Poetry Out Loud

Poetry Out Loud 2025/2026

Two tracks. Two regions. One competition.

To best serve as many South Carolina students as possible, Poetry Out Loud offers school/organization registration (for schools or organizations and their students, in-person competitions) and individual regional student registration (in-person regional competition hosted by SCAC partner organizations) for those whose school/organization is not participating or are homeschooled.

Regions

For our purposes, South Carolina was divided into Upstate and Lowcountry regions, which hold competitions in both tracks. Confirm your region with this document.

• Upstate contact: Jesse Siak, Education Programs Manager for SC Children’s Theater (jesse@scchildrenstheatre.org).
• Lowcountry contact: Serenity Jones, Education Outreach Coordinator for Charleston Stage (sjones@charlestonstage.com).

• School/Organization Track

  Schedule & Deadlines

  School/Organization registration deadline
  Friday, Dec. 12, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET

  School/Organization competition deadline
  Friday, Jan. 16, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET

  School/Organization competition report deadline
  Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET

  Announcement of state finalists
  Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026

  State finalist registration deadline
  Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, 11:59 p.m. ET

  Registration links

  • Upstate school/organization registration.
  • Lowcountry school/organization registration.

• Individual Student Track

  Are you interested in participating in POL but your school is not participating this year? Register for the competition taking place in your region!

  Individual Regional Competition Dates

  Upstate Students

  • When: Jan. 10, 2026 at 1 p.m.
  • Where: SC Children’s Theatre: 153 Augusta Street, Greenville SC

  Lowcountry Students

  • When: Jan. 17, 2026 at 10 a.m.
  • Where: Charleston Stage: New Address TBA

  Schedule & Deadlines

  Individual registration deadline
  Friday, Dec. 12, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET

  Individual competition report deadline
  Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026 at 10 a.m. ET

  Announcement of state finalists
  Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026

  State finalist registration deadline
  Monday, January 26, 2026, 11:59 p.m. ET

  Registration links

  • Upstate individual registration.
  • Lowcountry individual registration.

• Poetry Ourselves

  Poetry Ourselves was launched in 2016 as part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ 50th anniversary as a way to encourage student creativity. It is a companion competition open to the Poetry Out Loud state and jurisdictional champions that highlights their original poetry. Each champion has the opportunity to submit an original work of poetry in one of two categories—written or spoken.

  MAKING SOUTH CAROLINA PROUD

  State winners from our state have had a recent run of success:

  • In 2022, Emily Allison won the written poetry category.
  • In 2023, Catherine Wooten was runner-up in the spoken word category.
  • In 2024, Jessie Leitzel won the written poetry category.

• 2026 State and National Finals

  South Carolina Finals

  • Saturday, March 7, 2026, 2 p.m., Columbia

  National Finals

  • April 27-29, 2026 in Washington, D.C.

Additional information

• Teacher Resources

  Online Resources

  Free teacher resources are available online at PoetryOutLoud.org.

  • DOWNLOAD THE TEACHER GUIDE.
  • POL Poem Anthology containing over 600 poems.
  • Judge’s Guide, Advice for Judges, Contest Evaluation Sheets, Sample Tally Sheets and more are available to download for use during classroom and school competitions.
  • Recitation tips – audio and video clips are available to help students master the art of recitation
  • NCTE and Common Core Standards

  Not participating in this year’s official competition? Your school can still run its own, unofficial program using the online materials on the National Poetry Out Loud website.

  NCTE AND SOUTH CAROLINA STANDARDS AND CLASSROOM TIME

  Poetry Out Loud satisfies most of the NCTE English/Language Arts Standards as well as many of the South Carolina English/Language Arts Standards. In addition to memorizing and performing great poems, students will have the opportunity to discuss poems and to write poetry of their own. The Program Guide includes optional lesson plans for the teacher, as well as all other elements the teacher needs to implement the program.

• Evaluation Criteria and Requirements

  Poetry Out Loud Evaluation Criteria

  Accuracy – an Accuracy Judge will mark missed or incorrect words during the recitation

  Physical presence – student should be poised—but not artificially so—projecting ease and confidence by his or her physical presence

  Voice and articulation – student should be clear and loud enough to capture the audience’s attention, but watch out for students who mistake projection for yelling or communicate passion by shouting

  Dramatic appropriateness – This category evaluates the interpretive and performance choices made by the student

  Evidence of understanding – measures a student’s comprehension and mastery of a poem

  Overall performance –  the student’s physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, and evidence of understanding all seem on target and unified to breathe life into the poem.

  Recitation Requirements

  • Students must begin by stating the title of the poem and the poet’s name, and the translator, if applicable.
  • A student’s own editorial comments before or after the poem are not allowed.
  • Poems must be recited from memory.

• FAQs

  What is Poetry Out Loud: National Poetry Recitation Contest?
  Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country. Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure. Beginning at the classroom level, winners will advance to the school-wide competition, then to the state capital competition, and ultimately to the national finals in Washington, D.C. More than 200,000 students are expected to take part in Poetry Out Loud this year.

  Where will Poetry Out Loud take place?
  State arts agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia have enlisted high schools to participate in the official Poetry Out Loud program. For more information on South Carolina regional and state finals, contact the Poetry Out Loud program coordinator at the South Carolina Arts Commission.

  Who created Poetry Out Loud? 
  The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation created Poetry Out Loud. At the state level, each State Arts Agency (SAA) has received an NEA grant of $25,000 to assist with expenses of program coordination and the state final event.

  Who can participate in the official Poetry Out Loud contest? 
  The official Poetry Out Loud contest is administered at the state level by state arts agencies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. State arts agencies will define the scope of participation on a state-by-state basis. All types of high schools are welcome to participate, including public, private, parochial, independent, charter, etc.

  • Student eligibility: Only high school students in grades 9-12 are eligible, with an exception made for 8th grade students who are in a participating 9th through 12th grade class. Competitors at the state and national finals must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Students are responsible for verifying their eligibility. Schools must register with their state Poetry Out Loud coordinator in order to participate in the official state competition. A student may not advance to the state finals without competing in a lower-level competition. Homeschooled students may participate by competing in a contest at a local school (at the school’s discretion) or with other local homeschooled students. The state Poetry Out Loud coordinator should be consulted for guidance on participation. A school-level competition must include at least two students. Students unable to participate at a local school should contact their state Poetry Out Loud coordinator to discuss any other opportunities for inclusion in the state’s official competition. A national champion is not eligible to compete in subsequent years.

  Are schools that are not part of the official contest welcome to participate in other ways?
  All schools nationwide may visit PoetryOutLoud.org for free program materials. Using these materials, they are welcome to conduct their own “unofficial” poetry recitation competitions and introduce their students to classic and contemporary poetry.

  Are program materials available? 
  The NEA and the Poetry Foundation will provide all program materials (teacher’s guide, poetry anthology, CDs, posters) for distribution to participating schools. Visit PoetryOutLoud.org for online materials.

  When will Poetry Out Loud take place? 
  Schools participating in the official competition implement the program and conduct classroom and school-level contests between September and December. Regional competitions are held in January. State contests are held in March, and the national finals take place in April in Washington, D.C.

  Is there a prize for state finalists? 
  Each state-level final competition awards $1,000 in cash prizes. Each champion at the state level receives $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete for the national championship. The state winner’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The second-place finalist in each state will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library.

  Are there prizes at the national finals?
  Poetry Out Loud will award a total of $50,000 in scholarship prizes and school stipends at the national finals, including $20,000 for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion, and $10,000 and $5,000 for the second- and third-place finalists. The remaining nine finalists each receive $1,000, and the schools of the top 12 finalists each will receive $500 for the purchase of poetry books. In total, Poetry Out Loud will award more than $100,000 at state and national-level contests.

  How can I get more information?
  Visit PoetryOutLoud.org for more information, including educational resources for teachers and students, such as standards-based educational materials, tips on hosting a school contest, and ‘find a poem’ search tools. In South Carolina, contact the Poetry Out Loud program coordinator at the South Carolina Arts Commission.