INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) and the Indiana State Library (ISL) announced today the invitation to Indiana high schools to participate in the 2018 Poetry Out Loud competition.
Poetry Out Loud is now accepting commitments from Indiana schools to participate in the 2018 recitation process. Schools can learn more about the competition on the Indiana State Library website, http://www.in.gov/library/
School sign-up will be open until Nov. 30, 2017.
Initial competitions are held at the high school level to determine one student to represent the school in state final competition on Feb. 17, 2018 at the Indiana State Library. Local competitions must be judged by the same criteria used in the state and national events.
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.
Poetry Out Loud is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation. The program encourages the study of great poetry by offering education materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high school students across the country.