Maine State Champion, Will Whitham, made it though the semi-finals to compete with the final 12 in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. Will performed admirably and assures us he had the most amazing time.
He did not make it to the final 5, but for his outstanding efforts he did bring back an award of $1,000 for making it to the second day of the competition.
The final results were as follows:
1st Prize National Champion: William Farley of Virginia
2nd Place Winner: Barbara Gooding of Kentucky.
3rd place: Kareem Sayegh of Illinois.
Will Whitham and Alice Hofgren, Maine's second place winner, will appear in an interview with Suzanne Nance on the MPBN Morning Classical Music; we will attempt to publish this date to allow those interested to listen.
Will Whitham asked us to convey his kindest regards and thanks to all of you who cheered him on for his performance at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals in DC.
Will is back in Bangor and shared the exuberance of his experience in Washington and his admiration for the young man from Virginia who won first prize. He informs us that the 2009 National Champion William Farley is not only a fabulous orator, but that he also possesses the nicest personality.
Will came home with a bag full of prize money, celebrity autographs (other than his own), poetry books and other memorabilia. He is looking forward to his upcoming appearance on MPBN’s Morning Classical Music with Suzanne Nance.
Do not forget to watch highlights of the state finals at YouTube, and let your local schools know that they can be part of next year's competition by contacting Paul Faria at 207/287-2790, paul.faria@maine.gov.
Image of Will Whitham at the state final by Darren Setlow
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment