Anna Baumm sat in a dimly lit auditorium waiting for her name to be called. One by one, each contestant stood up and recited a poem in front of the audience. The pressure began to mount as her hands and knees began to tremble. 

“The hardest part was sitting there and waiting,” Baumm said. “Reciting it wasn't hard. It's kind of like a song, you just say it over and over again.” 

Baumm, a freshman at Boothbay Region High School, was crowned winner of the sixth annual Poetry Out Loud contest January 9, and will represent BRHS at the regional contest in southern Maine February 13. 

Baumm and 13 other participants were chosen to represent each class at BRHS. As part of the school-wide competition, every contestant recited two poems before an audience and a panel of judges. 

Under the spotlight, Baumm appeared poised as she commanded the stage and recited “The Doubt of Future Foes,” a poem penned by Queen Elizabeth I.

“I pictured myself in this beautiful dress, and a headdress, and everything,” Baumm said.

For anyone not familiar with “The Doubt of Future Foes,” it's not the cheeriest of poems, as there are frequent references to betrayal and the breach of trust, an experience, Baumm said she related to.

“I interpreted it as the people weren't being true to her, and not trusting her when she's entrusting herself to them,” Baumm said. “That happens all the time at school, I mean no one can trust anyone really.”
 

Baumm credited her trip to London two years ago as playing a significant role in shaping the person she is today. Phillipa Gregory novels and tales from the Tudor era additionally have sparked a passion for English literature, a subject Baumm said she wants to teach in England one day. 

When asked if poetry has a place in today's society, Baumm quietly pondered. 

“I feel like poetry has become mostly songs and lyrics, and that was OK until the songs and lyrics became like rapping,” she said. 

While Baumm might prefer 19th century British prose to today's ubiquitous hip hop culture, she does think rapper Lil' Wayne holds some value as a poet. 

“I think poetry can't be defined as something that Queen Elizabeth would write. I think it's just expressing emotions, and rappers, most of them seem to have been through a lot,” she said.  

Baumm said she is now preparing herself for the Southern Maine Regional Competition that will take place at the City Theater in Biddeford, February 13. 

Each contestant will recite three poems, and if Baumm places in the top five, she will advance to the State Final Competition next month in Bangor.