“It is truly inspirational to hear the thoughts, experiences, feelings, and ideas of Poetry Out Loud participants in their own voice, their own words, demonstrating that poetry can be both intimate and ubiquitous,” said Amy Stolls, director of Literary Arts at the National Endowment for the Arts. “Congratulations to this year’s Poetry Ourselves winners.”
Student participants of the Poetry Out Loud program memorize and recite works of classic and contemporary poetry. Recognizing that many Poetry Out Loud participants also create their own work, Poetry Ourselves was launched in 2016 as a part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ 50th anniversary as a way to encourage student creativity. These winning poems will be highlighted on the NEA’s blog in May.