All Illinois High Schools Invited to Participate in Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest

SPRINGFIELD–(ENEWSPF)–October 14, 2009.  The Illinois Arts Council invites all Illinois high schools to participate in the 2009 Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest, a free national program created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Now entering its 5th year of national competition, Poetry Out Loud has inspired hundreds of thousands of students to discover a broad spectrum of classic and contemporary poetry.

Poetry Out Loud will award more than $100,000 to state- and national-level winners in total this year. National Finals will award a total of $50,000 in cash awards and school stipends for the purchase of poetry books, and each state-level contest awards $1,000 in cash prizes to the champion, runner-up, and their schools.

Hard copies of all Poetry Out Loud materials are free for participating schools, including print and online poetry anthologies, a teacher’s guide to help instructors teach recitation and performance, an audio CD featuring distinguished actors and writers, promotional and media guides, and a comprehensive website.

Teachers interested in participating in Illinois’ competition please contact the Illinois Arts Council’s Poetry Out Loud partnering organization nearest you as early as possible:

All curriculum materials and further detail regarding the program are also available on the Poetry Out Loud website: www.poetryoutloud.org.

Source: illinois.gov