Important Dates
September 1, 2024 - POL online anthology live for 2024-25 school year
December 14, 2024 - Deadline to register for semifinals/report results of school competition
February 8, 2025 & February 15, 2025 - Semi finals at 1pm and 3:30pm both days (Virtual for accessibility purposes)
March 7, 2025 - State Finals, Wayne Theatre, Waynesboro, Virginia
March 20, 2025 - Deadline for state champs and chaperones to register for National Finals
May 5-7, 2025 - Poetry Out Loud National Finals in Washington, DC
The Virginia Commission for the Arts (VCA) is excited to partner with The Wayne Theatre serving as the host and administrator of the the 2024-2025 Poetry Out Loud program.
A national program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation, brings poetry to high schoolers through memorization, performance, and public speaking. Since 2005, nearly 4.7 million students have participated in the program and committed at least one poem to memory.
In Virginia, approximately 101,000 students have participated since the program’s inception.
DOWNLOAD INITIAL REGISTRATION FORM