Scott Griffin: The rhyme and the reason

The sense of punishment is largely absent, but the competitiveness and the lifelong love it instilled go a long way towards to explaining Poetry in Voice, Griffin’s other grand gesture towards verse. A recitation competition for school-age children, this year’s edition — taking place May 14 and 15 at the University of Toronto’s Isabel Bader Theatre — will by its end have whittled down entrants from 177 schools across the country to one winner, who will walk away with a cheque and the chance to read again at the Griffin Poetry Prize gala in June.