Let’s get ready to RUUUUMBLE!
The Poetry Out Loud State Competition happens Saturday, March 5, at the Greensboro Central Public Library in Greensboro. High School students representing twenty-eight counties across North Carolina will compete for $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip with an adult chaperone to Washington, DC, to compete for the national championship.
The state winner’s school receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The first runner-up in each state receives $100, with $200 for his or her school library.
North Carolina’s State Competition, now in its eleventh year, features recitations by students from public and private schools, including schools as far away as Jackson County in the mountains to Dare and New Hanover counties on the North Carolina coast.
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation have partnered with U.S. state arts agencies to support Poetry Out Loud, a contest that encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.
After successful pilot programs in Washington, DC, and Chicago, Poetry Out Loud was launched in high schools nationwide in the spring of 2006 and has grown to involve millions of students across the country.
In 2015, Casey Goggin of Pinecrest High School in Moore County represented North Carolina and was the 2015 third place winner at the National Finals. Watch his recitation of “The Applicant” by Sylvia Plath, above.
To watch some pretty amazing kids read some even more amazing poetry, click here.