Who participates in Poetry Out Loud?
Thousands of high school students in grades nine through twelve from across the nation participated in Poetry Out Loud this past year. The competition begins at the classroom level, with winners advancing to a school-wide competition, then to State Finals at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck, ND on March 9, 2010. One student from each state competes at the National Finals in Washington DC in April 25-27, 2010, where $50,000 dollars in scholarships and school prizes will be awarded. What resources are available to help you with Poetry Out Loud? The NEA and the Poetry Foundation provide free curriculum materials for use by participating schools. These materials include print and online anthologies containing more than 400 classic and contemporary poems; a website (www.poetryoutloud.org); a teacher’s guide to help instructors teach recitation and performance; and a CD featuring well-known actors and writers such as Anthony Hopkins, James Earl Jones, Alysso Milano, David Schwimm
