Maine Poetry Out Loud

Blog post 1 of 6 – Poetry

It is very exciting to see Allan Monga, Maine’s State Poetry Out Loud (POL) 2018 champ, as the emcee of the Maine state finals this year. Unfortunately, they couldn’t be held in person but how wonderful that they’ve been recorded so you can enjoy watching and listening to students from 10 Maine high schools reciting poetry.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Maine poetry student finalists and THANK YOU TEACHERS!

EMMA COLLINS, grade 12 – North Yarmouth Academy, Teacher: Ross Markonish

HAZEL DOW, grade 11 – Waterville Senior High School, Teacher: Thomas Creeley

KATELYN NESTOR, grade 10 – Gardiner Area High School, Teacher: Melissa Cheeseman

EMILY PARUK, grade 12 – Gorham High School, Teacher: Kerry Herlihy

ZEKE SITARZ, grade 12 – Lisbon High School, Teacher: Danielle Sylvia

SOFIA STOCKWELL, grade 10 – North Haven Community School, Teacher: Matt Rich

HELEN STOUT, grade 12 – Cape Elizabeth High School, Teacher: Lisa Melanson

ROSE TUTTLE, grade 9 – Mount Ararat High School, Teacher: Emily Vail

ADA VANCIL, grade 11 – John Bapst Memorial High School, Teacher: Jennifer Babcock

MAGNOLIA VANDIVER, grade 12 – George Stevens Academy, Teacher: Maria Johnson

After three rounds of strong performances, the Maine Arts Commission POL judges announced Emily Paruk, a senior from Gorham High School, to represent Maine in May at the National POL event. Helen Strout, a senior at Cape Elizabeth High School, finished runner-up. The Maine State Finals judges were Mihku Paul, Ekhlas Ahmed, Erica Rubin Irish, and Todd McKinley. 

Emily Paruk recited Once the World Was Perfect by Joy Harjo, Fairy-tale Logic by A.E. Stallings, and [‘Often Rebuked, Yet Always Back Returning’] by Emily Bronte.

This will be the first year in the program’s 16-year history that the national competition to be held virtually. Her first appearance is May 2 at noon during one of three semifinal matches. If she advances beyond the semifinal, Paruk will compete in the national finals on May 27 at 7 p.m.

Maine’s POL program is organized by the Maine Arts Commission in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.

For more information about Maine Poetry Out Loud, visit MaineArts.com or contact Meg Fournier, Interim Director of Media and Performing Arts, Maine Arts Commission at megan.b.fournier@maine.gov. More than four million students have participated in Poetry Out Loud over the past 16 years, many advancing from classroom competitions to school competitions to state competitions to, finally, the national finals. For more information about the national POL program, visit poetryoutloud.org.

The film includes three rounds of student recitation videos, as well as performances by musicians from Maine Academy of Modern Music. Enjoy the recorded state finals below.