“Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.”

-Madeleine L’Engle

Art is nothing without words, and the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri strives to create and support programming that lifts up the literary arts. Each year we host the regional Poetry Out Loud Competition which is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. We partner with organizations such as Here. a literary magazine and the Cape Girardeau Public Library to make access to literature available to everyone in our community.