Poetry Out Loud: Reviving an Ancient Art
Memorizing and reciting poetry once again is becoming part of American high school students' education. The impetus is Poetry Out Loud, a new educational initiative developed by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation.
The initiative centers on education and a national poetry recitation competition. This year, students from the capital region of Ohio will compete at the school level for a pilot state competition to be held on April 29 in Columbus. The state winner will then go to a national competition in Washington, D.C.
"We are hoping the competition will become an annual, statewide event," says Mary Campbell-Zopf, the Ohio Arts Council's Director of Arts Learning.
Sandra Miller,
Ohio's 2006 POL Coordinator
Why a return to this ancient tradition when "memorization" so often is viewed as a form of learning that lacks depth?
"When you memorize a poem, it's like making a friend for life," says Sandra Miller, a critically acclaimed poet and an educator. Miller is the Ohio Arts Council's project coordinator for Poetry Out Loud. With help from other Ohio poets, she is visiting classrooms and providing professional development and support for teachers participating in the project.
Miller says the benefits of recitation extend far beyond appreciation: "A student is projected into the poet's position, embodying fully the emotions and ideas of the poem as conveyed through language. Students also become aware of the connections between traditional poetic forms and contemporary ones. Memorizing poetry "classics" also is an excellent way to learn techniques and tools for their own future writing and reading."
The Poetry Out Loud Web site provides a wealth of online resources for teachers, including an online anthology of poems, curriculum materials, and tips for recitation. The OAC Web site provides a self-assessment rubric and other information and materials for supporting teachers.
This article was published in March 2006, Volume 2, Issue 2.
