Presented by:
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, in partnership with the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Huntington Theatre Company.
Poetry Out Loud brings the oral art form to high schools in all 50 states.
In March 2008, students from across the state participated in the 3rd annual Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest. The Huntington's Department of Education facilitated the Massachusetts competition on behalf of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Semi-finals were held in Worcester and Framingham on March 8, with finals following in Boston on March 9. The competition was a great success, and crowned Gabrielle Guarracino State Champion for the second year in a row.
How the competition works:
- Each class holds a classroom contest where students recite one poem.
- One student from each class advances to the school-wide competition, where each student recites two poems.
- The school-wide winner is invited to the semi-finals (location TBD). Students recite two poems in this round of the competition.
- Six students from the Western MA semi-finals and twelve students from the Framingham semi-finals move on to the state competition held, last year in the Old South Meeting House in Boston. Students recite three poems in this round.
- The winner of the Massachusetts state finals heads to Washington, D.C. for the national competition.
- Cash prizes are awarded to both winners and their schools.
See photos and news from the 2007-2008 competition
Please check back in September for registration information regarding the 2009-2010 competition.
For more information please contact Donna Glick, Director of Education, at 617 273-1548 or email poetryoutloud@huntingtontheatre.bu.edu.