(Augusta, ME) On Friday, March 23rd the Olin Arts Center in Lewiston will host a contest like no other in Maine as high school students take to the stage to compete against their peers, armed only with poems they have memorized and made their own. One student will walk away with the title of Maine State Champion and the added honor of representing the state at the national finals in Washington, DC in April.
The finalists, representing schools across all of Maine, have already progressed through their school competitions and regional finals to be among the final 10 from approximately 8,000 that began this contest in December. Now these students will recite their choices of classical and contemporary poetry from memory, in front of a live public audience. The event will also be broadcast live on television and the internet through MPBN.
“The Poetry Out Loud contest continues to be one of the most invigorating programs mounted around poetry that we have administrated,” said Maine Arts Commission Acting Director Darrell Bulmer. “The state final is always an amazing event; the quality of delivery and level of understanding from the student finalists is simply breathtaking.”
The winner of the state finals will receive $200, and the winner’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The second place finalist will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library. The state champion will also receive an all-expenses-paid trip (with a chaperone) to compete in the National Finals in Washington, DC in April, where a total of $50,000 in scholarships and school stipends will be awarded.
This year’s finalists are: Bethanie Brown from Waterville Senior High School; Joshua Elwood from Bangor High School; Monica Frempong from Morse High School; Eloise Harnett from Gardiner Area High School; Brianna Housman from Searsport District High School; Avery Laderer from Boothbay Region High School; Tyler O’Brien from Merriconeag Waldorf High School; Makaela Reinke from George Stevens Academy; Kiana Sawyer from Portland High School and Ellyn Touchette from Gorham High School.
The Poetry Out Loud final begins at 1:45 pm on Friday, March 23rd at the Olin Arts Center on the campus of Bates College. Suzanne Nance, host of MPBN’s Morning Classical Music segment, will emcee the event. Gretchen Berg, Carey Salerno, Walter Skold and Martin Steingesser are members of the panel of expert judges who have the difficult task of selecting the state champion.
The event is open to the public and free to attend; registration details can be found on MaineArts.com. Interested parties can also contact Darrell Bulmer at the Maine Arts Commission by calling 207-287-6746 or via email at darrell.bulmer@maine.gov.
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