Registration Now Open for NH Poetry Out Loud

CONCORD, NH — Registration is now open for New Hampshire Poetry Out Loud 2016-2017, according to a press statement. High schools and regional groups in the state wishing to participate have until Oct. 17 to sign up; the total number of registrations is limited to 40 groups. Managed in New Hampshire by the NH State Council on the Arts, Poetry Out Loud is a nationwide program that offers free educational materials to schools to help students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage.

Participants memorize and recite poems from hundreds that have been identified by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation to represent the breadth of great poetry internationally and across generations. Competitors are judged on the quality of their presentation, accuracy and evidence of understanding.

Last year, approximately 10,000 New Hampshire high school-aged students participated.

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In New Hampshire, winners represent their high school at four regional, semi-final competitions; semi-final winners then participate in the state championship. The state champion travels to Washington, D.C., for the national finals, where more than $50,000 in college scholarships and prizes are awarded to the top finishers.

New Hampshire’s Poetry Out Loud supporters include the Putnam Foundation – a donor-advised fund of the N.H. Charitable Foundation – and the New Hampshire Writers Project. Other partners include the Poetry Society of New Hampshire, the Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire and the Frost Place.

New Hampshire educators interested in having their high school or regional group participate in 2016 New Hampshire Poetry Out Loud and who would like more information should contact Julianne Gadoury 603-271-0791, julianne.gadoury@dcr.nh.gov.

To learn about New Hampshire Poetry Out Loud 2016-2017 or to register, go to: nh.gov/nharts and click on the “Poetry Out Loud” button.

Submitted by Shelly Angers.