Teachers Guide: Welcome

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Can there be any subject more difficult to teach in the modern classroom than poetry? Students who take their culture at the speed of the Internet may not easily find it in a measured, majestic poem that comes down to us from the past. But a great poem has much to tell if we can find a way to listen. It will speak to us and for us, giving voice to times of great joy or great loss. “Why should I study this poem,” the student may ask, “let alone try to learn it by heart?” And we may answer, “Because it is a chance to make a friend for life.”

The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation have partnered with the State Arts Agencies on an exciting program, Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest, which invites the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theater into the English class. Poetry Out Loud helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage. By encouraging your students to study, memorize, and perform some of the most influential and timeless poems of the English language, you immerse them in powerful language and provocative ideas.

Although many students may initially be nervous about reciting in front of their teenage peers, the experience will prove valuable—not only in school, but also in life. Much of the future success of students will depend on how well they present themselves in public. Whether talking to one person or many, public speaking is a skill people use every day in both the workplace and the community. Hearing the spoken words of classic and contemporary poets we learn that we are not alone, that men and women always have felt as we feel, that the human spirit has been the one constant in the history of our kind. In this way the recitation of poetry brings history to life; in this way it creates community.

Poetry recitation as a competitive event is as old as the Olympic Games. Along with wrestling, long-distance running, and the javelin toss, the ancient Olympics included contests in music and poetry. Performers trained for years and traveled great distances to the games. Please join us in restoring the energy and esprit of poetry recitation nationwide as Poetry Out Loud.

National Endowment for the Arts

Poetry Foundation