Fifth Annual Stanford Poetry Out Loud Competition

Date
Thu May 19th 2016, 7:00 - 9:00pm
Event Sponsor
Humanities Center, Department of English, Creative Writing Program
Location
Levinthal Hall, Stanford Humanities Center

The Stanford English and Creative Writing Departments, with the support of the Stanford Humanities Center, are sponsoring a unique opportunity open to all Stanford students (undergraduates, graduates, etc.) to perform their favorite poems for cash prizes.

Contestants should choose a published poem in English (NOT one they have written) to memorize and perform for 3-5 minutes in a striking and memorable way. Each contestant will be judged largely on the use of voice (enunciation, pacing, emphasis, projection, tone) while keeping body gestures and movements to a minimum. The most important criteria of course is to choose a poem that you love and believe fits your voice. The final performance on Thursday, May 19th will be open to anyone who would like to attend!

To enter and for more information, contact Mai Wang at spolenglish [at] gmail.com (spolenglish[at]gmail[dot]com) no later than Sunday May 1. There will be one preliminary round of auditions (not open to the public), held from May 4-6, to determine who will compete in the final performance, so you will need to schedule a time for this. Poems need not be memorized in full by the time of the audition.

This is a fantastic opportunity to revive a long-standing poetic practice, and win some cash in the process. We look forward to hearing from you!

Prizes: $450, $350, and $250

Event Sponsor:

English Department