Poetry Out Loud 2026

Celebrate the best of Texas's future poets and performers. Event Details The Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) conducts the state Poetry Out Loud recitation competition. Produced on a national scale by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, the program provides scholarships to high school students and funds for poetry books to winners’ school libraries. The event is FREE to attend in the Texas Spirit Theater. The statewide winner represents Texas at the national competition in Washington, DC in late April.