Poetry Out Loud® lifts poetry off the page, creating community and connection. Through this program, high school students across the country participate in a dynamic poetry recitation competition that is designed to improve their public speaking skills, help build confidence, and teach them about literary history and contemporary life. A partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and state and jurisdictional arts agencies, Poetry Out Loud® provides free lesson plans and other educational materials to teachers and organizers, including an online anthology of 1,200 classic and contemporary poems.

The program starts at the local level with a school or participating organization. Winners then may advance to a regional and/or state competition, and ultimately to the national finals. Awards and placements are determined solely by judges’ scores based on the Poetry Out Loud Evaluation Criteria. Poetry Out Loud takes place in all 50 states, American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since the program began in 2005, more than 4.4 million students and 81,000 teachers from 20,000 schools across the U.S. have participated in Poetry Out Loud.

 

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2026 Poetry Out Loud State Competition

Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 6:00pm

Smyrna Opera House

 

 

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