William Whitham is 2009 Maine State Champion of the 4th annual Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest

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The winner of first place is William Whitham from Bangor High School. William Whitham enthralled the audience with his rendition of “The Secret of the Machines” By Rudyard Kipling, and went on to take first place by reciting “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” By William Wordsworth. William is a junior attending Bangor High School. Will enjoys acting, flying kites, and reading Noam Chomsky. His favorite subjects include English & Chemistry and he is avidly interested in politics. Second Place went to Alice Hofgren from Waterville Senior High School. Alice enchanted the crowd with her performance of “Sonnet CXVI: Let me not to the Marriage of True Minds” By William Shakespeare. For the balance of March and April Will’s time is dominated with preparing to represent the state of Maine at the national finals to be held at Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C. on April 27, where he competes for the first prize of a $20,000 college scholarship among 52 other national finalists.

	William Whitham - Winner of the 2009 Maine State Poetry Out Loud Final

The Maine Arts Commission announced William the First Place winner of the 2009 Maine State Poetry Out Loud competition on Friday, February 27th at the end of a wonderful evening at the Camden Opera House The audience was treated to a night of linguistic mastery as Maine’s high school students’ talents sparkled while performing under the theatre spotlights. Maine Arts Commission member Felicia K. Knight was the host for the 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. Entertainment breaks during the evening’s event were provided by New England’s premier native humorist Tim Sample.

Maine's First Lady made opening remarks and spoke of the important role of arts in education. “The arts enhance learning outcomes and contribute to cognitive and social development in young people. These students will share with us their excitement about the power of the spoken word and their love of poetry. Tonight we will recognize and celebrate this achievement of excellence in the arts by our Maine students.”

	Alice Hofgren - Second Place Winner of the 2009 Maine State Poetry Out Loud Final

Maine Arts Commission director Donna McNeil also extolled the students’ accomplishments. “The Maine Arts Commission congratulates all our school winners for the passion, devotion and hard work they have poured into preparing for this event. Your confidence, dedication, focus, courage, individuality, and creativity have all been honed through this process and will serve you throughout your lives. We are proud to have William Whitham represent the State of Maine at the National Finals for Poetry out Loud in Washington, D.C.”

The Poetry Out Loud competition is made possible by a unique partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and all of the nation's state arts agencies. It begins with over 250,000 students across the United States competing; over 2,700 of those competed within Maine this year. As winner of the state final William receives $200; his fellow students also benefit as their school receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. Will also receives an all-expenses-paid trip (with a chaperone) to compete in the National Finals in Washington, DC, on April 26 - 28. Second Place winner Alice Hofgren will receive $100, with $200 going to her school library.

National Finals

The Poetry Out Loud National Finals take place on April 27-28 at the Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC. Award-winning actress Tyne Daly, A Prairie Home Companion's Garrison Keillor, and poet Luis Rodriguez, among others, will judge the Poetry Out Loud National Finals. To learn more about the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, visit http://www.poetryoutloud.org/news/nationalfinals.html

We would like to thank the following organizations for their generous support of the 2008 Maine Poetry Out Loud Competitions:

National Endowment for the Arts 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washinghton, DC 20506 www.arts.gov

Poetry Foundation 1030 North Clark Street, Suite 420 Chicago, IL 60610-5412 www.poetryfoundation.org