Congratulations Selah Johnson!
California's Poetry Out Loud Winner

Selah will represent Los Angeles County and the state of California at the national Poetry Out Loud competition being held May 5-7, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

View Press Release

 

Congratulations to Our Winners!

Congratulations to the 2025 Los Angeles Poetry Out Loud winner, Selah Johnson from The Archer School for Girls and the Runner-Up Sonia Carrillo from Crescenta Valley High School!

 

Selah Johnson (Winner)

Selah Johnson (Winner)
The Archer School for Girls

Sonia Carillo (Runner-Up)

Sonia Carillo (Runner-Up)
Crescenta Valley High School

For Students

Resources for students interested in poetry and participating in the competition.

  • Online Anthology
    Selection of POL poems available to students for recitation.
  • Recitation Videos
    What's it like to compete? Here is everything you need to to help you perform a successful recitation.
  • Tips on Reciting
    Enhance your performance with these professional recitation tips.
  • POL Conversation with Students
    A conversation with the 2020 POETRY OUT LOUD winner, Aiyanna Da'Briel and LACHSA Student and LA Youth Poet Laureate, Arlene Campa.
  • Scoring Rubric
    The scoring rubric is meant to provide a consistent measure against which to evaluate recitations.
  • Accuracy Score Sheet
    Score sheet used by the Accuracy Judge to track errors in accuracy.

For Organizers

Every year since 2005, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation work with thousands of schools and organizations nationwide to bring students a unique way to learn and love poetry. Through Poetry Out Loud™, students read, memorize, and recite classic and contemporary poems.

This year, LA County's Poetry Out Loud competition will hold the competition remotely and have an in-person celebration ceremony. Check back on this page for updated documents and forms.

Resources

Resources for schools and non-school organizations who are hosting a local Poetry Out Loud event.

LA County Poetry Out Loud Winner
Selah Johnson
The Archer School for Girls
2025 LA County Poetry Out Loud Winner

Past Events

You can find past LA County Poetry Out Loud events on YouTube.

Launch YouTube Playlist

Contact

For more information please contact:

Jeannine Flores

Arts & STEAM Coordinator, LACOE
Flores_Jeannine@lacoe.edu