'Creativity Doesn’t Have Limits:' Great Neck Student Talks Writing After Winning Baseball Poetry Contest

GREAT NECK, NY — From fashion to music to art, people find a multitude of ways to express themselves. For a Great Neck junior, that creativity takes shape through poetry.

Kendall Aufenanger has become the National Baseball Poetry Festival's first ambassador after winning its international contest.

Aufenanger was one of 60 student winners and 20 adult winners who won the international contest last year, which received submissions from 40 states and three countries.

The National Baseball Poetry Festival was founded in 2022 to celebrate the intersection of baseball and fine arts. The Festival gives poets of all ages, from professionals to first-time writers, a way to participate through an annual contest and an in-person Festival weekend in Massachusetts.

For Aufenanger, writing has been a creative outlet, allowing her to show her imagination on paper.

"Growing up, I was always drawn to creative writing as a way to express myself," she said. "Whether it’s for competitions or just personal moments, writing is where I feel like I can fully get my thoughts out."

Letting go of the idea of 'perfection' can be a transformative experience when writing – allowing the words to flow organically.

"I've always been someone who just types endlessly in places like Google Docs, and that means that I don’t have to limit myself or worry about making everything perfect right away," she said. "It’s more about getting ideas down honestly, and letting them take shape naturally. Writing gives me a space where I can process things, be creative, and just be my true self."

Aufenanger said it's important for people to keep writing authentically. In a time where AI is taking hold of many facets of the digital world, especially now in academics, young learners may be tempted to stray from writing.

"Even though technology makes things easier, it can’t replace someone’s personal voice or creativity," she said. "Furthermore, writing helps people, like the younger generation, think deeply, express themselves, and understand different perspectives."

She added that reading and writing "help people connect, tell their stories, and understand the world around them."

When it came to writing a poem for the National Baseball Poetry Festival, she said her connection to baseball comes from her father. Although she wasn't deeply passionate about the sport growing up, she said baseball has etched a way into her heart – and her writing.

"A big part of that comes from my dad, who’s always been a huge Mets fan and would watch games all the time," Aufenanger said. "Even just being around that growing up helped me understand the energy and emotion behind the sport. At first, it was more something I observed rather than something I actively followed, but over time, I started to appreciate it more, especially as I connected it to my writing."

On being the National Baseball Poetry Festival's first youth ambassador, she said it's a true honor.

"[It] makes me feel like my voice matters, and it’s exciting to represent other young writers who might not see themselves in traditional spaces like sports, but can still connect through creativity," she said.

During last year's festival in Worcester, Massachusetts, Aufenanger shared ideas surrounding the festival with representatives.

"They really appreciated my input, and combined with my recognition as a baseball poet, I was selected as a youth ambassador," she said.

Writing should be a freeform outlet, one where people shouldn't feel they have to fit into one category, she said.

"You can love sports and/or poetry, or something else completely different," she said. "That's where some of the most interesting ideas come from. For me, combining baseball and poetry showed me that creativity doesn’t have limits, it’s endless, and I think more people should explore that."

The fourth annual National Baseball Poetry Festival will take place May 7–10, 2026, at Polar Park, which is home to the Worcester Red Sox. There will be workshops, readings, panels, performances, a ballpark tour, two ballgames, fireworks, and more.

Poems should touch on the topics of baseball, but can range from Opening Day to ballpark rituals and childhood memories around the sport. They can include poems about heroes, family, heartbreak, and more.

The 2026 contest will close submissions at 3 p.m. on April 17, and they have already received submissions from 42 states and 12 countries. If a writer misses the deadline, they can still submit a poem, and it will be placed in the running for the 2027 contest.

For Aufenanger, creativity doesn't have limits, both on the page and at the ballpark.