The following information is from the ENOCH website at www.enochnj.org

What is it?

The competition’s goal is to encourage high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance.  Students will develop their public speaking skills, build self-confidence and discover the beauty of poetry.  Students compete at a classroom level, school level, regional level, state and national level.

Learn more about the competition by visiting the Discover Jersey Arts website.  Scroll down and click on Poetry Out Loud.  You can also see last year’s competition if you scroll down to and click on Program History.

NJPOL has stated that any state homeschool organization can register as a “school”.  This year, ENOCH of NJ is registered as a “school” with three “classrooms” [see chart below].  Additional “classrooms” can be added if there is a coordinator and a minimum of 5 high school students participating.  If interested in sponsoring a classroom level or a school level competition, please contact the NJ POL Homeschool Contact, Carla Abrams before November 1st, 2008.

How is the Competition Structured?

Classroom Level: Students must prepare one poem.  Competition date & location depends on the “classroom” – see chart below.  The competition must have between 5 to 15 students in order to participate at the classroom level.  This level of competition must be completed by December 30^th, 2008.  Support groups can sponsor this level competition [see above]

School Level: Students must prepare two poems.  The winner from the school will proceed to the appropriate regional competition.  This level competition must be completed by January 20^th.  State organizations serve as a “school” – ENOCH is sponsoring this level competition.  Date and location will be announced soon.   

Regional Level: Students must prepare three poems: at least one poem must have been written before the 20^th Century and at least one of the three poems must also be 25 lines or shorter.  Competition date & location depends on the Region.  The appropriate region is determined by the residency of the homeschool winner.

State Final: Same poem requirements as Regional level.  Winners from each of the Regional competitions will come to NJN Studios on March 19^th, 2009 to compete for the title of New Jersey State Champion.  The state champion will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC to compete for the national championship.  The state winner's library of choice will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books.  A state runner-up will receive $100, with $200 for his or her library of choice.

The National Finals will take place April 26-28, 2009 in Washington, DC.  The 1^st place winner receives a $20,000 scholarship; the 12 finalists each receive a $1,000 scholarship and $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books for their library of choice. 

Who is Eligible to Compete?

This exciting new program, which began in 2005, is open to all students in 9th to 12th grade.  This is the 2^nd year that the competition is opened to homeschoolers in NJ.  Homeschoolers will begin the competition at the “classroom” level.  In order to have “classroom” competitions, ENOCH approached three homeschool support leaders across the state and asked them to coordinate the competitions [see chart].  Students interested in competing would register with the “classroom” closest to their home.  The competitions are opened to all homeschoolers in New Jersey – you need not be a member of a NJ homeschool support group to participate.

Students interested in competing should check out the Frequently Asked Questions for Student on the Poetry Out Loud Website.  Parents should check out the Frequently Asked Questions for Teachers there.  Obviously, all the questions do not pertain to you as parents, but they do address some matters you need to be aware of.

Questions about the Poems

Can students choose poetry outside of the poems in the anthology?

No.  The POL website includes an online anthology of more than 400 poems that will continue to expand.  The students must choose their selections from the POL database.  This anthology will also be available in hardcopy form and will be distributed to schools & classrooms participating in the official contest. 

How much do the Poetry Out Loud materials cost?

The program materials for Poetry Out Loud are free.  You may access these online at no cost – audio segments, the poetry anthology and video segments.  The three “classrooms” will receive the free hardcopy materials [poetry anthology, audio CDs] which each student will receive upon registering.

How does one register to compete?

Interested families need to print out the Information Packet to register their students.  This packet will be available online as soon as the dates and locations are finalized.  The packet includes the official student registration form.  You must mail the form to the appropriate “classroom” coordinator.  The student registration fee goes towards the facilities used for the competitions.  Deadline for registration is November 26^th, 2008.

If you have questions, you should contact any of the classroom coordinators.

The above information was taken from the ENOCH of New Jersey site.