poetry out loud

I feel as if the amount of literature and poetry knowledge the average American has these days is pretty slim. I'm no expert by any means, but I can spot a basic Twain, Shakespeare, Poe or Fitzgerald reference.

I used to live in an area called Poet's corner in the Bay Area. All the streets in the area were named for such famous folks as Byron, Chaucer, Longfellow, etc. After I explained this to people, I would still regularly have people say, "oh so Hawthorne was a poet then?"

Because of this, I feel like programs like Poetry Out Loud are great for school kids. I love seeing that at least some students will truly internalizing some of the many great works out there.