Poetry Out Loud: Tips, Poem Recommendations, and How-To

May 21

Reading poetry out loud doesn’t have to be as scary as it seems.

Most of us are introduced to poetry in school, and most still are introduced to it through lessons on Shakespeare. I’m no different; the first time I had to read poetry out loud was in the eighth grade, during our Shakespeare unit. I read some soliloquy that I don’t remember now, and honestly, I wouldn’t like to do it again. But Poetry Out Loud is a little different.

Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that nurtures the study of poetry. One of the ways they do this is by hosting a poetry recitation competition for high school students across the country. Based on the specific Poetry Out Loud Evaluation Criteria, students compete at a local level first, then a state/regional level, and finally the national finals if they make it that far. The rewards are as follows:

State level winners receive $200, an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC to compete in the national competition, and $500 for their school to purchase poetry materials
State runner-ups receive $100 and $200 for their school’s poetry materials
At the national level, the winner receives $20,000, the first runner-up receives $10,000, third place receives $5,000, and places 4-12 receive $1,000 each
The top 12 finalists at the national level also receive $500 for the school they represent for the purchase of poetry materials

While I never competed, I was first introduced to Poetry Out Loud my senior year of high school; regrettably, I never looked into it, as I’m incredibly shy. But it’s a really fantastic opportunity that is worth talking about – both for the money, and for furthering poetry education everywhere. I had a school project my senior year that was a Poetry Out Loud project simply for my class; so if you have a similar project at school, or are actually hoping to participate with the organization, I’m here to offer tips, poem recommendations, and how-tos.

How Does Poetry Out Loud Work?

Let’s start with the basics: at its core, Poetry Out Loud is a poetry-reading competition. Participants are tasked with memorizing poems and reading them aloud in front of judges. Once you get to the state level, you will need to memorize three poems – one must be 25 lines or fewer, and another must be written before the 20th century. There are specific poems you may choose from within Poetry Out Loud’s specific anthology, which is updated every summer. While costumes and props are prohibited, your performance will be evaluated on things like memorization, emotion, fluency, rhythm, and etc.

When I did this project in 2019, I read Dead Butterfly by Ellen Bass. It was the moment I fell in love with poetry. My biggest recommendation is to choose a poem that genuinely speaks to you, because it will not only be easier to remember, but it will be easier to invoke your own emotional connection, making for a much more personal reading.

Poetry Out Loud Recitation Example

For my readers who are visual learners like myself, it may be more helpful to just watch someone do it. Take a look below at one of the readings from 2024’s champion, Niveah Glover.

Poetry Out Loud Rubric

You can see from Niveah Glover’s performance that making the poem come alive, and contributing to the audience’s understanding of its meaning, is incredibly important. When your recitation is being evaluated, the judges are focusing on six things:

Physical presence
Voice and articulation
Interpretation
Evidence of understanding
Overall performance
Accuracy (8 points added to score for perfect recitation)
So as you can see, reciting poetry is much more than just reading a poem aloud fluently. Poetry Out Loud is kind enough to make both their Poetry Out Loud Rubric and Accuracy Scoring Sheet readily available for participants’ preparation so that you know exactly what they’re looking for. So let’s get into how to pick poems that are right for you.

Best Poems for Poetry Out Loud

When it comes to poetry, it’s important to note that both the writing and reciting of poetry is deeply personal, so there really is no perfect overall poem that will give you a leg up, especially since the choices for which poems you can read change every year. But anyone who has had to memorize a poem before will tell you that whatever poems you choose should be poems you really connect with. This could be because you like the message, or the rhythm; it doesn’t matter, as long as it’s close to your heart.

Like I said before, as soon as you make it out of the local competitions, you will need to memorize three poems total; one from before the 20th century, and one that’s 25 lines or fewer (yes, it does count if both of these aspects are found in one poem). There are several poem lists available on the Poetry Out Loud website alone that provide acceptable poems, including:

Searching by collection: if you’re looking for a poem based on a particular thing, such as a season, culture, or specific topic, this page can help you do that
Searching by poetic terms or form: if you’re a fan of a certain poetry genre like ballads, elegies, etc. or if you like certain aspects of poetry like alliteration or an emphasis on consonance, this is a great way to search
Searching by poet: if you like a specific poet, this is an easy way to search which poems are available by said poet, if any
Random poem: pressing the button will pull up any random poem on the site

Another great thing about browsing the poems on the Poetry Out Loud website is that it has filters that will help you find poems with 25 lines or fewer and poems that predate the 20th century so that you don’t have to dig through everything like I did when I was preparing to do this. I will emphasize one more time that while people tend to think choosing a shorter poem will make it easier to memorize it with 100% accuracy, finding poems that you actually like and relate to or poems that feature a rhythm you resonate with will give you an easier time with memorization, regardless of its length.