Poetry Out Loud
About Poetry Out Loud
Join us at the State Museum of Pennsylvania at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 4 for the 2024 Poetry Out Loud state competition. This event is free and open to the public.
Poetry Out Loud (POL) encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. More than 4.1 million high school students from more than 17,000 high schools across the United States have discovered the magic of beautiful language through Poetry Out Loud.
The PCA collaborates with
14 regional partner organizations to administer regional competitions across the commonwealth.
Poetry Out Loud is part of the PCA's ongoing efforts to foster educational excellence for Pennsylvania's students through participation in the creative process.
Poetry Out Loud was 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, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
2023 Pennsylvania Poetry Out Loud state champion, Peachy Lee
2023 POL News and Results
The 2023 Pennsylvania Poetry Out Loud State (POL) Championship took place virtually. PCA announced the 2023 PA POL champion and runner-up on March 13 via
Facebook.
This year's 13 regional finalists were part of the 2,995 high school students who participated in the competition in 77 schools across the Commonwealth, through the coaching and support of 205 teachers/coaches.
Peachy Lee, a senior from Lancaster Country Day School is Pennsylvania's 2023 Poetry Out Loud state champion. Lee will go on to represent Pennsylvania at the national finals in Washington, D.C., which begin on May 8, 2023.
Pennsylvania's 2023 Poetry Out Loud state runner-up is Kendal Pauline, a senior from Hazleton Area Arts and Humanities Academy in Luzerne County.
Additional Information
Judges for the state and regional finals include performers, poets and cultural and business leaders from across the state. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) sponsors the statewide competition along with its regional partners and arts organizations.