The Bradford County Regional Arts Council invites you to participate in the Poetry Out Loud (POL) National Recitation Contest! 

Students in Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Sullivan, and Tioga counties are eligible for our regional contest. 

High schools that wish to be part of the official POL program should complete the “Intent to Participate” form and submit it to the BCRAC. Teachers who are interested in participating in POL should know that the program requires less than two or three weeks of class time. Studying literature – including poetry – addresses at least three Anchor Assessments as per the PA Common Core ELA Standards: Speaking and Listening (SL. 9-10, SL 11-12), Reading (RL. 9-10, RL 11-12), and Language (L. 9-10, L 11-12).

Schools will receive a packet with free, standards-based curriculum materials for their use. These materials include the Teacher’s Guide booklet and two posters. Each superintendent receives a hard copy version mid-September, and a digital version is available at the Poetry Out Loud website. (NOTE: older copies of the print anthology of poems may include poems no longer in the current year’s list of eligible poems. Please check for a poem’s eligibility in the online anthology at POL’s website, where you will also find other program materials and resources.)

Materials, grants, prizes and the State and National Finals are funded in partnership with the NEA, the Poetry Foundation, and the PCA, allowing the BCRAC to provide service to high schools in this region.

For more information on getting involved with POL, contact Arts-in-Education Director Renae Chamberlain at ntpaie@bcrac.org, or at 570-268-2787.