Arts Council
Poetry Out Loud program available to Kentucky high schools

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Arts Council is accepting applications from Kentucky high schools until Sept. 17, 2010, for participation in Poetry Out Loud.

Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation competition that encourages students to learn poetry through memorization and performance. It helps students master public-speaking skills, build self confidence and learn about our nation’s literary heritage.

Participating schools will receive free multi-media curriculum materials, a hands-on workshop with a teaching artist and will conduct a school-wide Poetry Out Loud competition. The winners of each Kentucky high school competition will then compete in Kentucky’s state championship in Frankfort in early spring of 2011.

The state champion and his or her chaperone will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington D.C. to compete in the national finals. His or her school library will also be awarded $500 for the purchase of poetry. Student champions from 53 states and territories will compete for $50,000 in scholarships and school prizes at the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest.

Guidelines and applications can be found at http://tinyurl.com/328osrq. For more information about the Poetry Out Loud program in Kentucky, contact Carrie Nath at carrie.nath@ky.gov. or 502-564-3757, ext. 486.

The Poetry Out Loud program is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation, with support in Kentucky from the Kentucky Arts Council.

The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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