To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee.
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.
– Emily Dickinson
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Greetings! I am Traci Brimhall, Poet Laureate of Kansas and I am pleased to introduce you to a new series Poets on the Plains. Produced by High Plains Public Radio, the series will explore a sense of people and place through poetry.
I will be joined by other Laureates and notable poets from the High Plains states through what we’re calling 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 of each PoetryByte by selecting HPPR Poets on the Plains under the Features Menu at HPPR.org
Our goal is to bring attention to the beauty and complexity of life on these High Plains. Please join us Thursdays in the 11:00 hour during High Plains Morning.
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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 Chera Hammons, a poet from Amarillo, Texas, here for Poets on the Plains. It’s a beautiful morning and the birds are singing. I’m sharing a poem with you today by fellow Texas poet Katherine Hoerth. -
Hello, my name is Matt Mason, I am the State Poet of Nebraska, and I am here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m reading and talking about Nebraska poet JV Brummels’ poem “Grass Widow.” -
This is a short lyrical poem, which makes use of the five senses – smell being the dominant sense. In addition to smell, we can see the sycamore, we can feel the wind moving about the speaker in the poem, through her. We can hear the wind in the sycamores. And we can almost taste the cumulative effect as it saturates the speaker of the poem. -
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 Graham Foust. -
Hi, I’m Traci Brimhall, Poet Laureate of Kansas, here for Poets on the Plains. Today I’m delighted to share with you a poem by a Kansas poet I love, Janice Northerns. -
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. I’m sharing a poem with you today by former Texas Panhandle resident Allison Adelle Hedge Coke. Though she doesn’t live here anymore, this place is still an important part of her work, which often calls back to her time here on the High Plains.
