Poetry Out Loud State Competition to be held March 6 at Laramie County Community College

The Wyoming Arts Council will host the Poetry Out Loud (POL) State Finals Competition on Mon., March 6, at 1 p.m. at the Surbrugg/Prentice Auditorium at Laramie County Community College (LCCC), 1400 East College Drive in Cheyenne. 

Awards will be announced at a ceremony on Tues., March 7 at 10 a.m. in the Capitol Extension Auditorium, 200 W 24th St, Cheyenne, WY. The public is invited to attend both events.

POL is the national recitation and memorization contest sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation. Designed specifically for students in grades 9-12 attending public, private, or home schools, the POL program is a fun way to teach and learn language arts standards through poetry.

Students first compete at the classroom and school levels before participating in the state finals competition. Each school champion will recite three poems. Wyoming’s state champion will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete at the National Finals. The state champion’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry materials. The first runner-up will receive $100, and their school will receive $200 for their library. This year students from Buffalo, Casper, Cheyenne, Lovell, and Moorcroft will compete in the state competition. 

This year’s judges for the state competition are Casper College Instructor and Award-Winning Poet Chad Hanson, Wyoming poet Matt Daly, slam poet and the Lander Literary Rug slam poetry/open mic coordinator Annelise Wright, and Fine & Performing Arts Consultant for the Wyoming Department of Education Lori Pusateri-Lane. 

The event will be emceed by LCCC’s Communication and Creative Arts Pathways Coordinator, J O’Brien. 

POL builds on the resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, encouraging the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. Students can work on mastering comprehension, public speaking, acting, performance, drama and English skills while building self-confidence and internalizing our rich literary heritage.

For more information, contact Amara Fehring, Community Development and Arts Education Specialist with the Wyoming Arts Council, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Photo caption: 2020 Poetry Out Loud Winner Abbi Wingfield, Chelsea Elwood, and Megan Abraham with Governor Gordon, former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, and former Secretary of State Ed Buchanan.