2027 Poetry Out Loud Registration
Welcome to the 2027 Poetry Out Loud Registration Portal!
About Poetry Out Loud (POL)
Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program and dynamic poetry recitation competition for high school students. By bringing poetry off the page and into performance, the program builds on poetry’s rich tradition as an oral art form and brings the energy of recitation, spoken word, and theater into the classroom.
Through classroom study, memorization, and performance, students engage deeply with classic and contemporary poems while developing their own voices. Along the way, they strengthen their public-speaking skills, build self-confidence, explore literary history and contemporary life, and deepen their appreciation for poetry. Poetry Out Loud also creates meaningful opportunities for connection and community, helping students experience poetry as a vibrant, relevant, and living art form.
In Arizona, Poetry Out Loud begins in the classroom and complements existing poetry curricula with free educational resources, recitation activities, and support from experienced teaching artists. Students may advance from classroom and school competitions to regional and state events, with Arizona’s state champion representing the state at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals.
How Registration Works:
- Teachers register on behalf of their school or organization—one registration per site.
- Registered teachers receive free digital classroom materials (poetry anthology, teacher/organizer’s guide, lesson plans, and more) aligned to national standards, plus coaching opportunities from experienced coaches and access to the national POL website: www.poetryoutloud.org.
- Schools hold classroom and school competitions; champions advance to regional, then state, and finally national levels. (Students must compete at each level to advance.)
Special considerations for the 2027 season:
- Information about Arizona's POL program offerings, deadlines, and competition schedule is located at https://poetry.arizona.edu/poetry-out-loud.
- National Finals are planned to be held April 26-28, 2027 in Washington, DC. More information will be announced sooner to the competition.
- Arizona's amazing regional partners will offer coaching online or in-person for small groups, and individual students will work closely with teachers to help them navigate this new approach to the competition.
- A box of books, curated by the Poetry Center's POL Team, will be mailed by April 2027 to teachers/schools who actively participate in Arizona's Poetry Out Loud program.
Ready to register?
Please complete the form below to finalize your registration.
Questions? Contact Arizona's Poetry Out Loud State Coordinator, Gema Ornelas, at gornelas@email.arizona.edu.