Poet Laureate of Kansas to Present Reading and Discussion
Clearwater Public Library in Clearwater, KS will host an event with Kevin Rabas, Poet Laureate of Kansas, on October 5, 2017 at 7:00PM at the Clearwater City Council Chambers, 129, E. Ross, Clearwater, KS. Members of the community are invited to attend the free program. Contact the Clearwater Public Library at 620-584-6474 for more information. The program is made possible by the Kansas Humanities Council.
Kevin is a poet, jazz musician, and professor who teaches poetry and playwriting at Emporia State University. He also chairs the Department of English, Modern Languages, and Journalism. His collection of poems, Lisa’s Flying Electric Piano, was a Kansas Notable Book in 2010 and a winner of the Nelson Poetry Gook Award. He is the winner of the Langston Hughes Award for Poetry, the Victor Contoski Poetry Award and the Jerome Johanning Playwriting Award, among others.
His most recent poetry collection, Songs for My father: Poems & Stories, was published by Meadowlark in 2016. Rabas will present “Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary.” Through poetry, he will explore the beauty and value in everything around us. “Poetry show us that every little bit of our lives is meaningful, “ Rabas said. “Part of the poet’s job is to remind us to observe and cherish the world and our lives in it.”
As Poet Laureate of Kansas, Rabas promotes the humanities as a public resource for all Kansans through public readings, presentations, and discussions about poetry in communities across the state. The Kansas Humanities Council conducts and supports community-based programs, serves as a financial resource through and active grant-making program and encourages Kansans to engage in the civic and cultural life of their communities. For more information about KHC programs contact the Kansas Humanities Council at 785-357-0359 or visit online at www.kansashumanities.org.
For more information about Kevin Rabas’ visit in Clearwater contact the Clearwater Public Library at 620-584-6747 or visit www.clearwaterkslobrary.org.