Earlier this summer, 2023 Poetry Out Loud National Champion Sreepadaarchana Munjuluri had the chance to recite poetry at two of the United Kingdom’s great literary landmarks: Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and Westminster Abbey’s Poet’s Corner, where more than 100 poets, including the Brontë sisters, Jane Austen, and Charles Dickens, are buried or memorialized. Munjuluri’s recitation on the Globe stage was part of the finals competition for Poetry by Heart, the United Kingdom’s poetry recitation program. Munjuluri and the National Endowment for the Art’s Poetry Out Loud coordinator Lauren Miller were invited to participate in the finals as an international celebration of youth poetry recitation, which brought together representatives from the US, Canada, Ireland, France, and the UK. The timing of the visit is particularly special for the NEA as it coincided with the kick off of Poetry Out Loud’s 20th anniversary. 

In a recent conversation with Miller, we delved into this remarkable international collaboration that brought together these youth poetry recitation programs. Miller shared insights into how this unique opportunity emerged, highlighting the shared passion and impact of these programs across borders. She also reflects on how such global exchanges not only elevate poetry as an artform but also foster a deeper sense of community and mutual inspiration among young people worldwide.

National Endowment for the Arts: How did this opportunity come about?

Lauren Miller: The Poetry by Heart team, which is based in the United Kingdom, invited Poetry Out Loud, Poetry in Voice, which is Canada's youth recitation program, and Poetry Aloud, Ireland’s program, to their national competition. As program organizers, we meet virtually every so often, so we've talked about having some sort of international component where we can get together and really celebrate all of our programs by putting these students on an international stage. It finally came together this year after many years of talking.

Poetry by Heart invited a student from each of our individual national programs to come to London and recite at Shakespeare's Globe, which is where they hold their national finals. It was a chance to enhance the visibility of all of our programs and celebrate youth poetry recitation on a global stage. It also gave our national champions the opportunity to meet other students who are doing the same things as them internationally, which was really cool to see. Also, we hope this event encourages other nations to organize their own youth poetry recitation programs so they can join us for any future international gatherings.

NEA: It’s amazing that programs like Poetry Out Loud exist in other countries. What have you learned through the process of talking to these other program coordinators across the world?

Miller: Seeing the British national competition this year, it’s clear that the power of youth reciting poetry is so strong. You can see the students, teachers, and other organizers really coming together through the celebratory nature of youth poetry recitation, which is a similarity with all of our programs.

Poetry Out Loud is in our own little bubble in the US. There isn't anything exactly like this here, so it's really valuable to talk to other organizers about their best practices, challenges, and day-to-day operations , even though each of our programs is slightly different from one another. I know in the UK competition, on the main stage of the Globe, all of the students performed as a showcase. The competition part took place separately in a different, smaller theater that was closed from the public. It was really intimate, which is different than the Poetry Out Loud National Finals.

NEA: What was it like being in a historic location like the Globe Theatre for an event like this?

Miller: Oh, it is so cool to be at the Globe. The connection with Shakespeare and poetry, you can just really feel that in the atmosphere. You're in the round, an outdoor space, with a full audience. The energy was high in the venue, and it was incredible to see all the students from different countries and all throughout the United Kingdom perform on that historic stage. Our champion, Sreepada, told us how grateful she was to perform there.

She recited “Say Grace” by Emily Jungmin Yoon, which she also performed when she won the 2023 Poetry Out Loud National Finals. A lot of people came up to me afterwards saying how impressed they were by Sreepada, and I know a lot of people went up to her as well, saying how well she did. It was great to see Poetry Out Loud represented so positively on an international stage.

NEA: Was there a strong cultural connection to what each of the champions chose to recite about where the country they were representing?

Miller: Most of the students did choose a poem that came from their cultural background, and to see them connect with their own heritage like that—to see them connect with Irish poets, with British poets, with French poets—was incredible.

For the UK competition in general, there seemed to be an emphasis on classic poets that we also see as a component of Poetry Out Loud. They also have kids as young as seven reciting through high school age, so to see a wide age range of students reciting classic poets like Lewis Carroll was fun to see. It was really a magical experience, especially on the Globe stage.

NEA: What was it like watching her interact with these other champions from different countries?

Miller: Just like during our Poetry Out Loud National Finals, the students quickly connected in talking not only about their poems, but also discussing their interests and what they're doing in the future. Sreepada and the Canada champ, Emiliia Lebedeva, talked about both wanting to go into medicine.

Poetry really connects with young people, and we see that time and time again through Poetry Out Loud. That was just further conveyed, seeing them all come together from different countries. Poetry speaks to our social experience and our cultural experience, both personally and historically. Students are connecting to their literary history as well as contemporary life.

The day after the international celebration and the competition, Poetry by Heart very kindly took the international program participants on a day-long London tour by boat. They took us to the Tower of London. We also went and stood on the Prime Meridian, where you can stand between the Eastern/Western hemispheres. We went on tour on Westminster Abbey and saw Poets' Corner, where there are memorial of hundreds of poets and writers throughout the ages. The students spontaneously took turns reciting there too. It was so cool to see them do that in that space.

Young people connecting through poetry and the arts in general makes humanity stronger, and it was inspiring to see that come through with all the students that we met on this trip.

Poetry Out Loud® lifts poetry off the page, creating community and connection. Through this program, high school students across the country participate in a dynamic poetry recitation competition that is designed to improve their public speaking skills, help build confidence, and teach them about literary history and contemporary life. A partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and state and jurisdictional arts agencies, Poetry Out Loud provides free lesson plans and other educational materials to teachers and organizers, including an online anthology of 1,200 classic and contemporary poems. Learn more about Poetry Out Loud and how to get involved at PoetryOutLoud.org