The Poetry Out Loud competition will reach year 20 in May.
Ahead of its 20th anniversary, the two-time reigning Delaware Poetry Out Loud champion believes the competition undoubtedly leaves an impact by the way it allows contestants to connect with themselves and with others.
“After being a part of the program, and many other students and advisors can say the same, it leaves you with something to take away from it, whether you’re a performer or in the audience,” said Maiss Hussein, winner of the competition each of the past two years.
RELATED: Get to know Delaware’s 2x poetry queen, Maiss Hussein
About Poetry Out Loud
Poetry Out Loud was created in 2004 and launched in 2005 by the Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
It’s a national poetry recitation program for high school students that has reached more than 4.4 million students and 81,000 teachers from 20,000 schools across the nation.
Michelle Boone, president and chief executive officer of Poetry Foundation, said Poetry Out Loud is a special platform for expression and learning for the nation’s youth.
“Participants go beyond developing an appreciation for poetry—they discover how it can be a powerful tool for building compassion and empathy, self-reflection, and finding meaning in the world,” she said. “Each time I attend a recitation, I learn more about what is important to this generation and come away with a new understanding of familiar poems as presented through their voices.”
She said she eagerly looks forward to another 20 years of the competition.
Students go through multiple rounds of competitions starting at the school level, through states and all the way up to a national competition.
Contestants choose works from an anthology of more than 1,200 poems, and are judged on their physical presence, eye contact and body language, pace, rhythm, punctuation, dramatic appropriateness, articulation and evidence of understanding.
In addition to $50,000 in prizes and stipends awarded annually to competitors and their home communities, including a $20,000 prize for the national champion, Poetry Out Loud provides free poetry education resources nationally, including lesson plans and other educational materials for teachers and organizers, tips on reciting, and the online anthology of classic and contemporary poems.
The 2025 Poetry Out Loud National Finals will take place May 5-7, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
“You have an inspiration that sparks inside of you to fully be confident in using your voice and reminding yourself of the power you have to do so,” Hussein said. “Celebrating these two decades is not just celebrating Poetry Out Loud, but celebrating culture, connections and creativity as well.”
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