Special to the DM
Vox Press, Inc. will hold an interview session and poetry reading with senior religious studies major Holly Baer at 6 p.m. Friday in Shelter on Van Buren.
Baer, a senior from Flowood, has loved writing poetry from a young age.
“I’ve written poetry my entire life,” she said. “My mother has scraps of paper with little poems on them.”
Baer later became editor of her high school’s literary magazine. The appetite followed her to Ole Miss, where she worked as the opinion editor for The Daily Mississippian. She has also been published in “Pathos” as well as “Freethought Today,” the Freedom from Religion Foundation’s newspaper. Her poetry will soon be published in a collection by Kingston University Press in London, according to a Vox Press, Inc. press release.
“In college, I’ve dedicated a significant amount of my time to poetry,” Baer said. “I hope to eventually pursue a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing.”
It was in college where she met Louis Bourgeois, founder, executive director and main editor at Vox Press, Inc., a nonprofit arts and education organization based in Oxford. According to Bourgeois, Vox Press “specializes in publishing and presenting marginalized and underrepresented writers and artists.”
Bourgeois first became aware of Baer through an article she had written about contemporary poetry.
“I liked the enthusiasm she showed for poetry, and I asked to see some of her own work,” Bourgeois said. “I was very impressed with her facile use of language and the crisp energy of her poems. I always have one eye open for new talent, so I asked her to read for our Artists Series.”
Baer said the prospect of publicly sharing her work brings a mix of emotions.
“My poetry reading is so exciting and terrifying for me,” she said. “As a writer, I’ve always wanted to share my work openly. This is really the first opportunity to show my work to people who aren’t friends or family. I’m a bit overwhelmed, but incredibly grateful for the opportunity to read.”
Baer’s fans are grateful as well. Jennifer Caldwell, who works in the psychology department as a senior research compliance specialist, first heard of Baer through The Daily Mississippian. Caldwell enjoyed Baer’s articles so much that she decided to look her up on Facebook. The two have been friends since.
“Her poetry is thought-provoking,” Caldwell said. “When I read, I’m forced to think about both what she is saying — what she is implying — and what it means to my own life and mind.”
Despite those complexities, Baer said that for the most part, her poems share a similar storyline.
“Other than a few outliers, my poems tend to follow the narrative arch of a girl from childhood to adulthood, and she slowly descends into mental illness and more erratic thinking,” Baer said. “This wasn’t done purposefully, and I think that’s the beauty of it. I accidentally created a woman’s life story.”
That talent is what inspires Bourgeois.
“I hope the community will appreciate the fact that there are some young people who love and in fact can write quality poetry, that poetry is still alive and well,” he said.
Baer just wants the community to get something from it.
“I’m hoping Friday will be a nice, friendly and engaging event,” she said. “Ultimately, I hope the audience feels something deeply. I want my work to touch something inside of them. I hope they enjoy it, really.”
