(Bangor, ME) This year’s Maine State Final of Poetry Out Loud promises to be the most exciting since the competition began eight years ago. The takes place on March 20 at the Gracie Theatre located at Husson University in Bangor, and begins with introductions and poetry readings from Presidential Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco. Then, ten finalists will masterfully recite poetry as they compete for the honor of representing Maine at the national finals in Washington, D.C. The line-up is completed by MPBN’s Suzanne Nance, who will be our emcee for the evening. The event will be recorded by MPBN for future airings.

Since December, approximately 8,000 students have been competing across Maine for ten spots at the state final of Poetry Out Loud—the national poetry recitation program organized by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, and administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission. Ten students have now been chosen to compete and the state final, and they are:

Iman Omar - Deering High School
Christian E. Heath - Gardiner Area High School
Skyler Samuelson - Merriconeag Waldorf High School
Jai Aslam - Messalonskee High School
Isabelle Fall - Mt. Ararat High School
Abigail Abbott - Rangeley Lakes Regional School
Brianna Housman - Searsport District High School
Morgan Wiggan - Thornton Academy
Bethanie Brown - Waterville Senior High School
Dyer Rhoads - Waynflete School

Join us on March 20 at the Gracie Theatre in Bangor for this free event. We are expecting a full house and we ask that you please register today to avoid disappointment. Doors open at 3:30 and the event begins at 4:00 pm. Please click here to secure and print your tickets.

Poetry Out Loud is a national program organized by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation and administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission. The competition begins in Maine's schools where school champions are selected to compete in two regional finals at which ten students are ultimately selected to appear at the state final. One student moves on from the state final to represent Maine at the national finals in Washington D.C., where students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico will compete for a total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends for the purchase of poetry books.