Poetry Out Loud is an activity initiated at CK by English and debate teacher Chalen Kelly. Performing poetry helps students experience great poetry, and present their favorite poems. Not only does this help students share their poetry, it also helps them with public speaking. “The students presenting at the poetry out loud can go to school competitions, to regional, and state competitions,” said Kelly. 

“I’ve always liked poetry. It seemed like a good outlet to present and hear,” said senior Acacia Anselme who participated. “Yes, I enjoy Poetry Out Loud, because it’s just a great experience and helps me to be comfortable to speak in front of people.”

Kelly explained, “I believe that all communities gain from the presence of poets and love of poetry because poets share insights and pose questions that make us reevaluate small and big patterns in our lives. When I heard about Poetry Out Loud from a friend in the debate community I was immediately interested. The Poetry Out Loud competition propels students to explore a range of poetry, then share their favorites in a supportive setting. I like that the poetry choices offer a variety of styles because it helps readers find new favorites and writers can learn new ways to draft their own poems,” said Kelly. Each presenter has to present a poem that must be 25 lines or fewer and has to be written before the 20th century. “During the competition, there will be three rounds. Each round you will present three different poems, the more memorized the better,” said Kelly in her introduction. Seven people attended and there were two judges, and five people presented poems.

Each presenter had to present a poem of 25 lines or fewer which had to be written before the 20th century. “During the competition, there were three rounds. Each round, presenters performed three different poems, the more memorized the better, as Kelly explained in her introduction. Seven people attended and there were two judges, and five people presented poems.

Seven people attended the CK competition:  two judges, and five people who presented poems.

Poetry Out Loud was created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Since 2005, Poetry Out Loud has reached more than 3 million students and 50,000 teachers from 10,000 schools in different states,