Classroom, school, and county competitions will begin in fall 2018 and continue through February 2019. Check your local arts organizations for county POL dates and times.

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Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Poetry Foundation, and the California Arts Council, Poetry Out Loud inspires high school students to discover and appreciate poetry through a combination of memorization, performance, and competition.

This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and improve English fluency and comprehension. The Poetry Out Loud program begins with classroom and school-wide competitions, with winners advancing to county, state, and national levels.

The Poetry Out Loud competition is open to all high school students (public, private, parochial, independent, continuation, court, charter and home schools). Students enter the POL competition through their high schools. A school POL liaison may be a teacher, a librarian or school staff member. Contact us to learn more.