Poetry Out Loud!

Weston High School will host its annual Poetry Out Loud competition this winter.

Our school-wide competition will be announced soon...

"Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the state and jurisdictional arts agencies." (From the CT Poetry Out Loud website) 

The Connecticut Poetry Out Loud program will be offering in-person and virtual workshops throughout the season. More information coming soon!

CT Poetry Out Loud Important Dates:

September 1, 2024: CT Poetry Out Loud School Registration Opens & '24-'25 Online Anthology Goes Live

September 26, 2024: Poetry Out Loud Orientation/ Introduction for New Schools 

October 17, 2024: Hybrid Workshop on Physical Presence

  Time: 6:00 PM-7:00 PM

  Location: 360 Farmington Ave, Hartford, CT 06105  

Virtual Option: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

November 21, 2024: Hybrid Workshop on Voice & Articulation

  Time: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

  Location: TBD

  Virtual Option: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

December 19, 2024: Virtual Workshop

January 2025: Workshop Summit (in person - date & location TBA)

January 23, 2025: Virtual Workshop

February 2025: Semi-Final Competition (digital submissions - date TBA)

March 2025: State Final Competition (in person - date & location TBA)

May 5-7, 2025: Poetry Out Loud National Competition (Washington, DC)  

Prizes

The students who win at the state level receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip (with a chaperone) to Washington, DC, for the National Finals.

• The state winner’s school receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books.

• A runner-up in each state receives $100, with $200 for his or her school library.

• Winners receive $50,000 total in scholarships and school stipends at the National Finals, with a $20,000 college scholarship for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion.

If you are interested in learning more about POL/POS opportunities at WHS, please email Mrs. Clements at nicoleclements@westonps.org and Mrs. Holmes at amyholmes@westonps.org

For Those Who Love Performance . . . 

Poetry Out Loud is a recitation competition where you memorize and perform poems found in the POL database. Our WHS school winner will compete in the regional championship, with a chance to go onto the state and national competitions! Our schoolwide competition date will be announced soon.

For Those Who Love to Write . . . 

The Poetry Ourselves Anthology gives you a chance to submit two poems with no need to perform it. 

If you have many poems you've written on your own, you can also submit to the Poetry Ourselves Chapbook Competition! (Deadline will be announced at a later date)

For Those Who Love to Write AND Perform . . .

Poetry Ourselves is a spoken-word poetry writing and performance competition. You can find out more information about submissions guidelines by emailing Mrs. Clements and Mrs. Holmes.

Previous Winners . . . 

In 2021-2022, Billy (Wm. Leete) Stammer ('24) was a national semi-finalist after winning at the regional and state-level competitions for both Poetry Out Loud and Poetry Ourselves, the writing arm of the state-level competition. As part of his success in Poetry Ourselves, he was invited to perform his original work alongside professional poets at TheaterWorks in Hartford along with CT Youth Poet Laureate Jaida Tavares.

In 2020-2021, Jay Evans ('22) was the second runner-up in the state for both Poetry Out Loud, and in the top five for Poetry Ourselves. Jay was also was published in the CT Poetry Ourselves anthology of student work.

Here is Billy on Fox61!