LEWISTON – Crystal Farrington stood at the mic, blue dress shimmering in the soft light, and began to read.

“These poems, these poems. These poems, she said, are poems.”

At times her hands warred with one another at her belt. Now and then, they jabbed the air to emphasize a strong verse in Robert Bringhurst’s poem. At the end, the redhead stood stoically, arms limp at her sides, and read the final verse.

“You are, he said, beautiful. That is not love, she said rightly.”

Applause, and then the next reader walked onto the stage.  The Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest was well under way.

Held Friday night at the Franco-American Heritage Center, the contest began with significant pomp. Lauren LePage, daughter of Gov. Paul LePage, was there to announce Maine’s newest poet laureate.

The honor went to Wesley McNair of Mercer, a man LePage described as “exceptionally dedicated to the written word.”

McNair, a recipient of fellowships from the Fulbright, Rockefeller and Guggenheim Foundations, had more to say about the 10 students slated to read poetry than about his own achievements.

“Writing in Maine has never been better than it is right now,” he told the group. “You are part of this renaissance. As my first act as poet laureate, I want to welcome you into Maine’s poetry community as perhaps its youngest members.”

And then, maybe to remind the audience of roughly 100 that poetry isn’t always a somber affair, he said: “I’m going to listen and watch while you rock this place with poetry.”

The 10 students reciting poetry Friday night were selected from 8,500 students from 45 schools around the state. Nationwide, a half-million students participate in the Poetry Out Loud Contest.

Farrington is a senior at Lake Region High School in Naples. Like the others, she recited three poems.

In the end it was Lulu Hawkes, a junior from Catherine McCauley High School,  who was declared state champion. Hawkes, from Zimbabwe, recited three ethnically-based poems to win the contest. She will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete for the national title in April and a $20,000 scholarship.

Throughout it all, McNair watched and listened from the darkness. There was irony in his being named poet laureate by the governor’s daughter. It was McNair who spoke out on behalf of Maine poets when the governor declined to have poetry included in his inauguration.

It was all good for the new poet laureate. That the governor and several other state leaders sent representatives to the event showed him that the written word still means plenty in this state.

“The Maine tradition of poetry deserves support,” he said, “deserves to be honored.”

Among other distinctions, McNair has read his poetry at the U.S. Library of Congress. His latest book is “Lovers of the Lost: New & Selected Poems.”