Kevin Prufer, the 2026 poet laureate of Texas, will read some of his published poems and sign books at a special Oct. 15 event at West Texas A&M University beginning at 6 p.m. in Cornette Library. The event is free and open to the public.

Amarillo poet and retired oncologist Dr. Phillip Periman also will be honored as the Texas Poets’ Corner’s first poet laureate.

Prufer’s latest collection of poetry, “The Fears,” was published in 2023 and received the 2024 Rilke Prize. His novel, “Sleepaway,” was published in 2024. He plans to publish two books in 2027: “Good People: Poems” and “Summer of Shooting Stars: A Novel.”

“Not only is Kevin Prufer a masterful poet whose work blurs the lines between genre, but he is also one of the most generous writers I've ever had the chance to meet,” said Dr. Brendan Stephens, WT’s Jenny Lind Porter Professor of English. “I look forward to Canyon and WT students having the chance to meet one of Texas’s finest poets.”