Poetry Out Loud Registration
Poetry Out Loud Registration supports Kentucky high schools with teaching artist residencies and poetry recitation competitions to build students’ confidence, public speaking, and literary understanding.
Funder: Kentucky Arts Council
Due Dates: November 18, 2026 (Application) | October 3, 2026 (Registration) | January 29, 2027 (State finals registration) | March 10, 2027 (National finals registration)
Funding Amounts: Fully funded teaching artist residency and free curriculum materials; state and national competition prizes up to $20,000
Summary: Supports Kentucky high schools with teaching artist residencies and a poetry recitation competition that develops students’ confidence, public speaking, and literary understanding.
Key Information: Acceptance is first-come, first-served as program resources allow.
Description
Poetry Out Loud is a National Endowment for the Arts program offered in partnership with the Kentucky Arts Council and administered nationally by Mid Atlantic Arts. It combines classroom learning with a nationwide poetry recitation competition to improve high school students’ public speaking skills, build confidence, and deepen their understanding of literary history and contemporary life.
Participating Kentucky schools receive a fully funded interactive residency with a professional teaching artist, along with free lesson plans, multimedia curriculum materials, teacher guides, promotional content, and an online anthology of classic and contemporary poems. A coordinating teacher incorporates recitation into the curriculum and organizes a schoolwide contest. School champions progress to state competition, and the state champion advances to national finals.
