Poetry Out Loud seeks entries
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Arts Commission and the Indiana State Library are inviting Indiana high school students and their schools to participate in the 2018 Poetry Out Loud competition.
School sign-up is open until Nov. 30. Initial competitions are conducted at the high school level to determine one student to represent the school in state final competition Feb. 17, 2018, at the Indiana State Library.
The state champion receives a $200 cash prize and an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete in the Poetry Out Loud National Finals in April. The state champion’s school receives a $500 stipend to purchase poetry books.
A total of $50,000 in scholarship awards and school stipends will be awarded at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, with a $20,000 college scholarship awarded to the national champion.
Indiana’s 2017 Poetry Out Loud State Champion was Shelby Newland from Bloomington High School South. Newland went on to take first place in the spoken category of Poetry Ourselves at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals in Washington, D.C. Poetry Ourselves gives students the opportunity to submit original works of poetry in one of two categories, either a written poem or a video of a spoken poem.
Poetry Out Loud is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation.
Schools can learn more about the competition on the Indiana State Library website in.gov/library/5580.htm. For information about the national program and competition, visit poetryoutloud.org.
