Links & Threads

An Arts Learning Resource
Published by the Ohio Arts Council
and the Ohio Department of Education

For the seventh year in a row, the Ohio Arts Council is sponsoring Poetry Out Loud (POL) with national support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, and with local assistance from the Ohioana Library Association and Thurber House. Teachers may register online now for the 2011-12 season of POL. Free POL teacher toolkits and other materials are available upon request.

When POL began in Ohio in 2005, the program only hinted at the life-changing potential that lay ahead. By May 2006, Jackson Hille had made history in Ohio by becoming the first ever POL National Champion and winning a $20,000 scholarship. As the program enters its seventh year, Ohio's POL maintains the promise of influencing high school students across the state. Participants enhance their public speaking skills, cultivate self-confidence and discover the joys of memorizing and reciting classic and contemporary poetry.

Ohio's POL state finals take place on Saturday, March 24, 2012, at Ohio Dominican University's Matesich Theatre. POL school champions compete for cash prizes and an all-expense-paid trip to participate in the National Finals on May 15, 2012, in Washington, D.C.

Ohio high school teachers are encouraged to sign up for this exciting celebration of our literary heritage. For additional information, please visit www.oac.ohio.gov/events/PoetryOutLoud/ or www.poetryoutloud.org. For information on the upcoming POL Teacher Training Workshop or the Workshop for School Champions, please contact Chiquita Mullins Lee at chiquita.mullinslee@oac.state.oh.us.

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