Two Chances to Meet Poet Laureate at SCCC

Don’t miss your chance to meet Kansas Poet Laureate Eric McHenry and hear him read his award-winning poetry. McHenry will give a poetry reading at noon on April 26 at the Seward County Community College library, followed by a question and answer session. Light refreshments will be served. He will also give a reading that evening at the Poetry Coffee House in the music wing of the Shank Humanities Building at SCCC. Both events are free and open to the public.

Eric McHenry is a fifth-generation Kansan. He attended Beloit College; then did graduate work at Boston University where he earned his MA in creative writing. McHenry’s poems have been featured in many publications, including The Harvard Review, Slate, and Poetry Northwest, whose editors named McHenry winner of the Theodore Roethke Prize for best poems published in the magazine in 2010. His criticism appears in The New York Times Book Review and Salon. He is a winner of the Academy of American Poets Prize, and Potscrubber Lullabies won the Kate Tufts Discovery Award. He currently lives in Lawrence and teaches creative writing at Washburn University of Topeka. In April 2015 he was announced as the 2015-2017 Poet Laureate of Kansas.

McHenry will sign copies of his books, which will be available for purchase, after both events, and drawings for two free signed copies of his books will also be held during the Coffee House.

McHenry served as judge for this year’s SCCC poetry contest, and winners will be announced and will read their poetry at the evening event. Gourmet coffees, finger foods, and live music will provide a relaxing atmosphere.

The Coffee House/Poetry Reading is set for 7 p.m. April 26 in the music wing of the Shank Humanities Building on the main SCCC campus. For more information, call Terri Barnes at 620-417-1451.