Bringing poetry to life through performance
We are delighted to announce that Maryland Humanities will be working with the Maryland State Arts Council and Mid Atlantic Arts to implement Maryland’s Poetry Out Loud program for the 2025-26 school year!
Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry through recitation competitions for high school students across the country. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the state and jurisdictional arts agencies.
The program starts with competitions held at the local level in a classroom or school, or with a community organization. Winners then advance to a regional and state competition, and ultimately to the national finals. Awards and placements are determined solely by the judges’ scores based on the Poetry Out Loud Evaluation Criteria. Students that are not able to participate in a local level competition may register to participate directly in a regional competition.
Since 2005, 4.1 million students and 68,000 teachers from 17,000 schools and organizations have competed in Poetry Out Loud nationwide. In Maryland, approximately 129,000 students have participated in the program and learned the power of poetry firsthand.
For more information, please visit the Poetry Out Loud website.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Aditya Desai at adesai@mdhumanities.org.
Important Dates & Registration
End of October 2025
Registration will open for schools, organizations, and independent students who are interested in participating in the 2025-26 program.
December 5, 2025
Deadline for schools, organizations, and independent students to register for the 2025-26 program.
January 16, 2026
Deadline for schools and organizations to host their local competitions.
February to Early March 2026
Regional and State Competitions will take place. Dates and venues will be confirmed in a few weeks.
Call for Judges
We have opened a public call for Poetry Out Loud judges. More information on how to apply, judge expectations, and compensation can be found under “Judge Service” on MSAC’s How To Get Involved webpage.
The deadline to apply is Monday, November 10. Please feel free to share with colleagues or friends who may be interested in this opportunity!
