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Poet Laureate |
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Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Founder of Transformative Language Arts at Goddard College, where she teaches, Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg is the author of ten books, including Landed (Mammoth Publications) and The Sky Begins at Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community and Coming Home to the Body. With singer Kelley Hunt, she leads writing and singing workshops, and on her own, community writing workshops widely. |
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Featured Poets |
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William Stafford
Author of over sixty-five volumes of poetry and prose, including the National Book Award winning Travelling Through the Dark, William Stafford was born in Hutchinson, Kansas, and received his M.A. at the University of Kansas. |
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Langston Hughes
Raised by his grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas, Langston Hughes is one of America's most celebrated poets. In 1975, a statue of Hughes was unveiled at the Watkins Community Museum of History. |
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James Tate
Author of numerous books of poetry, Tate's Worshipful Company of Fletchers won the National Book Award, and his Selected Poems won the Pulitzer Prize and the William Carlos Williams Award. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and spent his youth in the Midwest, eventually receiving his B.A. from Kansas State College-Pittsburg in 1965. |
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Other Kansas Poets
Gwendolyn Brooks
Frank Marshall Davis
Elizabeth Dodd
Harley
Elliott
B. H. Fairchild
Amy Fleury
Albert Goldbarth
Jonathan Holden
Denise Low
Wyatt Townley
Patricia Traxler
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Writing programs & colonies |
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Emporia State University
ESU offers a Creative Writing minor in poetry. Outlets for student work include Quivira (the state's oldest campus literary magazine) and the Quivira literary club, which sponsors readings, dramatic productions, and other events.
Haskell Indian Nations University
The English department publishes a literary journal, Perspectives, an anthology of students' creative writing. Other highlights of the program include The Wordcraft Writers Circle, an organization for Native students that pairs beginning writers with mentors; National Poetry Week; the Native Writers' Poetry and Essay Contest; and the Langston Hughes Contest.
Kansas State University
KSU offers an undergraduate major and minor, as well as an M.A., in creative writing. The Creative Writing track also sponsors the Visiting Writers Program, which each year brings nationally and internationally known writers to the campus.
Pittsburg State University
Pittsburg State University offers a B.A. in English with an Emphasis in Creative Writing, a creative writing minor, and an M.A. in English with an Emphasis in Creative Writing. They publish a student literary journal, The Cow Creek Review, and they sponsor an impressive reading program that has recently featured poets Ted Kooser and Alice Fulton. James Tate is a notable alum.
University of Kansas
KU offers an undergraduate major, as well as an M.A., in creative writing. They also have a program called The Writer's Roost, which offers a place for productive talk about writing, including writing consultations.
Wichita State University
Unlike some M.F.A. degree programs in creative writing, the WSU program "is not conceived as a studio program. Instead, it encourages the development of fine writers who are also able, as a result of additional course work in English, to demonstrate skills useful in teaching, editing, and other areas related to creative writing." |
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At this height, Kansas
is just a concept,
a checkerboard design of wheat and corn
no larger than the foldout section
of my neighbor's travel magazine.
From Reading Moby-Dick at 30,000 Feet
by Tony Hoagland |
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Poetic History |
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Langston Hughes's hometown: Lawrence, KS
In the reverse of the classic tale of a poet influenced by his surroundings, in this case it was the town that is influenced by the poet. The short time that Hughes spent in Lawrence has profoundly touched the town and continues to be celebrated in many ways. |
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Poems about Kansas |
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Outside Abilene
by Harley Elliot
the full range of kansas...
Kansas
by Vachel Lindsay
O, I have walked in Kansas...
Ah! Sunflower!
by William Blake
Ah! Sunflower, weary of time...
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Literary organizations & centers |
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Kansas Arts Commission
The Kansas Arts Commission was established in 1966 by the Kansas Legislature and is charged by its enabling legislation to increase the support, awareness and outreach of the arts in communities across the state.
Lawrence Arts Center
Sponsors an open poetry contest for all residents of Lawrence. Contact the Center at 940 New Hampshire St, Lawrence, (785) 843-2787.
Kansas Poets
This online resource features a growing list of distinguished Kansas poets, their bios, and examples of their work. The site also provides extensive information on Kansas poet laureate projects and other poetry material related to Kansas.
Kansas Writers Association
A not-for-profit organization that supports writers through networking circles, a monthly newsletters, free advertising and support for published authors, educational workshops, writing seminars, activities, and contests. Email info@kwawriters.org.
The Writers Place
Located in the heart of Kansas City, The Writers Place is a literary community center, library, and gathering place for writers, readers and the general public. The Writers Place, Midwest Center for the Literary Arts, Inc., has been serving the midwest community since 1992.
Kansas City Writers Group
The Kansas City Writers Group was founded in 1965 and has met continuously since that time. The group offers workshops, lead by published, professional writers and editors, as well as an 8-week new writers workshop. |
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Literary journals & small presses |
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Flint Hills Review
Flint Hills Review is an annual literary and arts journal published by Emporia State University and circulated nationally. They publish work with a particular interest in region, including regions of place, regions of ethnicity, regions of gender, and regions of memory.
The Midwest Quarterly
A journal of poetry, book reviews, and contemporary thought from Pittsburg State University.
Woodley Press
The Bob Woodley Memorial Press was incorporated in 1980, in memory of Bob Woodley, director of creative writing at Washburn. Woodley Press considers only Kansas authors' works for publication, and specializes in fiction, poetry, drama, and literary nonfiction.
Tribal College Journal
Tribal College Journal is a quarterly publication of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, an organization of 35 Indian-controlled colleges in the United States and Canada. This culture-based publication addresses subjects important to the future of American Indian and Alaska Native communities utilizing both journalistic and scholarly articles.
Cottonwood Magazine and Press
Cottonwood began in 1965 as an undergraduate magazine at the University of Kansas but currently produces a nationally recognized and distributed literary magazine featuring poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Over the years it has featured work from Allen Ginsberg, Rita Dove, and William Stafford. |
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Acknowledgements |
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Special thanks to Bob Burtch of the Kansas Art Commission for assistance in compiling this information. |
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