How do I find a poem to memorize?
Begin by browsing the poems. In reading the poems and biographies, look for poems that appeal to you or for those written by poets with whom you feel a personal connection.

Can I choose poems outside of those in the anthology?
No. This website includes an online anthology of approximately 600 poems that will continue to expand. You must choose from that selection, or from the hardcopy Poetry Out Loud Anthology that will be distributed to classes participating in the official contest.

I found a slightly different variant of a poem in an anthology. May I use that version instead?
Some poems do have variants, but for the sake of fairness and consistency, we ask students to memorize a poem as it appears in the Poetry Out Loud website or the Poetry Out Loud printed anthology. Teachers and accuracy judges use text from the official Poetry Out Loud anthologies in judging a student's performance.

How will the recitation be judged?
Official Poetry Out Loud competitions will be evaluated on 7 different types of criteria, which can be seen on the Evaluation Criteria page.

During a contest, is there a maximum amount of time that a participant should use to recite his or her poem?
A sonnet takes about a minute to recite, and you should try to keep the maximum time per poem to around three minutes.

Can embellishment, e.g. movement (gestures, walking), be used to deliver the poems, or will participants be expected to stand and deliver the poems in one place? Can participants add any kind of sound or musical instruments for effect?
The recitation of poetry, in this context, is a bit different than dramatic acting. Poetry recitation is about the poem, not the performance. Overacting, exaggerated movements, and odd voices and accents can be distracting. However, depending on the poem, gestures and some movement may be appropriate. Musical instruments are not permitted.

What happens if I forget a part of my poem during my performance?
A prompter will be sitting in front of you during your performance, and if you need help, you can make eye contact with them and they will whisper the first words of the next line to get you back on track. However, your accuracy score will not be as high if you use the prompter.

If I have a disability, can I still participate in the competition?
Absolutely. Information on how students with disabilities can participate can be found on the Students with Disabilities page.

What are the prize amounts at the state and national levels?
The following prizes are offered for the official contests identified and conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts and the government State Arts Agencies during winter and spring of 2009. The prizes do not apply to other contests.

As long as your school and district allows students to receive cash prizes, each winner at the state level will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC, to compete in the National Finals. The state winner's school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. A runner-up in each state will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library. Some states may offer additional prizes. We will be presenting $50,000 total in awards and school stipends at the National Finals, with a $20,000 award for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion.

Why has a poem been removed from the online anthology?
Poems that are particularly popular or ones that have been used frequently in national competition are retired for a few years to refresh the anthology selections. This way, the Poetry Out Loud program can highlight new poems for students and their audiences. Judges also appreciate hearing new performances. All poems appearing from the start of the school year online and those in the print anthology are eligible for competition this year.

We hope you'll find it rewarding to discover a new poem to recite and share with others.