Poetry, for me, has always been the most difficult event in the realm of discourse and debate. One of the biggest challenges of the event is finding a long enough poem or alternatively enough poems to meet the time requirement.
The best options competitors have are to use a long poem (which I would only recommend to a poetry recitation expert) and to use a collection of poems that are related in some way. The latter is my preference as a judge, as it adds variety and allows the audience to see many sides of a competitor.
Here are some examples of topics I’ve seen in competition:
Men (“Hollow Men”, “Men” by Maya Angelou)
Women (“Phenomenal woman”, “I stop writing the poem”)
Teachers (“Schoolsville” is great; “What Teachers Make” is a classic)
Poems by an Author (Shel Silverstein, Langston Hughes and I see Dr. Seuss a lot for some reason).
Some students also perform popular songs, which is fine, but only if it is supposed to be fun. Nobody wants to hear a dramatic recitation of “American Pie.” Weird Al’s material is perfect for a selection of humorous poetry. One guy did a fun performance of various songs by female pop singers: Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera, Madonna.
Another option is to find a bunch of poems with a random word, like “popcorn” or “wildebeest.” Once you’ve organized them to your liking, simply title your collection “Popcorn Poetry” or (if you’re brave) “Wildebeest Poetry.” You may need to do some research to find multiple pieces with such an unlikely theme for poetry, but doing so will help you emerge victorious from a round full of fast-paced epics.