NV Poetry Out Loud 2025
Seven high school students from across Nevada will compete in the 20th Annual Poetry Out Loud Nevada State Finals, a national arts education program and competition supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, at the Joe Crowley Student Union theater at the University of Nevada, Reno. The students will compete by reciting poetry to the audience as they seek to represent the Silver State at the national Poetry Out Loud competition, to be held in Washington, D.C., in early May. The public is encouraged to watch the free contest.
The Poetry Out Loud competition is a nationwide program aimed at fostering students’ self-confidence and honing their public speaking skills through the art of poetry recitation. Participants select and perform poems from a curated anthology, exploring works that span literary history and contemporary themes. School winners advance to district competitions, with those top performers moving to the state competition and the state winner advancing to the national stage May 5-7, 2025. The Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs that helps to stimulate artistic and economic activity across the state, has been facilitating Nevada’s participation in the program for 20 years.
