The Poetry Out Loud

Recitation A recitation in a general sense is the act of reciting from memory, or a formal reading of verse or other writing before an audience. Public recitation is the act of reciting a work of writing before an audience. Academic recitation In a ...

Contest was created in

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by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

under chairman

Dana Gioia Michael Dana Gioia (; born December 24, 1950) is an American poet, literary critic, literary translator, and essayist. Since the early 1980s, Gioia has been considered part of the literary movements within American poetry known as New Formalis ...

and

The Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Rut ...

. The contest seeks to promote the art of performing poetry, by awarding cash prizes to participating schools. It includes representatives from the fifty states, the

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Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, and the U.S Virgin Islands.

Competition

The contest features some 900 poems for students to choose from. Typically, the competition begins at the school level, where the students recite one or two poems. The first and sometimes second place winners of each school-level competition attend regional competitions. The finalist(s) from each region attend state-level competitions to perform three poems. Each state winner performs the same three poems in

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during the last week of April or the first week of May. Competitors are divided into three groups or regions. Each region holds a semi-final and sends three (formerly four) competitors to the final round. The final nine then recite two poems, and the top three recite a third poem. Judges (who are usually poetry/literary celebrities) select the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. The 1st place winner wins $20,000, the 2nd place winner wins $10,000, and the 3rd place winner wins $5,000. The 4th-9th place takes home $1,000. All 53 finalists win $200 from their state competition, along with a stipend for their high school to purchase poetry books.

Poem criteria

Contestants have specific criteria for the poems at the state and national levels. All poems must be selected from an online or paper anthology to be eligible for competition. One poem must be pre-20th century, and one must be 25 lines or fewer. One poem can account for both criteria, leaving the second and third poems unrestricted. These rules aim to expose students to poetry that they otherwise may not have been interested in and set a standard that all students are held accountable to, while also ensuring that the poetry is not obscene or overly long.

Winners

2006 - Jackson Hille of Columbus Alternative High School in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

became National Champion. Teal Van Dyck of

Bow High School Bow High School is a four-year public high school in Bow, New Hampshire, United States, and is part of the Bow School District. The principal is Brian O'Connell and the vice principal is Matt Fisk. As of the 2021-2022 school year, the school ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

won second place. Kellie Anae of

Mid-Pacific Institute Mid-Pacific Institute is a private, co-educational college preparatory school for grades preschool through twelve with an approximate enrollment of 1,538 students, the majority of whom are from Hawaii (although many also come from other states and ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

won third place. 2007 - The 2007 National Poetry Out Loud Champion was Amanda Fernandez, of the District of Columbia. Branden Emanual Wellington of Indiana placed second, and third place went to Alanna Rivera, of Virginia. 2008 - Representing the Virgin Islands, Shawntay Henry became the 2008 National Champion; the first time the Virgin Islands participated. Ms. Henry was a 10th-grade student at the time. Her competition-winning poems included "Fredrick Douglas", by Robert Hayden. 2009 - More than 300,000 students competed in the nationwide competition in 2009. First Place went to Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia student William Farley. Second place was awarded to Barbara Gooding of Kentucky. Kareem Sayegh, representing Illinois, was awarded third place. Fourth and fifth place went to Mido Aly of Ohio, and Wiyaka His Horse Is Thunder of South Dakota. 2010 - First Place went to the representative from Rhode Island, Amber Rose Johnson. Second place was awarded to Ruth Haile, of South Dakota. Nora Sandler, representing Maryland, was awarded third place. 2011 - Youssef Biaz of Auburn High School in

Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama, with a 2020 population of 76,143. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population o ...

captured the national title with his reading of

Elizabeth Bishop Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was an American people, American poet and short-story writer. She was Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1949 to 1950, the Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry in 1956, the N ...

's "Filling Station". The runner-up prize went to Victoria DiMartile of

Fort Mitchell, Kentucky Fort Mitchell is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,702 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. History Fort Mitchell was the site of one of seven Civil War fortifi ...

, while DeVonna Daisy Smith of

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...

placed third. 2012 - Kristen Dupard of Ridgeland, Mississippi was named the 2012 National Champion. Rounding out the top three were Claude Mumbere of

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

in second place and MarKaye Hassan of

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 census recorded the population was 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Cache County and Franklin ...

in third place. 2013 - Langston Ward of Spokane, Washington won first prize with his recitation of "The Gift" by

Li-Young Lee Li-Young Lee (李立揚, pinyin: Lǐ Lìyáng) (born August 19, 1957) is an American poet. He was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, to Chinese parents. His maternal great-grandfather was Yuan Shikai, China's first Republican President, who attempted ...

at the 2013 National Finals. In second place was Blessed Sheriff of Rockville, Maryland. The third prize went to Denise L. Burns of Lawton, Oklahoma. 2014 - Representing Tennessee, Anita Norman won first place for her performance of "Let the Light Enter" by

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (September 24, 1825 – February 22, 1911) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, suffragist, poet, Temperance movement, temperance activist, teacher, public speaker, and writer. Beginning in 1 ...

. Columbus, Ohio, and Lawrenceville, New Jersey were also honored by the second and third-place finishers, Lake Wilburn and Natasha Simone Vargas, respectively. 2015 - Reciting "

Ode on a Grecian Urn "Ode on a Grecian Urn" is a poem written by the English Romantic poet John Keats in May 1819, first published anonymously in ''Annals of the Fine Arts for 1819'' (see 1820 in poetry)''.'' The poem is one of the " Great Odes of 1819", which a ...

" by

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...

, Maeva Ordaz of Anchorage, Alaska claimed first place. Reciting the same poem, Paris Stroud of Dallas, Georgia took home the second prize. Casey Goggin from Southern Pines, North Carolina placed third. 2016 - Ahkei Togun of Virginia Beach, Virginia won first place with his recitation of "I'm a Fool to Love You" by Cornelius Eady. Marta Palombo from Atlanta, Georgia secured second place, while Nicholas Amador of Punahou, Hawaii took third. 2017 - Samara Huggins of Mableton, Georgia was awarded first place after her reading of "Novel" by

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he starte ...

. Also successful was second-time national finalist Nicholas Amador of Punahou, Hawaii. Iree Mann from Syosset, New York was third. 2018 - Charleston, South Carolina native Janae Claxton won first place with

C.K. Williams Charles Kenneth "C. K." Williams (November 4, 1936 – September 20, 2015) was an American poet, critic and translator. Williams won many poetry awards. ''Flesh and Blood'' won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1987. ''Repair'' (1999) won ...

' "The Gaffe." For the third year in a row, Nicholas Amador of Punahou, Hawaii claimed a top spot, earning a second-place to finish off his senior year competition. Third place was awarded to Hope Stratman from Omaha, Nebraska. 2019 - Minnesota high school senior student, Isabella Callery won the title of the 2019 Poetry Out Loud National Championship for her recitations of poems by

Joy Harjo Joy Harjo ( ; born May 9, 1951) is an American poet, musician, playwright, and author. She served as the 23rd United States Poet Laureate, the first Native American to hold that honor. She was also only the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetr ...

Natalie Diaz Natalie may refer to: People * Natalie (given name) * Natalie (singer) (born 1979), Mexican-American R&B singer/songwriter * Shahan Natalie Shahan Natalie ( hy, Շահան Նաթալի; July 14, 1884 – April 19, 1983) was an Armenian wri ...

, and

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his ''Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book ''Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764–18 ...

. 2020 - The national competition was cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

; instead, state winners and winners from regional competitions that didn't get to participate in cancelled state competitions were honored. 2021 - Rahele Megosha of South Dakota won the national competition. 2022 - Mia Ronn of California won the national competition.

State summaries

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.poetryoutloud.org/, Poetry Out Loud official website American poetry awards Awards established in 2006 2006 establishments in the United States