Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest is an exciting program taking place in high schools nationwide.  The 2010-2011 school year will mark Poetry Out Loud's fifth year as a national competition. Its growth is due to the resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as demonstrated by the slam poetry movement. Poetry Out Loud is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. It was successfully piloted in Chicago and Washington DC in 2005, and expanded to include the capital region of every state in 2006. The program encourages the nation's high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance, helping them to internalize and perpetuate our rich literary heritage while mastering public speaking skills and building self-confidence.

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities will coordinate the state competition for the District of Columbia. It is the DC Arts Commission's hope that every high school in the District will participate. The contest structure is similar to a spelling bee, with classroom, school-wide and state level competitions. Each school can only have one student participant in the state finals.

If you are interested in participating in Poetry Out Loud during the 2010-2011 school year, or would like to learn more about the program, please email Ebony Blanks or call (202) 724-5613. 

For tips on how to organize the contest and project at your school, please visit the National Endowment for the Arts website or poetryoutloud.org.