High schools and arts organizations across Northwest Ohio are being invited to sign up for the 2026-27 Poetry Out Loud competition, the national poetry recitation program that takes students from a classroom contest all the way to a national stage in Washington, D.C.
The Marathon Center for the Performing Arts in Findlay, in partnership with the Ohio Arts Council, is coordinating the invitation for the region, according to the center’s announcement carried by WKXA in Findlay. Students in grades 9 through 12 are eligible, and schools and organizations receive lesson plans, judging materials and coaching support at no cost, the announcement said.
The Northwest Ohio region covers 17 counties: Allen, Crawford, Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood and Wyandot, according to the Marathon Center’s announcement. Registration runs through the Ohio Arts Council’s Poetry Out Loud registration form, and schools with questions can contact the Marathon Center’s Craig VanRenterghem, the announcement said.
Poetry Out Loud asks students to select poems from the program’s anthology, memorize them and recite them before judges, with competitions starting in a classroom or school and advancing through regional and state rounds. The program is designed to build public speaking skills, confidence and a working knowledge of literary history, according to the National Endowment for the Arts, which runs the program with the Poetry Foundation and state arts agencies.
The program is no small stage. Since it began in 2005, more than 4.6 million students and 89,000 teachers from 22,000 schools across the country have taken part, according to the National Endowment for the Arts’ 2026-27 launch announcement carried by PR Newswire. The National Finals award $50,000 in prizes and stipends each year, including a $20,000 prize for the national champion.
For Northwest Ohio students, the road runs through Findlay first. The Marathon Center serves as the region’s arts anchor — the same role it plays for touring performances and community programming in Hancock County — and regional winners advance to the Ohio state finals, presented by the Ohio Arts Council on Friday, March 5, 2027, at WOSU Public Media in Columbus, according to the Ohio Arts Council’s regional partner information.
The invitation lands in a school year when Northwest Ohio classrooms are drawing fresh investment. Bowling Green State University recently won a $1.95 million federal grant to grow civic education for Ohio teachers, a program NewsForce247 covered earlier today, and the University of Findlay is preparing to honor veterans at its Veterans Honor Wall ceremony on November 11.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What is confirmed: registration for the 2026-27 program is open to high schools of every kind — public, private, parochial, independent, charter and homeschool — and to non-school organizations such as libraries and after-school clubs, according to the National Endowment for the Arts. Students whose schools do not host a competition can contact their state Poetry Out Loud coordinator about other routes into the official competition. What has not been announced yet for Northwest Ohio: the date and field for this season’s regional semifinal at the Marathon Center, which will be set once schools register.
What happens next: schools and arts organizations register through the Ohio Arts Council, hold their own classroom and school competitions, and send their champions on to the regional round. The 2027 Poetry Out Loud National Finals are scheduled for April 27-28, 2027, in Washington, D.C., according to the National Endowment for the Arts.
Photo: JJonahJackalope, CC BY-SA