Poetry Aloud Poetry Speaking Competition 2024 - A Platform for Young Voices
Poetry Aloud, the annual poetry speaking competition, returns for 2024, offering post-primary students across the island of Ireland an opportunity to showcase their talent for reciting poetry. Organised by the National Library of Ireland (NLI) and Poetry Ireland, with support from University College Cork, the competition continues its legacy of celebrating spoken poetry. Since its inception in 2006, Poetry Aloud has grown exponentially, with almost 2,000 entries by 2017.
Seamus Heaney, a major supporter of Poetry Aloud, played a pivotal role in promoting the competition. When he won the David Cohen Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Literature, Heaney selected Poetry Aloud for the Clarissa Luard Award, recognizing its profound impact on young people's appreciation of poetry. Heaney believed that the competition "brings poetry into the memory and affections of the young in a way that will make it a lifelong possession and value."
Poetry Aloud is open to all students attending second-level schools in Ireland, both North and South. The 2024 competition begins in September and runs through December, with students competing in one of three categories: Junior (1st and 2nd year in the Republic of Ireland, or Years 8-10 in Northern Ireland), Intermediate (3rd and 4th year in the Republic, or Years 11 and 12 in Northern Ireland), and Senior (5th and 6th year in the Republic, or Lower and Upper 6th in Northern Ireland).
The competition will follow a virtual format for the first round, as in 2020 and 2021. Students will submit video recordings of themselves reciting a prescribed poem from memory, with semi-finals and the national final following. Adjudicators from Poetry Ireland and the NLI will judge the entries based on these performances. The closing date for submissions is Friday, October 4th.
To participate, teachers must select students to represent their schools in any or all of the three categories. They are required to submit video recordings via phone (professional recording is not necessary), and the prescribed poems for each category are as follows: The Last Peacock by Gerry Dawe for the Junior category, Every Immigrant’s Dream by Polina Cosgrave for the Intermediate category, and A Kite for Aibhín by Seamus Heaney for the Senior category.
For more information on how to enter, or to consult guidelines, teachers can email poetryaloud@nli.ie.
Highlights from Poetry Aloud 2023