The Literary State

Missouri's sixth Poet Laureate, Maryfrances Wagner, introduces a state-wide haiku writing project. In this episode of The Literary State, you will learn what haiku is, how to write it, enter it in the state project, include others, and share it widely.

Kansas City poet Catherine Anderson talks about the most important elements in a poem, poets that move her, shares a unique writing prompt, and reads two of her poems: Summer Solstice, A Room and You are Invited to Study a Heart. Maryfrances Wagner, Missouri's sixth poet laureate, conducts the interview.

Columbia poet and managing editor of The Missouri Review, Marc McKee, talks about what he looks for in a poem he publishes, shares a writing prompt, and reads two poems: Bereavement Company (0): At the Grief Recovery Academy and Make-Belief. Maryfrances Wagner, Missouri's sixth poet laureate, conducts the interview.

David talks about how to make a poem, deeper, more meaningful, seeing it in 3D, how he begins a poem, and two prompts for writing a poem. David Baker grew up in Macon and Jefferson City, Missouri, and has lived in central Ohio for many years where he was poetry editor for the Kenyon Review. He received his BSA and MA degrees from the University of Central Missouri and his PhD from the University of Utah, and has taught at colleges, universities, and writing workshops across the country and abroad. Baker is the author of thirteen books of poetry and six books of prose about poetry and poetics; his latest poetry collection is Whale Fall, published by W. W. Norton. Maryfrances Wagner, Missouri's sixth poet laureate, conducts the interview.

Kansas City poet and professor, Andrés Rodríguez, talks about why he writes about things, not ideas, why he returns to Keats, shares a writing prompt, and reads his poem: Cicadas. Maryfrances Wagner, Missouri's sixth poet laureate, conducts the interview.

St. Louis poet Marjorie Stelmach, instructor at Washington University Graduate School of Education, talks about where to place line breaks in a free verse, how she develops her writing process, and how to know where a poem starts. She reads two of her poems: Lost Blue of Chartres, and How to Disappear. Maryfrances Wagner, Missouri's sixth poet laureate, conducts the interview.

St. Louis poet and professor Carl Phillips, author of 16 books, talks about how to rework your poem, how to improve sound in your poem, shares a writing prompt, and reads two of his poems: Musculature, and Is It True All Legends Once Were Rumors. Maryfrances Wagner, Missouri's sixth poet laureate, conducts the interview.

Kansas City poet and professor Courtney Faye Taylor, poetry editor at Slice magazine, talks about her journey to writing, how she chooses poems to publish, and shares a writing prompt. She reads two of her poems: Blooms exactly, and Grief for a Horizontal World. Maryfrances Wagner, Missouri's sixth poet laureate, conducts the interview.

Kansas City poet and professor Ruth Williams talks about how to revise your poem, what poets she admires, the physiology of writing, shares a writing prompt, and reads two of her poems: Shale, and Physiology. Maryfrances Wagner, Missouri's sixth poet laureate, conducts the interview.

Kansas City poet and professor Stanley E. Banks, artist in residence at Avila University talks about his writing process and what inspires him, what makes a poem work, and how to do that as a poet. He reads two of his poems: Carl, and A Black and Blue Woman. Maryfrances Wagner, Missouri's sixth poet laureate, conducts the interview.