Poetry Out Loud is an annual event that takes the works of famous poets and asks students to present them in a competitive fashion. Students select two poems, and later a third, out of the hundreds available to choose from, and then they record those poems to present to an audience of judges who advance the best to the next highest level of competition.

Due to the Coronavirus, video submissions are required this year, and submissions are being accepted until January 15th. You can read the rules here. Mrs. Civitillo, the English department supervisor, is accepting entires from anyone who wishes to participate, and she only asks that those students email her before December 23rd to state their interest in competing. Students will then submit their videos by like means before January 11th. The winner from Del Val will then move on to the regional competition, where they have a chance to make it to the state and national levels.

Delaware Valley Regional High School has taken part in the nation-wide program since 2014, when Mrs. Esposito introduced it to the school district. During the first few years, students participated in groups of ten or greater. Though, for the past few years, there have been fewer participants, if any at all. Mrs. Civitillo believes that one reason many people do not partake in the event is a lack of confidence in one’s acting ability.

No matter what type of poem you may feel drawn to read, the poem must be found on the Poetry Out Loud’s list of poems. For that list any other competition information, visit the Poetry Out Loud website!