Memorizing "anyone lived in a pretty how town" by E.E. Cummings when she was about 6 years old turned out to be an extremely lucrative move for Robi Mahan.

The poem was one of three that Robi, a junior at Harrisburg High School, had to recite to become one of 12 finalists in the national poetry recital competition, "Poetry Out Loud."

The finals took place at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Washington D.C.; final results were not available by presstime.

The competition, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, challenges high school students to compete in a regional competition, a state competition and finally, the national competition. Robi was one of more than 100,000.

"I was scared and excited," Robi said about learning she was in the top 12. "It was a weird feeling."

Robi's first task was to survive the regional competition at Carbondale Community High School. Nancy Stemper, executive director of Carbondale Community Arts, who co-sponsored the regional contest with the Illinois Arts Council, described Robi as speaking with the "thoughtfulness" of someone who was reading their own poetry.

The state competition was held in the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Springfield. In addition to the cummings poem, Robi memorized "When I Am Asked," by Lisel Mueller and "Beauty" by Tony Hoagland. She and Kendra Kennedy, a student from Carbondale Community High School, placed in the top five with Robi going on to win.

At the national competition at George Washington University in Washingon, D.C., Robi was one of 51 students representing their state and the nation's capital. After another recital of the three poems, she was named to the top 12.

"I was writing down names in my program and after I heard her name, I put my program down and cried," said Bonnie Mahan, Robi's mother. "She's such a bright young kid."

While spending time in Washington, the finalists received a tour of the White House and the Kennedy Center. Robi and Bonnie also met with a representative of Sen. Barack Obama's office. Bonnie said the representative told them Obama might attend the recital to lend his support.

In addition to winning the thumbs-up of a United States senator, Robi can win a scholarship for $20,000. Second and third place receive $10,000 and $5,000 respectively, and $1,000 cash prizes for the runners-up.

The finalists were required to recite two of the poems again in the finals so the judges, who included "Prairie Home Companion" host Garrison Keillor, could narrow the finalists down to five. The final five then recited their last poem to determine the winner.

C.J. Harbison, Robi's speech and theater teacher at Harrisburg High School, described her as a "spark plug" and a "free spirit." He said while he is overjoyed to see her make it as far as she has, it didn't come as a complete shock.

"When she finds something she really enjoys, she works very hard at it, sets goals and tries to achieve those goals," Harbison said. "All of us here are extremely proud and wish her the best."

The respect Harbison has for his student is mutual for Robi, who said he was one of her strongest supporters and credited his class for adequately preparing her for the recitals.

"He just pushed me to do my best," Robi said. "It was nice to have someone there who believed in me, even though sometimes I didn't think I could make it."

Bonnie said that while the competition was fierce, she had high hopes for her daughter and that no matter where Robi placed, she would be just as proud of her.

"It's wonderful to be a part of this and see [Robi] shine," Bonnie said.

codell.rodriguez@thesouthern.com

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