For the last four years the Maine Arts Commission has organized the Maine finals of Poetry Out Loud. Similar to a national spelling bee, Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation competition for high school students throughout the United States; over 500,000 students compete each year.
In 2009, William Whitham, from Bangor High School, competed against 2,700 students in Maine to become state champion. In April, William went on to represent Maine at the national finals in Washington D.C., where he finished in the top 12. This film shows how he got there. For more information on this competition visit, http://mainearts.maine.gov/organizations/education/PoetryOutloud.shtml.
