2026 Highlights

2026 Poetry Out Loud- ​Portola Junior-Senior High School seniors Giannina Avelar, Paige Matlock, and Zion Dammons sweep the Poetry Out Loud contest. Photos by Jane Braxton Little
Portola's Paige Matlock joins a lineup of talented students from the 1st Assembly District in competition for the Poetry Out Loud finals. Image courtesy of Office of Assemblymember Heather Hadwick
About Poetry Out Loud
Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, administered statewide by the California Arts Council. The program encourages high school students to engage deeply with poetry through memorization, performance, and friendly competition.
Participants build confidence, strengthen public speaking skills, and develop a richer understanding of both literary history and contemporary voices. California’s Poetry Out Loud program is the largest of its kind in the nation and has continued to grow since its inception, reaching thousands of students each year.

How It Works
Structured similarly to a spelling bee, Poetry Out Loud unfolds through a series of progressive competitions held annually during the school year.

The program begins in the fall, when teachers use the free Poetry Out Loud educator toolkit and classroom resources to introduce poetry recitation and host classroom competitions. Classroom winners advance to schoolwide contests, with school champions moving on to county-level competitions by mid-February.

County winners then travel to Sacramento for the California Poetry Out Loud State Finals—an unforgettable two-day experience—and earn the opportunity to advance to the National Finals in Washington, D.C.



California State Champion Awards
​The California state champion receives:
  • A $200 cash prize and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C.
  • $500 for their school to purchase literary materials
  • The opportunity to compete at the National Finals for college scholarship awards

For detailed program information and to explore Poetry Out Loud events across California, visit:
https://www.capoetryoutloud.org