Nevada Poetry Out Loud competition opens registration

Registration is under way for the Nevada’s 2020 Poetry Out Loud competition and high school teachers and students throughout the state are invited to get involved.

Registration is open to all high school-aged Nevada public, private, charter, parochial and alternative schools and home school associations. Structured similarly to the National Spelling Bee, Poetry Out Loud is focused on literary heritage through memorization and performance of classic and contemporary works.

“The talent and confidence we see in students, who get on stage and make these works their own, is just really remarkable,” said Maryjane Dorofachuk, arts learning specialist for the Nevada Arts Council, a sponsor of the program. “These students find their own voice and they learn that words matter.”

The Poetry Out Loud state champion earns $200, wins $500 for his or her school to support literary programs, and travels to Washington, D.C., to compete for $100,000 in scholarships and school prizes at the national finals.

Preparing for the competition, students get the chance to sharpen their analytical skills, discover new things and explore their creative side.

The Nevada Arts Council, along with its partners – the Nevada Department of Education and school districts across Nevada – support the state and district competitions, made possible through funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.

Poetry Out Loud begins at the local level as students learn about, memorize and present out loud poetry from the website, www.poetryoutloud.org. In 2019, more than 3,500 students, teachers and coaches participated in Nevada’s Poetry Out Loud. Last year’s state champion Vanessa Apointe of Clark County represented Nevada at the national finals.

Teachers are invited to find out more about 2020 Nevada Poetry Out Loud and to register to participate by Dec. 2 by contacting Maryjane Dorofachuk at 702-486-3738 or mdorofachuk@NevadaCulture.org.