State Finals – Poetry Out Loud

Join us for an afternoon of poetry

No one is reciting the poem, Eating Poetry below but there are plenty of other poems that 11 Maine high school students will be reciting on Wednesday, March 14, 3:00 p.m., Waterville Opera House. The doors open at 2:30 to the public when you can enjoy a performance by Waterville High School students under the direction of Sue Barre, music educator extraordinaire! There is no cost to attend and I promise that the student reciters will be spectacular! The audiences were WOWED at the Southern and Northern Maine regional finals held during the last month.

We are very proud that Maine consistently ranks high amongst the U.S. national participation. This year, 9,500 Maine students from 39 high schools participated across the state. And now, 11 students advance to the Poetry Out Loud State Finals, being broadcast live on March 14 from the Waterville Opera House.

The Arts Commission is collaborating with Boothbay Region Television to broadcast the state finals live throughout the state, as well as streaming the event via Facebook Live.

To see the students who will move onto the Maine Poetry Out Loud State Finals and hear their recitations from the state regional competition, click here. If you can’t make it to Waterville, remember to tune in live on the Maine Arts Commission Facebook page.

In the meantime, check out Eating Poetry by Mark Strand. This is one of the hundreds of poems that students selected from for their three poems.

Eating Poetry

By Mark Strand

Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.
There is no happiness like mine.
I have been eating poetry.

The librarian does not believe what she sees.
Her eyes are sad
and she walks with her hands in her dress.

The poems are gone.
The light is dim.
The dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up.

Their eyeballs roll,
their blond legs burn like brush.
The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and weep.

She does not understand.
When I get on my knees and lick her hand,
she screams.

I am a new man.
I snarl at her and bark.
I romp with joy in the bookish dark.

• Mark Strand, “Eating Poetry” from Selected Poems. Copyright © 1979, 1980 by Mark Strand. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

Poetry Out Loud is organized nationally by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation and administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission.

Poetry Out Loud Finalists

Yahoooo for high school students and poetry

State Final, Free and Open to Public, at Waterville Opera House March 14

AUGUSTA, ME–The art of performance and spoken word is alive and well in Maine high schools, as 39 individual students competed in two Poetry Out Loud Regional Finals last month.  The Maine Arts Commission, which administers the poetry competition at the state level, is pleased to announce the top 10 finalists who will compete in state finals at the Waterville Opera House on March 14 at 3:00 p.m.

Congratulations to the following finalists:

Northern Maine Regional Champions: The northern regional poetry recitation contest final was hosted by Hampden Academy.

• Lydia Caron, Grade 12, Bangor High School
• Katherine Kemper, Grade 12, Camden Hills Regional High School
• Lauren Dodge, Grade 12, Lee Academy
• Hannah Lavenson, Grade 12, Messalonskee High School
• Lauren Farmer, Grade 10, Rangeley Lakes Regional Schools

Southern Maine Regional Champions: The southern regional final was hosted by Westbrook Middle School.

• Allan Monga, Grade 11, Deering High School
• Abbie vanLuling, Grade 12, Gorham High School
• Richard Hilscher , Grade 12, North Yarmouth Academy
• Emma Lombardo, Grade 11, Westbrook High School
• Wyatt Bates, Grade 11, Yarmouth High School

After three rounds of competition, one state finalist will be named the overall winner and advance to the national competition, where s/he will compete for a total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends, as well as a $20,000 scholarship.

The Maine Poetry Out Loud state finals are March 14 at the Waterville Opera House. The doors will open at 2:30 p.m. for a 3 p.m. performance start. The event is free and open to the public, who are encouraged to attend. It will also be broadcast and streamed live throughout Maine in collaboration with Boothbay Region Television on the BRTV station and through Facebook Live.

For more information about the state and national finals, please visit Maine Arts Commission: Poetry Out Loud 2017 or contact Argy Nestor, Maine Arts Commission Director of Arts Education at argy.nestor@maine.gov or 207-287-2713.

 

Poetry Out Loud

Highlights of the Northern and Southern

Last week the Maine Poetry Out Loud Northern and Southern events took place at Hampden Academy and Thornton Academy. I was so impressed with the 42 high school students who recited (from memory) two, and if they made it to the final round, three poems. They were poised, articulate, and so committed to the poems they shared.

If you are interested in poetry, all I can say is, you missed a wonderful performance. Fortunately, you can catch glimpses of the poets reciting in two videos produced by the Maine Arts Commission Marketing Director, Ryan Leighton.

From each event, five students were selected to move onto the state finals, Monday, March 13, 3:00 PM, Waterville Opera House. In a blog post from last week you can see who is moving to the states by CLICKING HERE. Guaranteed you will be moved beyond words when you hear these 10 students recite. Jennifer Rooks from Maine Calling will emcee. In addition to the poets, the Maranacook Chamber Singers under the direction of Drew Albert will perform and, Maine’s Poet Laureate Stu Kestenbaum will recite some of his work.

Both videos are posted on the Maine Arts Education youtube channel.

Northern Maine POL Finals – Hampden Academy

Southern Maine POL Finals – Thornton Academy

POL Today

Northern Regional Finals – Hampden Academy

The Poetry Out Loud (POL) Northern Regional Finals will be held today starting at 3:00 PM at Hampden Academy. The Maine Arts Commission (MAC) invites you to attend this exciting event – no cost and open to the public. Nineteen students will be competing for one of 5 spots in the State Finals. The following students have already competed at the school level and will proudly represent them:

• Lydia Caron – Bangor High School
• Amanda O’Brien – Calais High School
• Kara Robak – Camden Hills Regional High School
• Morgan Steward – Carrabec High School
• Abigail Corson – Gardiner Area High School
• Phoebe Zildjian – George Stevens Academy
• Emily Albert – Hall-Dale High School
• Danielle Barrett – Hampden Academy
• Katherine McKee – Kents Hill School
• Dianna Nicholas – Lee Academy
• Hannah Orr – Maine Central Institute
• Antyna Gould – Medomak Valley High School
• Tara Seymour – Messalonskee High School
• Emmeline Willey – Monmouth Academy
• Michaela Dube – Presque Isle High School
• Owen Sinclair – Rangeley Lakes Regional School
• Stefanie Johansen – Richmond High School
• Anna Bucklin – Searsport District High School
• Lauren Brown – Waterville Senior High School

We are happy to include in today’s program the Hampden Academy R&B Project, under the direction of music teacher Patrick Michaud. They are one of four jazz groups at Hampden Academy. They perform a wide variety of styles ranging from Frank Sinatra to Ray Lamontange. The group was created to give students an opportunity to perform in an ensemble that will allow them to perform in the music industry beyond high school.

Poetry Out Loud is organized nationally by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation and administered at the state level by the MAC. POL encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. Since it began, millions of students at more than 7,300 schools nationwide have participated. This great program also gives students an opportunity to master public-speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.

Recently students had the opportunity to work with two award winning Maine poets, Megan Grumbling and Gibson Fay-LeBlanc during an online workshop. It was a outstanding learning session where students had a chance to practice and receive feedback on their recitations.

Online POL workshop

The Maine State Finals for POL will be held on March 15, Waterville Opera House, 3 PM TODAY – open to the public, no cost! Jennifer Rooks, Public Affairs Host and Producer at Maine Public Broadcasting Network (MPBN), will serve as the event’s emcee.

For more information about Maine’s POL program, please visit http://mainearts.maine.gov/Pages/Education/POL-Home or contact Argy Nestor, Maine Arts Commission Director of Arts Education at argy.nestor@maine.gov or 207-287-2713.

Waterville Opera House

Waterville Opera House opportunities

For more information on how to provide educational opportunities for your students at the Waterville Opera House please contact Dick Dyer ddyer@operahouse.org.

In Today’s News

Film Festival – Waterville

In today’s Kennebec Journal Kaitlin Schroeder provides a review of the Maine Student Film & Video Festival held this weekend at the Waterville Opera House. This was the 36th annual competition where 100 people gathered to watch and help recognize students for their technical and artistic talent. Many of you know Huey, the filmmaker who founded the event. He noted the serious topics (like homelessness) that many of the films had. He said: “I think it shows that students take the world more seriously than we think they do.” You can read the entire article by clicking here.