Poetry Out Loud Competition

The Keene Public Library invites community to attend the Poetry Out Loud Competition taking place at Heberton Hall, Library Annex on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 2PM, where students will compete for scholarship prizes.

The Keene Public Library conducted a Poetry Out Loud (POL) program for high school homeschoolers and high school students whose high schools are not participating this year. This year’s contest features six participants. The champion and runner-up of our competition will either receive a renewable scholarship award of $15,000 annually from New England College or up to $11,000 from Southern New Hampshire University.

The winner of the Keene Public Library’s Event will then compete at one of three regional semi-final competitions to be held the first week of March. The finalists from these regional events will square off at the state final held at Keene State College on March 20.

The goal of the competition and its accompanying curriculum is to encourage the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage. Poetry Out Loud builds on the current resurgence of the spoken word as an art form, inviting the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theater into the classroom and the library.