Kansas Names New Poet Laureate

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and the Kansas Arts Commission recently named Jonathan Holden as the state's first poet laureate.

By Laura Spencer

Kansas City, Missouri – Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and the Kansas Arts Commission recently named Jonathan Holden as the state's first poet laureate. A poet and critic, Holden is the University Distinguished Professor of English and Poet-in-Residence at Kansas State University in Manhattan and the author of a number of books, including collections of poetry and critical essays. Holden talked to KCUR's Laura Spencer about this new recognition.

Jonathan Holden starts his two-year term as Kansas Poet Laureate on July 1, 2005.

You can hear poet William Stafford read from his work on this site: Academy of American Poets.