We are so excited about having completed two successful seasons of Poets on the Plains.I am Traci Brimhall, Poet Laureate of Kansas. It has been my honor to lead a group of distinguished poets, each of us featuring five of our favorite poets from each of HPPR’s five states for two seasons. Thanks to all who have participated thus far and to the five new hosts who’ve agreed to present Season Three!
Season Three will launch in July with weekly PoetryBytes featuring work from poets living in and/or writing about the High Plains region, Of course, while HPPR coverage areas include parts of Kansas; Colorado; Nebraska; and the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles, listeners around the country and the world can stay in touch by streaming at HPPR.org. You’ll find printed and audio versions by selecting Poets on the Plains under the Features Menu at HPPR.org where Seasons One and Two are archived.
Produced by High Plains Public Radio, the series explores a sense of people and place through poetry.Our goal is to bring attention to the beauty and complexity of life on these High Plains. Please join us Thursdays at around 11:30 during High Plains Morning or for brief versions Thursdays during Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
Hello friends, I’m Huascar Medina, Former Poet Laureate of Kansas, here for Poets on the Plains. I hope you are well and finding laughter. I’m excited to share more wonderful poetry from Kansas poets. Today, I will be sharing the poem “What You Allow, Lingers” by Annette Hope Billings.
Hi, I’m Tarfia Faizullah, here again for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m excited to share a poem with you by Emmy Perez, a poet I fiercely admire and look up to. Emmy Pérez’s Paper america: New and Selected Poems was published in March 2026 (TCU Press, Texas Poet Laureate Series).
Hi, I’m Quraysh Ali Lansana, a poet, author and professor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m delighted to explore a poem by one of my close friends and favorite Oklahoma poets, Claire Maracle.
Hello listeners, I’m Alysse Kathleen McCanna, here for Poets on the Plains. Today I’m thrilled to share a poem with you by Nicky Beer. Nicky Beer is a bi/queer writer, and the author of Real Phonies and Genuine Fakes, winner of the 2023 Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Poetry.
Welcome to Poets on the Plains. I’m Brad Aaron Modlin. I don’t know about you, but sometimes before I log in to social media, I have to ask myself, Am I ready for this? Scrolling through can bring distraction, bad news, and busyness, and all the ways we’re encouraged to compare ourselves with others or to compete.
Hello friends, I’m Huascar Medina, Former Poet Laureate of Kansas, here for Poets on the Plains. I hope you are well and finding joy. I’m excited to share some wonderful poetry from Kansas poets. Today, I will be sharing the poem “The Gods Created Humans from Maize and Some Other Things I Know About Corn” by Miguel Morales.
Hi, I’m Tarfia Faizullah, here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m excited to share a poem with you by Chloe Honum, a poet whose poems I’m very fond of. Chloe Honum is the author of two poetry collections, The Lantern Room and The Tulip-Flame, and a chapbook, Then Winter, all beautifully rendered, as her poems are.
Hi, I’m Quraysh Ali Lansana, a poet, author and professor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m delighted to explore a poem by one of my favorite Oklahoma poets, Paul Juhasz.
Hello listeners, I’m Alysse Kathleen McCanna, here for Poets on the Plains. Today I’m grateful to share a poem with you by incredible human, Andrea Gibson. Gibson was a poet, performer, activist, and Colorado’s ninth poet laureate. They were the author of seven poetry collections, and seven albums of spoken word and performance poetry.
Welcome to Poets on the Plains, I’m Brad Aaron Modlin. Of All the Rain, Summer Is Most Like a Child poem is the perfect combination of clarity and mystery. Like nature itself! Throughout the poem, we almost know what nature and humans will do next, and then we get thrown off.
Hi, I’m Shelley Armitage here for Poets on the Plains. I’m an emerita professor and writer who grew up in the small ranching and farming community of Vega, Texas west of Amarillo. Today I’d like to share a few ideas and a poem with you. Writing about and living on the plains are dear to my heart.
Hi, I’m Matt Mason, I was the State Poet of Nebraska between 2019 and the end of 2024, and I am here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m reading and talking about Nebraska poet Clif Mason’s poem “Texts from the Dead.”
These two short poems share a common theme of silence, they suggest a truth beyond words. Something beyond reason. Both poems are short and precise in their structure and are economical in their word choice, their structure and composition reinforcing their theme of something beyond words.
Hi, I’m Wayne Miller. I’m a poet who lives in Denver, Colorado, and I’m here for Poets on the Plains. Today I’m going to read a poem by the poet Emily Pérez. Pérez grew up in Weslaco, Texas, just a few miles north of the US-Mexico border. She studied at Stanford and the University of Houston before settling in Denver, where she works as a high school teacher and grade-level dean and lives with her husband and their two boys.
Hi, I’m Traci Brimhall, Poet Laureate of Kansas, here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m delighted to share a poem by the Poet Laureate before me, Huascar Medina.
Hi. I’m Chera Hammons, a poet from Amarillo, Texas, here for Poets on the Plains. It’s a beautiful morning and the birds are singing. The wind is blowing, too, as it nearly always does across the Llano Estacado. Today, I’ll be sharing a poem about wind written by someone who knows it well: Lubbock, Texas-based poet Curtis Bauer.
Hi, my name is Matt Mason, I’m the State Poet of Nebraska, here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I want to read you Nebraska poet Zedeka Poindexter’s poem “Peach Cobbler.”
This narrative poem presents three characters in a micro-drama – the dad, working under the hood of his Chevy, and who spots the Choctaw man money for a hamburger; Earl the Choctaw man who begs the money; and the kid, "little Wallace" who observes this exchange between father and the struggling man.
Hi, I’m Wayne Miller. I’m a poet who lives in Denver, Colorado, and I’m here for Poets on the Plains. Today I’m going to read a poem by the poet Laura Hershey. Hershey was born in 1962 in Littleton, Colorado, and as a young child was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a rare genetic disease. She used a wheelchair throughout her life.
Hi, I’m Traci Brimhall, Poet Laureate of Kansas, here for Poets on the Plains. Today I’m excited to share with you a poem by the beloved Kansas poet Michael Kleber-Diggs
Hi, I’m Traci Brimhall, Poet Laureate of Kansas, here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m delighted to celebrate the end of the second season of Poets on the Plains and to also celebrate America’s 250th birthday by talking about the 19th century poet Walt Whitman.
Hi. I’m Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, a poet born in Northwest Texas Hospital, here for Poets on the Plains. I’ve got some Panhandle Teaweed on the table today and I’m offering a poem titled “spectators” written by Panhandle poet, Mónica Teresa Ortiz.
Hi, I’m Benjamin Myers. I’m a poet from Chandler, Oklahoma, and I’m here to share with you a poem by one of my favorite Oklahoma poets, Jim Barnes. Jim Barnes is the author of twelve volumes of poetry, including Sundown Explains Nothing, Visiting Picasso, and Paris. He has held fellowships from The Rockefeller Foundation, The Camargo Foundation, and The Fulbright Foundation.
Hi, I’m Juan J. Morales, an assistant professor of English at Colorado College and a poet in Pueblo, Colorado, here for Poets on the Plains. Today I’m excited to share with you a poem by Alysse Kathleen McCanna, titled, “In-Between Country.”
My name is Jewell Rodgers and today I bring you the poems of Noni Williams. Noni is one of my favorite people. I met her in Omaha, Nebraska. Noni Williams is a senior cloud data engineer, a teaching artist, an independent data consultant, a storyteller, a mathematician, a philosopher, and of course - a performance poet - born and raised in North Omaha, Nebraska.
Hello. This is Janice Northerns, coming to you from Wichita, Kansas, for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m reading a poem by Hyejung Kook called Holding, which is about a singular moment during the pandemic. Hyejung Kook’s first full-length poetry collection will be published in 2027. She lives in Prairie Village, Kansas, and while her work is relatively new to me, I am already a big fan.
Hi. I’m Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, a poet born in Northwest Texas, here for Poets on the Plains. I’ve got some coffee on the table and I’m here to offer a poem titled “fish bones” from Texas Tech poet jo reyes-boitel.
Hello, I’m poet and professor Benjamin Myers here for Poetry on the Plains. Today I’m sharing with you a poem by quintessential Oklahoman poet Quraysh Ali Lansana. Lansana is the author of over twenty books of poetry, nonfiction, and children’s literature.
Hello, I’m Juan J. Morales, an assistant professor of English at Colorado College and a poet in Pueblo, Colorado, here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m thrilled to share with you a poem by Andrew Hemmert, titled, “After Moving.”
My name is Jewel Rogers and I am your state poet of Nebraska. Today we are introducing some poetry from Natalie G’Schwind whom I met in Broken Bow, Nebraska during a Homegrown event. Anyway, Natalie was one of the readers at Homegrown – a series of intimate readings and art shares across the great state of Nebraska held in partnership with the Academy of American Poets.
Hello friends, I’m Huascar Medina, Former Poet Laureate of Kansas, here for Poets on the Plains. I hope you are well and finding laughter. I’m excited to share more wonderful poetry from Kansas poets. Today, I will be sharing the poem “What You Allow, Lingers” by Annette Hope Billings.
Hi, I’m Tarfia Faizullah, here again for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m excited to share a poem with you by Emmy Perez, a poet I fiercely admire and look up to. Emmy Pérez’s Paper america: New and Selected Poems was published in March 2026 (TCU Press, Texas Poet Laureate Series).
Hi, I’m Quraysh Ali Lansana, a poet, author and professor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m delighted to explore a poem by one of my close friends and favorite Oklahoma poets, Claire Maracle.
Hello listeners, I’m Alysse Kathleen McCanna, here for Poets on the Plains. Today I’m thrilled to share a poem with you by Nicky Beer. Nicky Beer is a bi/queer writer, and the author of Real Phonies and Genuine Fakes, winner of the 2023 Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Poetry.
Welcome to Poets on the Plains. I’m Brad Aaron Modlin. I don’t know about you, but sometimes before I log in to social media, I have to ask myself, Am I ready for this? Scrolling through can bring distraction, bad news, and busyness, and all the ways we’re encouraged to compare ourselves with others or to compete.
Hello friends, I’m Huascar Medina, Former Poet Laureate of Kansas, here for Poets on the Plains. I hope you are well and finding joy. I’m excited to share some wonderful poetry from Kansas poets. Today, I will be sharing the poem “The Gods Created Humans from Maize and Some Other Things I Know About Corn” by Miguel Morales.
Hi, I’m Tarfia Faizullah, here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m excited to share a poem with you by Chloe Honum, a poet whose poems I’m very fond of. Chloe Honum is the author of two poetry collections, The Lantern Room and The Tulip-Flame, and a chapbook, Then Winter, all beautifully rendered, as her poems are.
Hi, I’m Quraysh Ali Lansana, a poet, author and professor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m delighted to explore a poem by one of my favorite Oklahoma poets, Paul Juhasz.
Hello listeners, I’m Alysse Kathleen McCanna, here for Poets on the Plains. Today I’m grateful to share a poem with you by incredible human, Andrea Gibson. Gibson was a poet, performer, activist, and Colorado’s ninth poet laureate. They were the author of seven poetry collections, and seven albums of spoken word and performance poetry.
Welcome to Poets on the Plains, I’m Brad Aaron Modlin. Of All the Rain, Summer Is Most Like a Child poem is the perfect combination of clarity and mystery. Like nature itself! Throughout the poem, we almost know what nature and humans will do next, and then we get thrown off.
Hi, I’m Shelley Armitage here for Poets on the Plains. I’m an emerita professor and writer who grew up in the small ranching and farming community of Vega, Texas west of Amarillo. Today I’d like to share a few ideas and a poem with you. Writing about and living on the plains are dear to my heart.
Hi, I’m Matt Mason, I was the State Poet of Nebraska between 2019 and the end of 2024, and I am here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m reading and talking about Nebraska poet Clif Mason’s poem “Texts from the Dead.”
These two short poems share a common theme of silence, they suggest a truth beyond words. Something beyond reason. Both poems are short and precise in their structure and are economical in their word choice, their structure and composition reinforcing their theme of something beyond words.
Hi, I’m Wayne Miller. I’m a poet who lives in Denver, Colorado, and I’m here for Poets on the Plains. Today I’m going to read a poem by the poet Emily Pérez. Pérez grew up in Weslaco, Texas, just a few miles north of the US-Mexico border. She studied at Stanford and the University of Houston before settling in Denver, where she works as a high school teacher and grade-level dean and lives with her husband and their two boys.
Hi, I’m Traci Brimhall, Poet Laureate of Kansas, here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m delighted to share a poem by the Poet Laureate before me, Huascar Medina.
Hi. I’m Chera Hammons, a poet from Amarillo, Texas, here for Poets on the Plains. It’s a beautiful morning and the birds are singing. The wind is blowing, too, as it nearly always does across the Llano Estacado. Today, I’ll be sharing a poem about wind written by someone who knows it well: Lubbock, Texas-based poet Curtis Bauer.
Hi, my name is Matt Mason, I’m the State Poet of Nebraska, here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I want to read you Nebraska poet Zedeka Poindexter’s poem “Peach Cobbler.”
This narrative poem presents three characters in a micro-drama – the dad, working under the hood of his Chevy, and who spots the Choctaw man money for a hamburger; Earl the Choctaw man who begs the money; and the kid, "little Wallace" who observes this exchange between father and the struggling man.
Hi, I’m Wayne Miller. I’m a poet who lives in Denver, Colorado, and I’m here for Poets on the Plains. Today I’m going to read a poem by the poet Laura Hershey. Hershey was born in 1962 in Littleton, Colorado, and as a young child was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a rare genetic disease. She used a wheelchair throughout her life.
Hi, I’m Traci Brimhall, Poet Laureate of Kansas, here for Poets on the Plains. Today I’m excited to share with you a poem by the beloved Kansas poet Michael Kleber-Diggs
Hi, I’m Traci Brimhall, Poet Laureate of Kansas, here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m delighted to celebrate the end of the second season of Poets on the Plains and to also celebrate America’s 250th birthday by talking about the 19th century poet Walt Whitman.
Hi. I’m Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, a poet born in Northwest Texas Hospital, here for Poets on the Plains. I’ve got some Panhandle Teaweed on the table today and I’m offering a poem titled “spectators” written by Panhandle poet, Mónica Teresa Ortiz.
Hi, I’m Benjamin Myers. I’m a poet from Chandler, Oklahoma, and I’m here to share with you a poem by one of my favorite Oklahoma poets, Jim Barnes. Jim Barnes is the author of twelve volumes of poetry, including Sundown Explains Nothing, Visiting Picasso, and Paris. He has held fellowships from The Rockefeller Foundation, The Camargo Foundation, and The Fulbright Foundation.
Hi, I’m Juan J. Morales, an assistant professor of English at Colorado College and a poet in Pueblo, Colorado, here for Poets on the Plains. Today I’m excited to share with you a poem by Alysse Kathleen McCanna, titled, “In-Between Country.”
My name is Jewell Rodgers and today I bring you the poems of Noni Williams. Noni is one of my favorite people. I met her in Omaha, Nebraska. Noni Williams is a senior cloud data engineer, a teaching artist, an independent data consultant, a storyteller, a mathematician, a philosopher, and of course - a performance poet - born and raised in North Omaha, Nebraska.
Hello. This is Janice Northerns, coming to you from Wichita, Kansas, for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m reading a poem by Hyejung Kook called Holding, which is about a singular moment during the pandemic. Hyejung Kook’s first full-length poetry collection will be published in 2027. She lives in Prairie Village, Kansas, and while her work is relatively new to me, I am already a big fan.
Hi. I’m Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, a poet born in Northwest Texas, here for Poets on the Plains. I’ve got some coffee on the table and I’m here to offer a poem titled “fish bones” from Texas Tech poet jo reyes-boitel.
Hello, I’m poet and professor Benjamin Myers here for Poetry on the Plains. Today I’m sharing with you a poem by quintessential Oklahoman poet Quraysh Ali Lansana. Lansana is the author of over twenty books of poetry, nonfiction, and children’s literature.
Hello, I’m Juan J. Morales, an assistant professor of English at Colorado College and a poet in Pueblo, Colorado, here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m thrilled to share with you a poem by Andrew Hemmert, titled, “After Moving.”
My name is Jewel Rogers and I am your state poet of Nebraska. Today we are introducing some poetry from Natalie G’Schwind whom I met in Broken Bow, Nebraska during a Homegrown event. Anyway, Natalie was one of the readers at Homegrown – a series of intimate readings and art shares across the great state of Nebraska held in partnership with the Academy of American Poets.
