Angela Bauer

Emily Bauer with Poetry out Loud sponsor Andria Benmuvhar at the St. Louis Poetry Out Loud competition.

Senior Emily Bauer will be representing St. Louis County at the Poetry Out Loud State competition in Jefferson City, MO on March 9.  

“It feels great, and it’s such an honor to have gotten this far and represent the county, because at first it was just something I wanted to do for fun,” competitor Bauer said.

This is Bauer’s first time participating in a large poetry competition. She is performing three poems total, It was not Death, for I stood up (355) by Emily Dickinson, Entirely by Louis MacNeice, and her personal favorite, Zacuanpapalotls By Brenda Cárdenas.

“I heard about it first from my English teacher. It was up on a poster and I thought that I would try it just to do something new, and I actually wish I would have known about this earlier, so I could have gotten involved in this and done this all four years,” Bauer said. “I didn’t even know our high school had an opportunity like this.”

While Bauer has been on team sports, such as water polo, that have been to state competitions, she has never been at a competition as an individual before.

“It’s changed me in a couple different ways, more-so competitively,” Bauer said. “My freshman year water polo went to state when I was still on JV, but our varsity team went to state for water polo and they won, and so I remember watching that game, and how exciting it was.”

Bauer is anxious for the competition, but is confident in her abilities to recite the poems she’s memorized.

“It’s funny because I’ll always be waiting in the wings, shaking while waiting to go on,” Bauer said.  Once I get up there it’s so well practiced and I know what I’m doing so I’m just able to calm down and recite what I know I’ve done hundreds of times already.”

Bauer has always loved poetry, whether it is reading or writing it. Getting involved with Poetry out Loud has deepened her appreciation for poetry.

“[Poetry out Loud] has let me see poetry in a different way, because I’ve never been able to really analyze it this in depth before, and really think about the story that the author was trying to tell. Once I started it I really fell in love with it,” Bauer said.

Bauer is excited to bring her English teacher Courtney Pena, the Poetry Out Loud sponsor Andria Benmuvhar, and her mother to the competition and the luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion.

“They’re super excited so to have them there supporting me feels really good,” Bauer said. “It’s really just an honor to have even gotten this far.”