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Anthology Opens

September 1, 2026

Via this Link

Deadline to Register Your School's Participation

December 31, 2026

Via this Link

Deadline to Fill Out Intent to Attend State Competition

January 31, 2026

Final Day to Submit Poetry Ourselves Entries

February 14, 2027

Final Day to Host a Local Competition

February 14, 2027

Deadline to Register School Representative for the State Competition

February 22, 2027

Wyoming State Competition (in Casper, WY)

Poetry Out Loud Competition, Workshops, and Awards Banquet: March 1, 2027

National Competition (in Washington DC)

April 26-28, 2027

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Eligibility guidelines and other rules for the official Poetry Out Loud contest

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Poetry Ourselves (or PO) is a sibling program to Poetry Out Loud which focuses on self created works. Students can enter the written category with their own original works.

In the past other teachers have used this as an assignment in their classroom!

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SPCR Photo, Video, and Media Release Form

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This is targeted towards students to help alleviate nerves about performing at the state competition.

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Skip to main content

Nervous about reciting? Unsure of where to start? Don't be-everything you need to help you perform a successful recitation is right here.
Find more videos at Poetry Out Loud's YouTube Channel.
STATE WINNERS: Upload and share your videos!

"I've enjoyed Poetry Out Loud as a way for me to express my individuality. Through the poems of my choice, my understanding, my approach, and my few or many victories, I can feel myself interacting with artistically adorned ideas that are depthful and great."
Alex Yue, 2023 California State Champion

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What's It Like to Compete? | Poetry Out Loud

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Nervous about reciting? Unsure of where to start? Don't be-everything you need to help you perform a successful recitation is right here.

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Feel free to forward these links to your students ahead of the state competition.

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In addition to these tips, teachers, coaches, and students may also find it useful to view the Judge's Guide. Many of the following categories also have links to videos of student performances which illustrate mastery of that specific category.

Learning Recitation Videos

Created to illustrate the art of poetry recitation.

Evaluation Criteria:

Physical Presence

Body language, and poise.
Tips:

Present yourself well and be attentive. Use good posture. Be confident and make a direct connection with the audience.

Nervous gestures and lack of confidence will detract from your score.

Relax and be natural. Enjoy your poem-the judges will notice.

Qualities of a strong recitation:
Ease and comfort with the audience. Engagement with the audience through physical presence, including appropriate body language and confidence-without appearing artificial.
Video Examples: Back to top
Voice and Articulation

Pace, rhythm, intonation, and proper pronunciation.
Keep in Mind: Contestants will use a microphone at the National Finals.
Tips:

Project to the audience. Capture the attention of everyone, including the people in the back row. However, don't mistake shouting for good projection.

Proceed at a fitting and natural pace. People may communicate too quickly when nervous, making the poem hard to understand. Do not communicate so slowly that the language sounds unnatural or awkward.

With rhymed poems, be careful not to recite in a sing-song manner.

Make sure you know how to pronounce every word in your poem. Articulate.

Line breaks are a defining feature of poetry. Decide whether a break requires a pause and, if so, how long to pause.

Qualities of a strong recitation:
All words pronounced correctly, and the projection, rhythm, and intonation greatly enhance the recitation. Pacing appropriate to the poem.
Video Examples: Back to top
Interpretation

This category evaluates the interpretive and performance choices made by the student. A strong recitation must rely on a powerful internalization of the poem rather than excessive gestures or unnecessary emoting. Effective interpretation enhances the audience's understanding and enjoyment of the poem without overshadowing the poem's language. The Learning Recitation videos at PoetryOutLoud.org will help illustrate this point.
Advice for the student:

Movement must not detract from the poem's voice.

You are the vessel of your poem. Have confidence that your poem is strong enough to communicate its sounds and messages without a physical illustration. Let the words of the poem do the work.

Depending on the poem, occasional gestures may be appropriate, but the line between appropriate and overdone is a thin one. When uncertain, leave them out.

Avoid monotone delivery. However, too much enthusiasm can make your performance seem insincere.

Qualities of a strong recitation:
The interpretation subtly underscores the meaning of the poem without becoming the focal point of the recitation. A low score in this category will result from recitations that have affected accents and character voices, inappropriate tone and inflection, singing, excessive gestures, or unnecessary emoting.
Video Examples: Back to top
Evidence of Understanding

This category is to evaluate your comprehension and mastery of the poem. The poet's words should take precedence, and you should be able to voice them in a way that helps the audience to understand the poem better. To do this, you must effectively use intonation, emphasis, tone, and style of delivery.
Tips:

You must understand the poem fully. Be attentive to the messages, meanings, allusions, irony, tones of voice, and other nuances in your poem.

Be sure you know the meaning of every word and line in your poem. If you are unsure about something it will be apparent to the audience.

Think about how you should interpret the tone and voice of your poem. Is it a quiet poem? Is it a boisterous poem? Should it be recited more quickly or slowly, with a happy or mournful tone? Your interpretation will be different for each poem, and it is a crucial element of your performance.

Qualities of a strong recitation:
The meaning of the poem is powerfully and clearly conveyed to the audience. The interpretation deepens and enlivens the poem. Meaning, themes, allusions, irony, tone, and other nuances are captured by the performance. A low score will be awarded if the interpretation obscures the meaning of the poem.
Video Examples: Back to top
Overall Performance

This category is to evaluate the overall success of the poem, the degree to which the recitation has become more than the sum of its parts.

Did you captivate the audience with the language of the poem?

Did you bring the audience to a better understanding of the poem?

Did your physical presence, voice and articulation, and dramatic appropriateness all seem on target and unified to breathe life into the poem?

Did the performance honor the poem?

Judges may also consider the poem complexity and range of your recitations with this score; you are less likely to score well in overall performance when judges note that your style of interpretation remains the same regardless of poem choice. A low score will be awarded for recitations that are poorly presented, ineffective in conveying the meaning of the poem, or conveyed in a manner inappropriate to the poem.

Tips:

For competitions beyond the classroom level, select poems of various styles, time periods, complexities, themes, and tones. When considering the range and complexity of your poems, remember that a longer poem is not necessarily a more difficult one.

Make sure each poem you choose is one that speaks to you. If you are able to connect with a poem, that internalization will ripple positively throughout all of your scores.
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Accuracy

A separate judge will mark missed or incorrect words during the recitation, with small deductions for each. If you rely on the prompter during your recitation, points will also be subtracted from your accuracy score. Eight points will be added to your score for a perfectly accurate recitation. Refer to the accuracy score sheet for details.

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Evaluation criteria and tips for Poetry Out Loud contestants.

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What if a student wants to participate, but I don't have the capacity to put together a local competition?

Please have the student reach out to the state POL coordinator, Ismael Dominguez, and we can see if another nearby school is hosting a competition they may be able to join!

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Ismael Dominguez, Wyoming Arts Council Programs Specialist

307.275.4476

ismael.dominguez@wyo.gov

Book a meeting at https://bit.ly/47nSWpL