Location: Poet Laureate of Kansas social media platforms
Object: Poetry Harvest, sponsored by Traci Brimhall, current Poet Laureate of Kansas
Observations: 1) As part of her outreach to the state of Kansas as its current Poet Laureate, Traci Brimhall issued a call earlier this fall for poems about food and fall in Kansas. 2) As Traci explains in a recent piece for the Kansas Reflector, “Food and poetry both immerse us in our senses. They are also both things that connect us to other people. […] I believe that there is poetry in the actions that go into making dinner. There is poetry in the grace said over a meal. And there is poetry in the bonds between people who break bread together.” 3) The poems that Traci received explored a range of moments connected to fall and food: “The poems that Kansans sent in were full of the smells of fresh school supplies and bonfires; the tastes of apple pie and cinnamon rolls with chili; the feeling of the new crispness in the air but also the warmth of tea.”
Above: Two of the selected poems published online during the past weeks.
As Traci concludes, “There is so much to be nourished by. Even the shortening days offer our senses a feast.”
Read Traci’s piece for the Kansas Reflector here, and keep up with her contributions as Poet Laureate of Kansas on Instagram and Facebook.
— Karin Westman, Department Head
K-State English 