- LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
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Lake County Arts Council announces 2021-22 Poetry Out Loud competition
The competition takes place at the school and countywide levels.
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation present Poetry Out Loud in partnership with counties and local partners all across the United States.
This national arts education program encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country.
The Poetry Out Loud program helps students master public speaking skills and build self-confidence, while also learning more about both classic and contemporary poetry.
Any Lake County High School student currently enrolled in grades ninth to 12th are eligible to compete, whether enrolled in a public, private, alternative or home-school.
During fall and winter of 2021, schools are invited to hold classroom and school wide contests, with students advancing to a county competition in early 2022.
Nonschool organizations, such as after school clubs, libraries or nonprofit organizations, may also choose to run Poetry Out Loud. Students may only compete in one stream — either with their school or an organization.
More information is available at www.PoetryOutLoud.org, including guidelines for conducting the competition in-person or virtually.
The county champion will move on to represent our county in the State competition for a chance to advance to the national finals, which are planned to take place in Washington, D.C, April 26 to 27, 2022, and where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed.
Since the program began in 2005, more than 4.1 million students across the country have participated in Poetry Out Loud.
“All of the student competitors demonstrate their openness to the power of poetry and their commitment to developing skills that allow them to share that power with those around them,” said Michelle T. Boone, Poetry Foundation president.
As part of Poetry Out Loud, the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation provide free, standards-based curriculum materials — all available online — which teachers may choose to use in their classrooms.
These include an online poetry anthology containing more than 1,100 classic and contemporary poems, a teacher’s guide, lesson plans, posters, and video and audio on the art of poetry recitation. Schools are welcome to access these resources at www.PoetryOutLoud.org.
High schools and organizations that wish to be part of the official Poetry Out Loud program must contact Georgina Marie Guardado, Lake County Poetry Out Loud coordinator, by Dec. 1 to participate. Guardado and the Lake County Arts Council will work with interested schools and organizations to include them in the official Poetry Out Loud program.
Poetry Out Loud offers school, county, and state level awards and prizes. Each state champion will receive $200 and will advance to the national championship, where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed, including a $20,000 award for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion.
The state champion’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry materials. The first runner-up in each state will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library.
The Poetry Foundation provides and administers all aspects of the monetary prizes awarded and travel arrangements for the Poetry Out Loud National Finals.
For further information on Poetry Out Loud, visit www.lakearts.org.
For questions, additional materials and guidelines, and to confirm participation, contact Guardado at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..