunity to participate in a national event while teaching them meaningful engagement with poetry and public speaking skills.

With a structure similar to the National Spelling Bee, Poetry Out Loud is focused on memorization and recitation of classic and contemporary works of poetry – with over 900 poems to choose from! Teaching resources are completely FREE and aligned with Common Core and NCTE ELA Standards. The program can easily stand alone or be folded into a current curriculum. Teachers of ALL subjects are encouraged to participate.

The competition begins at the classroom level to see who will go on to compete in a school-wide competition. Each school champion will then go on to the State Finals on March 9-10, 2018 where the winner will receive $1,000, as well as a trip with the winning teacher to represent Tennessee in Washington D.C. at the National Poetry Out Loud Finals! The winning student of the National Finals will receive $20,000 – an honor received by a Tennessee student in 2014.

Poetry Out Loud is a fun, dynamic way for students to engage with poetry – many of them for the first time – and to understand their relationship with it. It is the perfect platform for ALL students to participate in a school activity, and learn useful public speaking and presentation skills.

Do you know a school or educator that would make a perfect candidate for Poetry Out Loud? Refer them to Tennessee Poetry Out Loud where they can register.