NJ Poetry Out Loud 2008-09

Recitation and performance are major new trends in poetry. There has been a recent resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as seen in the slam poetry movement and the immense popularity of hip-hop music.

Poetry Out Loud (POL) builds on this momentum by inviting the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word and theatre into the English class (as well as Drama, Forensics, and other appropriate classes). The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation have partnered with State Arts Agencies , the New Jersey State Council on the Arts among them, to support the expansion of Poetry Out Loud, which encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. This exciting new program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.

All New Jersey public, charter, private and parochial high schools and New Jersey home school associations are invited to participate.

For eligibility requirements for public, private, or parochial high schools click here>>>
For home school association requirements click here>>>

Participating students should be in grades 9-12 or the age/grade equivalent (in the instance of home school associations.) High school teachers are invited to sign up their school for the program and contest. The program is designed for teachers and schools to conduct the classroom and school level program on their own using the Poetry Out Loud website and program materials provided.

Download Registration Form>>>

All schools/home school associations will follow the same contest structure described in the Teacher’s Guide. Important supplemental information: Since NJPOL has an additional contest level, the regional competitions, please make special note of the number and types of poems for students to prepare at that level:

Classroom Level: Students prepare at least one poem. Classroom winners will proceed to compete in school-wide competition.

School Level: Students must prepare two poems. School-wide winners will proceed to compete in a regional competition.

Regional Level: Students must prepare three poems: at least one poem must have been written before the 20th Century and at least one of the three poems must also be 25 lines or shorter. Two regional winners will proceed to compete in the State Finals.

State Final: Students must prepare three poems as in Regional Level: Winners from each of the Regional Contests will come to New Jersey Network Studios in Trenton in March 2009 to compete for the title of New Jersey State Champion. The state champion will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC to compete for the national championship. The state winner's school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. A state runner-up will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library. The National Finals will take place April 26-28, 2009 in Washington, DC.

Beginning at the classroom level, winners from each class will advance to the school-wide competition. Each school will send a finalist to regional finals and then the regional finalists will advance to the state level competition. Ultimately, one student will advance to the National Finals in Washington, DC.

Poetry Out Loud will be implemented in schools in the fall of 2008 and early winter of 2009. Three regional finals will be held across the state in February 2009.

The regions are:

REGION 1: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem Counties
Contest: Feb 18, 2009 at Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts, Gordon Theatre 10AM-noon (Snow date: Feb 26)

REGION 2: Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset and Union Counties
Contest: Feb 12, 2009 at Two River Theater Company, Red Bank 10AM-noon (Snow date: Feb 19)

REGION 3: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, and Warren Counties
Contest: Feb 11, 2009 Bergen County Community College 10AM-noon (Snow date: Feb 27)

NCTE STANDARDS: Poetry Out Loud satisfies most of the NCTE English Language Arts Standards. In addition to memorizing and performing great poems, students will have the opportunity to discuss poetry and—if the teacher wishes to use the optional lesson plans on the website—to write poetry of their own.

NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards: Poetry Out Loud satisfies most of the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards in Language Literacy and many in the Visual and Performing Arts: http://www.state.nj.us/njded/cccs/

The first NJ Poetry Out Loud was launched by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA) in 2005-2006 as a pilot program in 7 high schools representing different regions of NJ. NJSCA partnered with Playwrights Theatre of NJ/New Jersey Writers Project, which brings writing residencies to over 150 schools statewide annually. The pilot integrated an artist residency into the POL program. The 7 school finalists went on to compete in the state final at NJN studios in Trenton. Our 2006 state winner, Teika Chapman, Trenton Central High School, went on to proudly represent our state at the National Finals in Washington, DC.

In 2007 NJPOL expanded statewide and a total of 34 high schools representing 14 counties participated. Three regional contests conducted at NJ theatres sent 6 regional champions to the state finals at NJN Studios on March 22, 2007. Our 2007 state champion, Naja Selby. Arts High School, Newark, represented NJ proudly at the National Finals in Washington, DC and became one of only 12 national finalists. Naja won a $1,000 scholarship, $500 in poetry books for her school and two round trip tickets from Southwest Airlines.

In FY08 the Council continued to expand the program statewide. The program partners expanded to include Bergen County Division of Historic and Cultural Affairs and Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts. A total of 44 high schools representing 14 counties participated. New this year was the participation of a home school association. Three regional contests took place at Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts; Two River Theatre Company, and at Williams Center for the Arts. Two finalists from each Region then competed at the State Finals at NJN Studios, Trenton on March 27, 2008, which was webcast live and featured on NJN’s digital cable channel. Poetry Out Loud received additional support of $5,000 from the Karma Foundation and significant in-kind support from New Jersey Network.

Our 2008 State Champion, Allison Strong, Union Hill High School, Union City, represented our state proudly and was in the top five students of 52 competing in the National Finals in Washington, DC April 27 – 29. Allison won a $1,000 scholarship, $500 in poetry books for her school.