2007 Poetry Out Loud National Champion Amanda Fernandez with John Barr and Dana Gioia.

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Welcome to Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. Created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, Poetry Out Loud is administered in partnership with the State Arts Agencies of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

By encouraging high school students to memorize and perform great poems, Poetry Out Loud invites the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theater into the English class. This exciting new program, which began in 2005, helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.

About the Program

NATIONAL FINALS

With a powerful command of the stage, Duke Ellington School of the Arts senior Amanda Fernandez riveted audiences with "Ma Rainey," a vibrant portrait of rural African-American life by poet Sterling A. Brown. The poem was one of three recitations that earned Fernandez the title of 2007 Poetry Out Loud National Champion and a $20,000 scholarship prize. Read More >>

TODAY'S FEATURED POET

Mark Doty (b. 1953) Mark Doty (1953—) was born in Tennessee, but grew up in the American Southwest—an upbringing vividly rendered in his extraordinary 1999 autobiography Firebird. His first book of poems appeared in 1987, but it was his third, My Alexandria (1993), which brought him wide acclaim, showcasing a brilliant style and elegiac sensibility similar to those of Elizabeth Bishop. His... More >> Poems Golden Retrievals