Students: Welcome to Poetry In Voice!

Browse our poetry anthology with Poem Roulette, or you can just use this button:

Random Poem

Skim lots of poems. Let the poems be what they are — meet them like you would meet some friends of a friend. You don’t have to love every poem you read. You just need to find one that captures your attention. If you skim 20 poems and still haven’t found one you love, don’t worry. There’s still hope! Check out the WRITE section below.

Once you do find a poem you like, get to know it a little better:

• Read it several times. Consider it might mean more than you first thought. Ask your friends and fam to read it and get their take on it. Disagree with them. Start a poetry debate. Win the debate. Study law. Run for office. Become Prime Minister. Remember, it all started here.
• Check if there’s a series of guided questions and links below the poem you’ve chosen. We call these “Dive Ins.” Try answering them (probably for a school assignment, but still, better than an exam, right?)
• Read the poet’s bio. See if they’ve answered our questions or if they’ve sat for a video interview for us. Google them. Follow them on social media (if you and they do that sort of thing).
• Read your poem again. And again. And again. Would you look at that? You’ve practically memorized it!

But why memorize a poem? According to plenty of studies, memorizing has been found to increase neural plasticity and the health of your hippocampus. So memorize a poem and you’ll be smarter!

Ok, but why recite a poem?

When you recite for an audience, like a singer covering a classic song, you create a unique interpretation of a great poem.

Watch how these student champions each bring something unique to the stage:

Using our tips, you can learn how to use your breath, voice, and body to put the poem’s words centre stage. And with those skills, you’ll always be able to command a room with confidence. Wouldn’t that make public speaking just a little less terrifying?

Jump out of a plane, swim with sharks, recite a poem! #YOLO

Ask your teacher how you can get involved in our individual and team competitions. You could win hundreds or even thousands of dollars in prizes, travel, and the title of National Champion.

Time to write your own poem! Two great places to start:

• Write a response poem to one of the poems in our anthology
• Try one of our writing prompts

After you’ve polished your work, submit your poem to our poetry journal, VOICES/VOIX. Your work could be read by millions of people across Canada and around the world.