Congratulations to First Place Winner William Whitham of Bangor and Second Place Winner Alice Hofgren of Waterville
AUGUSTA - The Maine Arts Commission announced the winners of the 2009 Maine State Poetry Out Loud competition at the end of a wonderful evening at the Camden Opera House last week. The audience was treated to a night of linguistic mastery as Maine's high school students dazzled while performing under the stage spotlights.
The winner of first place was William Whitham from Bangor High School. He will now go on to represent the state of Maine at the national finals in Washington D.C. in late April, where he will compete with the 52 remaining students who have progressed to the final from the 250,000 who began this competition nationally. The winner of second place went to Alice Hofgren from Waterville Senior High School. Both these students worked hard as they emerged from the initial group of 26 semi finalists, finding themselves in a final group of ten. William Whitham enthralled the audience with his rendition of 'The Secret of the Machines' By Rudyard Kipling, and went on to clinch first place by reciting 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud' By William Wordsworth. Alice enchanted the crowd with her performance of 'Sonnet CXVI: Let me not to the Marriage of True Minds' By William Shakespeare.
William Whitham is a junior attending Bangor High School, who enjoys acting, reading Noam Chomsky and flying kites. His favorite subjects include English and Chemistry, and he possesses an avid interest in politics.
William was a big hit with the crowd at the state poetry finals, raising laughter and admiration as he calmly proclaimed his life ambition to be a desire to graduate from high school. He was again measured when asked what representing Maine at the national finals means to him. "I am simply overjoyed to live in a world where reciting poetry can result in a trip to Washington," William responded.
"William's recitation in the state final was exquisite and he will prove to be more than a match for his fellow competitors at the national finals," said the Maine Arts Commission Arts in Education Associate, Paul Faria. "Judging on what I have seen, William is certain to continue distinguishing himself as he completes his high school career," Paul added.
For the next month, William's time will be spent preparing to represent the state of Maine at the national finals in Washington, D.C. on April 28, where $50,000 dollars in scholarships and school prizes will be awarded.
Maine Arts Commission member Felicia K. Knight was the host for the state finals. Featured speakers and participants included Maine's First Lady Karen M. Baldacci, Maine Arts Commission Chair John M. Rohman and Maine Arts Commission Director Donna McNeil.
Guest judges for the competition included Annie Finch, Stuart Kestenbaum and Dawn Potter.
Annie Finch is a professor of English at the University of Southern Maine and Director of the Stonecoast low-residency MFA Program in Creative Writing. She is the author of six books of poetry, including Eve, Calendars (a finalist for the Forward Poetry Book of the Year Award), The Encyclopedia of Scotland (Salt Publishing) and Among the Goddesses: An Epic Poem and Libretto (Red Hen) as well as the definitive translation of the Complete Poems of Renaissance poet Louise Labe. Stuart Kestenbaum has been the director of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, since 1988 and is the author of three collections of poems, Pilgrimage (Coyote Love Press), House of Thanksgiving (Deerbrook Editions), and Prayers and Run-on Sentences (Deerbrook Editions). Dawn Potter is the associate director of the Frost Place Conference on Poetry and Teaching and recipient of a 2009 writing fellowship from the Elizabeth George Foundation. She is also the author of two poetry collections and a prose memoir, Tracing Paradis.
Accuracy judge Lee Sharkey is the co-editor of the Beloit Poetry Journal and a former member of the Maine Arts Commission. She worked as a poet in schools for fifteen years under the auspices of the Maine Arts Commission's Touring Artist Program.
This year in Maine, 2,700 students from public and private schools from Kennebunk in the south, to Presque Isle High School in the north, and from Rangeley Lakes School in the west, to Shead High School in Eastport to the east, participated in the 2008 - 2009 Maine Poetry Out Loud Program. Contestants recited works they selected from an anthology of more than 1000 classic and contemporary poems. The National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation created a standards-based teacher's guide, a comprehensive website, and a CD featuring poetry recitations by well-known actors and writers.
The winner of the Poetry Out Loud Maine finals received $200, and the winner's school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The runner-up received $100, with $200 for her school library. The first and second prize winners also received handsome trophies and all school winners received a medallion and a certificate of excellence. The State of Maine Senate will recognize each school winner and their own senator will send recognition from their district to the school winner. The State Champion of the Poetry Out Loud Maine final receives an all expenses-paid trip (with a chaperone) to compete in the National Finals in Washington, DC, on April 27 - April 28, 2009. The Poetry Out Loud National Finals will award a total of $50,000 in scholarships and school stipends, with a $20,000 college scholarship for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion.
It is not too early to start thinking about next year's Poetry Out Loud competition. If you are interested please contact Paul Faria arts in education associate at 207/287-2790 or paul.faria@maine.gov. To take part in this or any of the programs offered by the Maine Arts Commission, please visit www.mainearts.com for details.
For more information:
Contact: paul faria
Phone: 207/287-6746
email: paul.faria@maine.gov
WWW: maine.com
