Big prize for a student poet

The National Endowment for the Arts and the publisher of Poetry magazine have organized a national poetry reading competition for high school students, with the winner receiving a $20,000 college scholarship.

“Poetry Out Loud: The National Recitation Contest” expands on a pilot program for which competitions were held last year in Chicago and Washington, D.C. The contests, which start in early 2006, will take place in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, from classroom readings to state finals, in April, then national finals, planned for May 16 in Washington.