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    Programs and Events

    Poetry Out Loud

    Poetry Out Loud® lifts poetry off the page, creating community and connection. Since the program began in 2005, more than 4.5 million high school students have participated in this dynamic poetry recitation competition. Poetry Out Loud can help students improve public speaking skills, build confidence, and grow their appreciation for poetry.

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    Program Overview

    Through the Poetry Out Loud program, high school students across the country participate in a dynamic poetry recitation competition designed to improve their public speaking skills, build confidence, and teach them about literary history.

    A partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and participating state and jurisdictional arts agencies, Poetry Out Loud provides free lesson plans and other educational materials to teachers and organizers, including an online poem anthology. 

    In recognition of America’s 250th anniversary in 2026, the 2025-2026 Poetry Out Loud program focused on poems that celebrate the rich tapestry of American history and culture.

    Poetry Out Loud is administered in partnership with state arts agencies across the country. 

    PA State Finals

    Poetry Out Loud Pennsylvania state finals were held on March 3, 2026, at The Forum Auditorium, Harrisburg.

     

    Congratulations to Xariel Banton, from Lancaster Catholic High School, the 2026 Pennsylvania Poetry Out Loud Champion! (pictured above)

     

    Many congratulations to all 1,061 PA student participants from 42 schools, our 45 supporting educators, and the 14 state finalists. Thank you all for a great competition!

    Poetry Out Loud PA Champion Isavel Mendoza
    Poetry Out Loud participant
    Poetry Out Loud participants

    About Poetry Out Loud 2025-2026

    Note: This information was provided by the National Endowment for the Arts to Poetry Out Loud state coordinators.

    "As the nation prepares to commemorate its 250th anniversary, the federal government is emphasizing programming in 2026 that honors American history and culture. Accordingly, the poems selected for the 2025-2026 Poetry Out Loud competition highlight American poets as well as poems that embody the nation’s indomitable spirit, creativity, innovation and the nation’s rich cultural and historical heritage. All of the poems for 2025-2026 are in the public domain.

    This year’s anthology was released on October 10th, due to substantive programmatic and staffing changes. As additional information, below are a few things to note specific to the 2025-2026 program:

    • The Poetry Out Loud anthology prior to 2025-2026 was maintained by the Poetry Foundation, which was formerly responsible for poem rights. Poetry Foundation announced they would no longer play this role for the Poetry Out Loud program, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. Thus, the previous anthology is no longer available or applicable to the 2025-2026 school year. Only poems available on the Poetry Out Loud website are eligible for students’ competition use for the 2025-2026 school year.
    • In addition to the updated anthology now available online, please note that for the 2025-2026 program, students can choose any three poems from the anthology. Students do not need to select a poem that is 25 lines or fewer or a pre-20th century poem.
    • We anticipate having a printable PDF copy of the updated anthology available to download from the website in the coming days.
    • Over the fall, the website will be updated with filters to search by different poem themes, such as nature. We are also looking into the possibility of adding a keyword search."

    Questions?

    Contact the PA POL State Coordinator: jford@caiu.org

     

    Poetry Out Loud participants