43 Schools Across FL Have Registered For POL 2023

January 18, 2022

43 Schools Registered for POL Florida!

The deadline for schools to register to participate in the Poetry Out Loud State of Florida competition is January 20, 2023. So far, 43 schools have registered from across the state!

How to Register Your State Finalist

We are excited to host the Poetry Out Loud State Competition and look forward to receiving your school's state finalist's registration. To help us get the information we need in a timely fashion, please submit the student's contact information no later than February 3, 2023.

Once we receive the information requested, we will be reaching out to the students directly to collect important information to get them registered for the State Competition. In the event you have not yet selected your state finalist, contact us to provide the date of your school's Poetry Out Loud Competition.

Please Note: The 2023 state finals will be held on March 11, 2023. To have your school's winner participate in the state finals, they will need to be registered in our system by February 17, 2023, plan accordingly.

Introducing and Reciting the Poem

As you prepare for your regional and state competitions, please remember the following guidelines from page 10 of the 2022-23 Teacher's Guide regarding how students should introduce their poem in official competition:

Competitors will recite each poem once individually. The emcee should introduce students as they come to the stage to recite. It is the student’s job to identify the poem by accurately announcing both the title and the author, and, if necessary, the translator. (For example, “Where did the handsome beloved go?” by Jalal al-Din Rumi translated by Brad Gooch.)

A student’s own editorial comments before or after the poem are not allowed.

Epigraphs included with the poem in the Poetry Out Loud anthology should be recited, and their omission will affect the accuracy score.

Footnotes included with the poem in the Poetry Out Loud anthology should not be recited, and their inclusion will affect the accuracy score.

Stanza numbers and dedications included with the original poem are optional, and their inclusion or omission should not affect the accuracy score.

Students must include the name of the translator, if applicable.

The poem must be delivered from memory.

POL PR Tips for Schools/Organizations

As we're gearing up even more into POL competition season, remember to share the promotional ideas that are included in the POL PR Toolkit with schools and organizations in your state. A few are included below:

Post notices announcing the competition and champions at your school/organization and/or on your website, newsletter, student newspaper, or social media pages. Use the Poetry Out Loud logo to celebrate your involvement.

Announce classroom winners and the school-wide competition in the daily PA broadcast, or on the school's YouTube channel.

"Live Tweet" a Poetry Out Loud contest or share photos on Instagram. Remember to use the #POL23 or #IAmPoetryOutLoud hashtags.

Arrange for a class to watch online or attend your region or state Poetry Out Loud competition.

After the event, send the local newspaper a follow-up press release highlighting the contest, your involvement in Poetry Out Loud, and photos from your event or photos of your local champions.

Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Use the letter to showcase your school or organization’s participation in Poetry Out Loud, and to discuss the benefits of taking part in a national program like this.

New to POL? View the Information Session

We had the pleasure of hosting an information session on Friday, October 21 for educators interested in participating in Florida Poetry Out Loud for the 2023 competition. Thank you to those that joined us. We recorded the session for you, and you can check it out here.

During our conversation we discussed all of the poem options for your students. Here is the Master POL Anthology with all the eligible poems for the 2022-23 school year.

Teacher Resources

There is a collection of resources for our teachers. A great resource is the Poetry Out Loud website; inclusive of the Teacher's Guide (linked below).

Specific information to the State of Florida Poetry Out Loud program can be accessed here.

Download the Teacher’s Guide here.

Poetry Out Loud Gets Original is Back!

We are excited to announce we will be hosting a virtual 2023 Florida Poetry Out Loud Gets Original (POLGO) on March 17, 2023 from 6 - 8 pm. POLGO is a complementary competition which invites students to submit original poetry. Students who participate in the state of Florida POL programming and competitions this year are also invited to create and submit their own original poetry for the potential to be included in an anthology that will be published and disseminated to participants.

The University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus is partnering on the POLGO competition with Keep St. Pete Lit, a non-profit organization that celebrates and promotes greater St. Petersburg’s literary community through arts, education and events. Any high school student is eligible to participate in POLGO. Students whose poems are selected for publication will be notified and those students will also be invited to participate in a virtual open microphone competition to read their original poems where winners will receive cash prizes from $200 to $50 for both content and performance.

Submission Guidelines:

Original poetry may be on any topic and has a 300 word maximum
1-3 poems
Single spaced
Poems can be no more than a page and a half
12pt font

Deadline for submissions: February 1, 2023

APPLY HERE for the 2023 Florida POLGO Competition

Poetry Out Loud Mobile App

Poetry Out Loud has a free app! With this app, students can easily find, save, and practice poems for the competition on their phones or tablets. Many thanks to our wonderful partners at the Poetry Foundation.

Available for download:

App Store (iOS)

Google Play Store (Android)