Join us on February 3, 2026, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM for the always powerful Poetry Out Loud competition!
Poetry Out Loud is a national literary arts program that connects young people to great poetry. The program gives schools free educational materials and hosts a dynamic poetry recitation competition for high school students across the United States. Students compete at the school, regional, state, then national levels for the chance to win college scholarship funds.
2026 is our 19th year hosting New Jersey’s Region 1 Poetry Out Loud competition—when high school students from South Jersey deliver deeply-felt readings of great poems, of all eras and styles. The Region 1 winner advances to the state competition, and, from there, has the chance to win the national-level award of $50,000 in college funds.
Poetry Out Loud is led by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation in partnership with state and jurisdictional arts agencies across the country. In New Jersey, Poetry Out Loud is a project of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Count Basie Center for the Arts, with a growing network of regional partners, Including RCCA, that implement the program statewide.
RCCA has been the NJ Poetry Out Loud Region One Partner since 2007.
REGION ONE INCLUDES Gloucester, Burlington, Camden & Mercer counties.
High schools in these counties can get involved in this nationwide recitation contest and scholarship program.
2025 – 2026 Calendar
November 24, 20226 | NJPOL Registration Opens
January 6, 2026 | POL Judge Application Closes
January 21, 2026 | NJPOL Registration Closes
February 2, 2026 | Region 4 Competition | Mayo Performing Arts Center | Snow date: 2/9/2026
February 3, 2026 | Region 1 Competition | Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts | Snow date: 2/6/26
February 4, 2026 | Region 2 Competition | Stockton University Performing Arts Center | Snow date: 2/17/26
February 5, 2026 | Region 6 Competition | Passaic County Community College | Snow date: 2/19/2026
February 10, 2026 | Region 5 Competition | South Orange Performing Arts Center | Snow date: 2/17/26
February 11, 2026 | Region 3 Competition | Grunin Center at Ocean County College | Snow date: 2/13/26
March 3, 2026 | NJPOL 2025 State Finals | Count Basie Center for the Arts | Snow date: 3/5/2026
April 3, 2026 | Travel Reimbursement Closes
April 27 – 29, 2026 | Poetry Out Loud National Finals
4/29/26 National Finals 7:00 PM ET
To learn more about Poetry Out Loud visit www.njpol.org