Prose & Poetry

Prose & Poetry, or Prose-Poetry, is a competitive speech event practiced by state high-school forensics/public speaking or debating associations such as the Ohio High School Speech League and the California High School Speech Association, and the National Forensic League (NFL). The NFL does have consolation events in Prose Interpretation and Poetry Interpretation at the National Tournament, but these are only open to competitors who qualified in other events and were eliminated before the late elimination rounds.

Competitors in Prose & Poetry (short form: P-P) read an unmemorized cut of prose or poetry, which is typically read from a small black binder. A short memorized introduction precedes the prose or poetry reading. The time limit for these events is typically five minutes, occasionally with a 30-second grace period, though in some areas the time limit is seven minutes. Competition rules are the same as for NFL interpretation events.