Photo provided Columbus North High School junior Sreepadaarchana Munjuluri is the 2023 national champion for Poetry Out Loud.
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Humanities will now be administering the state’s Poetry Out Loud program, conducted through the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.
The competition encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students. This program helps students master public speaking skills and build self-confidence, while also learning more about both classical and contemporary poetry.
Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the state and jurisdictional arts agencies. The Indiana Arts Commission, who has previously administered the program, has enlisted the partnership of Indiana Humanities to deliver the program.
“Poetry Out Loud is an experience that can transform a student’s perspective and set them on a delightful and life-changing trajectory,” said Keira Amstutz, president and CEO of Indiana Humanities. “We’re grateful to the Indiana Arts Commission, Poetry Out Loud and the Poetry Foundation for the opportunity to serve students through this program that aligns with our organization’s values of community and creativity.”
During the fall, schools are invited to hold classroom and school-wide contests, with students advancing to a state competition on March 2. Non-school organizations, such as after school clubs, libraries or nonprofit organizations, may also choose to run Poetry Out Loud. Students may only compete in one stream — either with their school or organization. As part of Poetry Out Loud, the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation also offer free, standards-based curriculum materials — all available online — which teachers may choose to use in their classrooms. These include an online poetry anthology containing more than 1,200 classic and contemporary poems, a teacher’s guide, lesson plans, posters and videos on the art of poetry recitation. These materials are all free to access at PoetryOutLoud.org.
State champions will advance to the national finals, which are planned to take place in Washington D.C., April 30–May 2, 2024, where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed. More information will be announced in the future.
“It’s especially exciting to be picking up the torch this year following such an amazing accomplishment by Indiana’s Sreepadaarchana Munjuluri — who became not only the state champion representing Indiana but went on to become the national champion in May,” said Megan Telligman, director of programs at Indiana Humanities. “We intend to keep the momentum going with this year’s group of talented students.”
Munjuluri, a junior at Columbus North High School, became the national champion after competing in Washington D.C. during last year’s national finals. She recited poems by Emily Jungmin Yoon, Emma Lazarus and Garrett Hongo. She received a prize of $20,000. Since the program began in 2005, more than 4.1 million students across the country have participated in Poetry Out Loud.
High schools and organizations that wish to be part of the official Poetry Out Loud program must contact Indiana Humanities by Nov. 30 to participate. For more information and to register, visit the Indiana Humanities website at indianahumanities.org/poetryoutloud. Contact Megan Tellligman with questions at [email protected] or visit PoetryOutLoud.org.
Each state champion will receive $200 and will advance to the national championship, where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed, including a $20,000 award for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion. The state champions representing a school or organization will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry materials. The first runner-up in each state will receive $100, with $200 for their school/organization. The Poetry Foundation provides and administers all aspects of the monetary prizes awarded and travel arrangements for the Poetry Out Loud National Finals.
