Thursday, February 13, 6:30 PM
2025 Poetry Out Loud Regional Competition
University of Louisiana at Monroe
Biedenharn Recital Hall
Students from across the 12 parishes of Region 8 converge on the campus of ULM to compete for the title of Poetry Out Loud Regional Champion and the opportunity to represent our region at the state competition. Admission is free!
Poetry Out Loud is a FREE national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the state and jurisdictional arts agencies.
The 2023-2024 state participation data:
Number of Schools/Organizations – 32
Number of Teachers - 41
Number of Students - 565
Number of State Finalists – 14
Since 2005, Poetry Out Loud has grown to reach more than 4.2 million students and 72,000 teachers from 18,000 schools and organizations in every state, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The program starts at the classroom/school or at the local level with an area organization. Students memorize existing works from the master anthology. Winners then may advance to a regional and/or state competition, and ultimately to the national finals. Awards and placements are determined solely by the judges’ scores based on the Poetry Out Loud Evaluation Criteria. Non-school organizations, such as after school clubs, libraries, or non-profit organizations, may also choose to run Poetry Out Loud. This competition is open to ALL 9th - 12th grade students from Caldwell, East Carroll, Franklin, Jackson, Lincoln, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, Tensas, Union, and West Carroll. This includes students from public, private and parochial schools, as well as students who are homeschooled.