Welcome to Poetry Out Loud 2023

November 14, 2022

WELCOME TO POETRY OUT LOUD 2023

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.

November is Native American Heritage Month, and to celebrate, we're reading a great collection of poems, essays, books, and more by and about Native American poets on poets.org. Also, take some time to take a look at A Rich American Tapestry: 5 Indigenous Poets to Teach Right Now (Carnegie Learning). Happy November!

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.

Teacher's Guide

Download 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

What to Expect?

You can expect a monthly newsletter from the State of Florida Poetry Out Loud.

Facebook Group

Join the Florida Poetry Out Loud Teachers Facebook group

OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR STUDENTS

Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry

Amanda Gorman and Penguin Random House recently established the Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry (ABC News), a $10,000 prize for public high school students who submit the best original work. Current public high school seniors in the U.S. and all U.S. territories who plan to attend a 2 or 4 year college are eligible for the Gorman award. For more information on how students can apply, visit the Penguin Randomhouse website.

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)