Poetry Out Loud
Utah High School Poetry Competitions
Each year UA&M sponsors two different poetry competitions for students in grades 9-12. Students are welcome to participate in either contest or in both.
Poetry Out Loud is the nationwide competition for students to memorize and recite the works of classical and modern masters.
Poetry Ourselves is a Utah competition for Utah’s 9th-12th graders who wish to submit their own original poetry.
The 2025 Utah Poetry Out Loud and Poetry Ourselves competitions are complete
Our 2023/2024 State Finals Event for Poetry Out Loud was held on March 12, 2025 at the Mid-Valley Center for the Performing Arts in Taylorsville, UT.
It was a wonderful evening which included remarks and a poetry reading from Lisa Bickmore, Poet Laureate of the state of Utah and live music from the Meadowlark String Band.
The Utah State winner for Poetry Out Loud is:
- Sariah Calles - Box Elder High School
Sariah will receive a trip to Washington, DC to compete in the national finals event, May 6-7, 2025.
The runner up is:
- Ivy Jensen - Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy
Congratulations to both of them, and to our other state finalists who all performed beautifully. The other finalists were:
- Audrey Low - Olympus High School
- Brunelle Tauzin - West High School
- Janet Flake - Legacy Preparatory Academy
- Jaimie Lesue - Monument Valley High School
- Myah Gubler - Snow Canyon High School
We also announced the winners of our Poetry Ourselves competition for original high school poetry. They are:
- First Place, English Language Poem: Isla McMahon - Rowland Hall for “My Can of Mace”
- First Place, Spanish Language Poem: Andrea Vallejos - Olympus High School for “Mi Papá, el Tiempo y Yo”
- Runner-up, English: Lillian Conroy - West High School for “Captain Crunch”
- Runner-up, Spanish: Lorena Martinez - Olympus High School for “Los Mojados”
You can click the button below to read the winning poems.
Congratulations to our winners and to all the students across the state who competed in these two competitions. Thank you to all the teachers and coordinators who helped to make this year’s competition a success.
Join us again in the 2024/25 school year for these two exciting competitions.
Poetry Out Loud
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation have partnered with the Utah Arts & Museums Arts Education Program to support Poetry Out Loud, which encourages Utah’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance.
Poetry Out Loud encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition 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.
POL participation aligns with the state core curriculum standards in English. It supports the expectation for a students’ capacity to speak in public.
Since 2006, five Utah Champions have received an accolade at the National Competition.
- In 2012, MarKaye Hassan of Logan High School placed third and received $5,000. She returned to Washington, D.C., to recite at the National Book Festival.
- In 2008, Skyline High School senior Madison Niermeyer also placed third and received $5,000. Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti wrote Madison a letter congratulating her on her recitation of his poem “I Am Waiting.”
- In 2007, Amanda E Fujiki of Meridian School placed in the national top 10. Ashlei Havili of American Fork High School (2014) and Devin Jones of West Jordan High School (2013) both received honorable mentions. Each of them received $1000.
Contact [email protected]or [email protected] for more information.
Free educational resources and more information about the national Poetry Out Loud program is available at their website.
Poetry Ourselves
UA&M sponsors the annual Poetry Ourselves competition for 9-12 grade students who wish to enter their original written poems.
GUIDELINES:
- Students must be Utah residents, currently in the 9-12 grade to enter.
- Students must complete an account registration at https://ut-pol.zfairs.com/
- Student poems may be submitted in either English or Spanish. Prizes may be awarded in each category.
- Students may submit either one or two original poems of any format - OR - up to a maximum of ten original haiku.
- Submitted poems must be 25 lines or less (each line of 12 pt. type with one-inch margins counts as one line). Longer works will be disqualified.
- Poems may be rhyme, free verse, haiku, prose poetry, or other accepted poetry forms.
- Poem submissions must be uploaded in PDF format to the student’s online account.
- The title may be listed above the poem (the title does not count as a line of poetry.) DO NOT include the name of the student anywhere on the PDF poetry submission.
Participation has benefits!
- Student workshops with Utah Poet Laureate Lisa Bickmore are available for schools that register for POL, hold a school competition, and send a candidate to compete in their regional competition.
- The state winner of Poetry Out Loud and one accompanying adult will receive a free trip to Washington, D.C. to compete in the national finals.
- The national Poetry Out Loud competition awards more than $100K in prizes to students and to their schools for the purchase of poetry books for their library. A $20K award goes to the national champion.
- The winners of Poetry Ourselves also receive cash prizes.
- The Utah Poetry Ourselves competition does not send winners to compete at a national level. However, all state Poetry Out Loud winners are invited to submit their own original poetry to the national Poetry Ourselves event while competing in DC.
Registration
For Poetry Out Loud, teachers must register for their school or class to participate and then hold a school-level competition to send a winner to regionals.
- A stipend of up to $100 is available for teachers who register, successfully administer a POL competition for their students and complete a report form to UA&M.
- Schools who participate in POL are eligible to request a school appearance from Utah Poet Laureate, Lisa Bickmore at no cost. Read more about this exciting opportunity, including how to request a school visit on our Poet Laureate page.
- No need to register individual students for POL. (However, if a student wishes to participate, but their teacher or school does not, please contact [email protected] for help.)
- To sign up, click the registration button below. Select the geographic region for your school and then look for the small box on the right-hand side of your screen (with the “Create Account” button) to get started.
- After you register, your regional coordinator will reach out with more help and information.
- Guidance for organizing a POL Competition – and other great resources – are available at the national Poetry Out Loud website.
For Poetry Ourselves, students must register and submit their original poems directly.
- To sign up, click the registration button below. Select “Poetry Ourselves” from the list of contests, and then look for the small box on the right-hand side of your screen (with the “Create Account” button) to get started.
- Students may submit either one or two original poems of any format - OR - up to a maximum of ten original haiku.
- Submitted poems must be 25 lines or less (each line of 12 pt. type with one-inch margins counts as one line). Longer poems will be disqualified.
- Poems may be submitted in English or in Spanish.
- FREE Spanish-language poetry workshops are available to through our outreach partners at Artes de México en Utah. Please contact Aaron Garcia to enquire about availability. [email protected]
Important Dates
The calendar for our annual high school poetry competitions include the following important deadlines.
- Registration for Poetry Out Loud (teachers register) and Poetry Ourselves (students register) will usually open sometime in September of October.
- School-level Poetry Out Loud competitions must be held by early February at the latest. (Exact deadlines will vary by region and are TBD.)
- The deadline for student entries to Poetry Ourselves is typically in mid February.
- POL Regional Competitions will usually take place in the 2nd or 3rd week of February.
- Utah State POL Finals take place in midle of March
- National Finals in DC - are at the end of April of the beginning of May.
Past Competitions
Poetry Out Loud Video
