About Poetry Out Loud
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation have partnered with the Alabama State Council on the Arts to support this FREE High School program that builds students’ public speaking skills and self-confidence. Alabama participates in the National Competition, and also holds an Original Poetry Recitation Competition.
New to the program is that students whose schools do not participate can enter as an individual, also new is that organizations can hold their own “school level” competitions.
The program is FREE! Participating teachers receive free materials, including a teacher’s guide, lesson plans, and access to audio-visual materials on the art of recitation.
Awards are given to regional, state and national winners. In addition, the schools of the state and national winners receive scholarship awards.
Kristina Allen, the Executive Assistant at the Alabama Arts Alliance, is the coordinator for Region 2 in Alabama. Region 2 includes the following counties: Autauga, Barbour, Bullock, Chambers, Chilton, Coffee, Coosa, Crenshaw, Dale, Elmore, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Montgomery, Pike, Russell, and Tallapoosa.
If you would like your high school in Region 2 to participate, please contact Kristina at kallen@alartsalliance.org or 334-269-1435.
She will be glad to answer any questions and email you the link to the school registration form
To help the students and teachers, we have created a whole library of short educational videos that covers everything from choosing poems to writing to interpreting, and more…
The timeline for the 2023/2024 program is:
- School competitions in Nov/Dec, 2023
- Region 2 competition registration deadline: January 8, 2024
- Region 2 competition in Montgomery on February 5, 2024 (Tentative Date)
- State competition in Montgomery on March 6, 2024
- National competition in Washington, DC, May 1 - 2, 2024
The official website is www.PoetryOutLoud.org
Please visit it to explore all the resources available.
We look forward to signing YOUR high school up
for this wonderful program!!
March 6, 2024
The WINNERS of the Poetry Out Loud
Alabama State Competition
Announcing the WINNER of the Poetry Out Loud Alabama State Competition: Emily Biaz of Auburn High School!! She will, for the second year in a row, represent Alabama in the National Anthology Competition in Washington D.C. on May 1-2, 2024. Emily, you rock!!
Her family and teachers were at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival to cheer her on!
Congratulations to all the students who competed in
Alabama’s Poetry Out Loud State Finals at Alabama Shakespeare Festival on March 6!
The Social Issue Poetry winner was Lily Tao, Auburn High School, and the runner up was Daryl Thomas, BTW Magnet High School.
Maryam Khan, LAMP Magnet High School, took second place in the National Anthology Poetry competition. Congratulations!!!
February 5, 2024
Poetry Out Loud
Alabama Region 2 Competition
Twenty two students from 6 Alabama high schools participated in the Poetry out Loud Alabama Region 2 Competition on February 5 in Montgomery. We were very impressed with all the students and the judges had a tough job this year. The winners in the 3 categories (national anthology, original, and social issue poetry) were: Emily Biaz of Auburn High School won the anthology poetry category (for the 3rd year in a row!!), Audrey Miller of Lakeview Christian School won the original poetry category, and Daryl Thomas of BTW Magnet High School won the social issue category.
Emily Biaz
Auburn High School
Audrey Miller
Lakeview Christian School
Darryl Thomas
BTW Magnet High School
The following students scored in the top 5 of each category and therefore are eligible to compete in the State Competition on March 6:
Emily Biaz (Auburn High School), Anita Duncan (Opelika High School), Zuriyah Fishoe (Lamp Magnet High School), Maryam Khan (Lamp Magnet High School), Audrey Miller (Lakeview Christian School), Atticus O'Banner (Opelika High School), Namita Pradeep (Lamp Magnet High School), Daryl Thomas (BTW Magnet High School), Madison Thompson (BTW Magnet High School), and Lily Tao (Auburn High School).
March 3, 2023
The WINNERS of the Poetry Out Loud
Alabama State Competition
Congratulations to all of the winners of the Poetry Out Loud Competition held on March 3 at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Nearly 30 high school students from all over the state performed poems in three categories: Original composition, Social Issue Original composition, and the National Anthology recitation competition. Student poets blew the audience away with their performances! The overwhelming talent of these young artists and the show of support for one another made us very proud and confident in the future of the arts in Alabama.
Winners of the Original composition were: In third place, Daryl R. Thomas Jr. from Booker T. Washington Magnet High School in Montgomery; second place, Aliyah Potter from Lee High School in Huntsville; and in first place, Anita Duncan from Opelika High School in Opelika.
Winners of the Social Issue Original composition were: In third place, Destini Appleton from Lee High School in Huntsville; second place, Elizabeth 'Egg' McClure from Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham; and in first place Anita Duncan from Opelika High School in Opelika.
Winners of the National Anthology were: In third place, Nalin Reed from Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham; second place, Elizabeth 'Egg' McClure from Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham; and in first place, Emily Biaz from Auburn High School in Auburn.
Emily Biaz of Auburn High School (left) will represent Alabama in the National Poetry Out Loud Competition held in Washington D.C. on May 8-10.
January 27, 2023
The Alabama Arts Alliance ANNOUNCES
the WINNERS of the Poetry Out Loud
Alabama Region 2 Competition
Congratulations to the winners of Poetry Out Loud Alabama Region 2 competition
which took place on January 27, 2023, at the Sanctuary in Montgomery.
The winner of the National Anthology Competition was Emily Biaz of Auburn High School (right); teacher
Davis Thompson.
The winner of the Original Poetry Competition was Atticus O’Banner of Opelika High School (left); teacher Claudette Tennant.
The winner of the Social Issue Poetry Competition was Lydia Maple of Lakeview Christian School (Center); teacher Deborah Stabler.
We had 21 students compete, reciting 60 poems.
They were all fabulous and talented, and well prepared for the competition, so the judges did not have an easy time. Of note is that this is the second year in a row
that Emily Biaz has won first place in Anthology,
and last year, Lydia took first place in Original. These are some dedicated ladies.
The top 5 of each category will go on to compete in
the POL State Competition which is scheduled for March 3 at the Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery.
Kaci Norman at the Alabama State Council on the Arts is coordinating the State Competition.
December 8, 2021:
The Alabama Arts Alliance ANNOUNCES
the WINNERS of the Poetry Out Loud
Alabama Region 2 Competition
On December 6, 2021,14 high school students participated in the Poetry Out Loud Regional Competition at the Sanctuary in Montgomery.
The judges and the captivated audience listened to 40 poems being expertly recited, half of which were written by the students themselves. There were three competitions: the National Anthology Competition, the Alabama Original Poetry Competition, and the Alabama Social Justice Poem Competition.
Audrey Miller, Emily Biaz, Lydia Maple, Victoria Wang, Alyssa Ross, Alexander Lanier, Shemai'ya Peak, Piper Doyle, Alexis Carnley, Tabitha Mitchell, Derek Handy, and Lauren McKitt - please note that two of the students are not depicted. (The students briefly removed their face masks for the purpose of the group picture.)
The winners were:
National Anthology - Emily Biaz, Auburn High School, Auburn, AL
Original Poetry – Piper Doyle – Auburn High School, Auburn, AL
Social Justice Poetry – Derek Handy – ASU Aspire/Booker T. Washington Magnet High School, Montgomery, AL
Poetry Out Loud, presented in partnership with the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation, is a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry - both classic and contemporary - through memorization, performance, and competition. Since the program began in 2005, more than four million students across the country have participated in Poetry Out Loud.
Kristina Allen is the coordinator for Alabama Region 2 which represents Autauga, Barbour, Bullock, Chambers, Chilton, Coffee, Coosa, Crenshaw, Dale, Elmore, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Montgomery, Pike, Russell, and Tallapoosa counties.
For the National Anthology Competition, students recited works they selected from an anthology of more than 1,100 poems. Judges evaluated student performances on criteria including voice and articulation, evidence of understanding, and accuracy.
Emily Biaz, who won the Regional Anthology Competition,
is a sophomore student at Auburn High School. Her teacher is Davis Thompson.
She will advance to the State Poetry Out Loud Competition on February 21, 2022,
at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, to compete for the opportunity to
advance tothe National Anthology Finals which will be held
in Washington, DC, on April 25-27, 2022.
Piper Doyle won the Regional Alabama Original Poetry Out Loud Competition
- students write, memorize, and recite their own poems.
Piper is a senior student at Auburn High School and her teacher is also Davis Thompson.
Derek Handy won the Regional Alabama Social Justice Poem Competition - students write, memorize, and recite their own poem addressing any topic
relevant to social justice and to the student.
He competed via the ASU Aspire program with Jonathon Peterson as his teacher.
Derek is a sophomore student at BTW Magnet High School.
All three winners received a $75 cash award provided by
the Alabama Arts Alliance and will advance to the State Competition
on February 21, 2022, at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation have created free, standards-based curriculum materials to support Poetry Out Loud including a teacher’s guide, lesson plans, an online anthology, posters, and video and audio on the art of recitation. These resources are available for free at poetryoutloud.org.
To learn more about the Alabama Poetry Out Loud contest, contact the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Alabama Arts Allianceor visit poetryoutloud.org.
May 2021:
Alabama’s Poetry Out Loud Champion
Advances to National Finals
Soojin Park of Auburn to compete for $20,000 prize
MONTGOMERY, Ala., (May 25, 2021) — Each year, high school students nationwide experience Poetry Out Loud, memorizing and reciting classic and contemporary poetry and participating in local, regional, and state competitions. Out of 55 state and jurisdictional champions who competed in the national semifinals, nine high school students are advancing to the Poetry Out Loud national finals, including Soojin Park, Alabama’s state champion.
On Thursday, May 27 at 6:00 p.m. CT, actor and writer Shaun Taylor-Corbett will host the 2021 Poetry Out Loud national finals webcast at arts.gov/poetry-out-loud. The evening will feature pre-recorded recitations, live interviews with the top nine finalists, and the live announcement of the 2021 Poetry Out Loud National Champion (who will receive a grand prize of $20,000).
In February, Soojin Park was awarded first place in Alabama’s Poetry Out Loud competition for her performance of “Say Grace” by Emily Jungmin Yoon. Park is a senior at Auburn High School (teacher Davis Thompson).
An accomplished writer, actor, and scholar, Park has participated in the Poetry Out Loud program for several years now. Traditionally, the competitions are live and in-person, but the pandemic necessitated going virtual this year. However, Park feels that her process for preparing, exploring, dissecting poems was surprisingly similar to previous years, stating, “Things like art are important in global pandemics. The heart behind the arts always stays the same.”
Every year, thousands of high school educators integrate Poetry Out Loud into their curriculum. The program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. The Council on the Arts and the Alabama Arts Alliance partner to produce Alabama’s Poetry Out Loud program. Both organizations believe strongly in the importance of student creativity.
“I am moved and inspired each year by the students who participate in Poetry Out Loud,” said Donna Russell, Executive Director of the Alabama Arts Alliance. “The talent and passion they exhibit in reciting poetry written by famous poets and by expressing their thoughts in their original poetry never ceases to amaze me.”
Park recently placed second in the national Poetry Ourselves written competition for the original poem “This is a poem about failure.” An extension of the Poetry Out Loud program, Poetry Ourselves awards students for excellence in writing their own poetry. Notably, Alabama includes an original poetry competition within its state poetry finals. The competition, sponsored by the Alabama Writers’ Forum (AWF), focuses on craft and creativity. Park was selected as the 2021 original poetry winner with her poem “ireum.”
“Many students aren’t exposed to the idea of writing poetry, so when given an opportunity to write, they often discover something new and fun, even cathartic. Poetry Out Loud is a good avenue for discovering a love for poetry,” said Park.
“The Alabama Writers’ Forum proudly supports Alabama’s original poetry competition. We elevate the work of young writers through our High School Literary Arts Awards annually, and the original poetry competition is a very public way to showcase our state’s budding literary talent on a national stage,” added AWF Executive Director Jeanie Thompson.
“This year, the students in our Poetry Out Loud program produced some of the best original poetry to date, most responding to the challenges of this unique time in their lives,” said Diana Green, Arts in Education Program Manager for the Council on the Arts. “We are so proud to have Soojin represent Alabama’s young writers and poets at nationals.”
Watch the 2021 Poetry Out Loud national finals on May 27, beginning at 6:00 p.m. CT at arts.gov/poetry-out-loud.
For additional information about Alabama’s Poetry Out Loud program, please contact Andrew Henley, Interim Arts in Education Program Manager, Alabama State Council on the Arts at andrew.henley@arts.alabama.gov; or Donna Russell, Executive Director, Alabama Arts Alliance at drussell@alartsalliance.org.
Poetry Out Loud went Virtual in the 2020/2021 School Year
We have done our best to adjust to a virtual environment during
the pandemic by creating poetry video lessons to help
the Poetry Out Loud teachers in the classrooms.
CLICK HERE to access the new Poetry Video Lesson page
The Alabama Region 2 Award Ceremony
took place virtually on January 2, 2021, via Zoom.
We had students compete in 3 separate categories by submitting videos
of their recitations which reviewed and scored by our 4 judges.
The 3 categories are the National Anthology Competition,
the Original Poetry Competition, the 2020 Social Challenge Competition
We had one student take 1st place in all 3 categories in the regional competition!! Soojin Park, a 12th grade student at Auburn High School, put her heart and soul into her recitation videos and poems and it paid off! Her teacher, Davis Thompson, has been involved in the Poetry Out Loud program for many years and this was Soojin’s second year competing. CONGRATULATIONS SOOJIN!!
The second place winners were:
National Anthology Category: Shemai’ya Peak, who competed as an independent student
Original Poetry Category: Victoria Wang, Auburn High School
2020 Social Challenge Poetry Category: Dalton Adair, Valiant Cross Academy
