Kansas Poet Laureate Huascar Medina to speak at SCCC Library

BY PHILLIP LEE

LIBERAL, Kan. – As part of the Saints Scribes speaker series and Hispanic Heritage Month, the Seward County Community College Library will host the current Poet Laureate of Kansas Huascar Medina on Wednesday, September 21 at noon. The presentation will take place at the SCCC Library.

The presentation is free and open to the public. Pizza and refreshments will be served.

Medina will read poems from his third book “Un Mango Grows in Kansas” as well as discuss the inspirations and influences on his written works.

“I want to explore the boundaries between identity and location through poetry and invite a conversation about home and place,” Medina said. “As a second-generation immigrant and a first-generation Kansan, it took me a long time to find a place to call home.

“” Un Mango Grows in Kansas” chronicles that journey, for me,” he continued. “My readings are always an invitation to communicate. I hope it inspires others to share their story. “

In his most recent book of poetry, “Un Mango Grows in Kansas,” a 2021 Kansas Notable Book, Medina explores the boundaries between identity and location as a second-generation immigrant living in the United States. His poems have most notably appeared in the New York Times, Latino Book Review, Flint Hills Review, and KANSAS! Magazine and Green Mountains Review.

As the seventh Poet Laureate of Kansas, Medina works with the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission reimagining and developing innovative programming for the poet laureateship. Medina has taken a grassroots approach to support the creative community in Kansas with a focus on emerging artists, organizations, and programs.

Medina is the literary editor for seven eight five magazine and the host and creator of Kansas is Lit, an online radio show at 785Live.com. He is also a staff editor at South Broadway Press in Denver, a founding member of the Kansas Arts Writing Cohort, and an op-ed writer at Kansas Reflector.

Medina is part of the Saints Scribe speaker series program through a grant by the American Library Association with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Three other speakers will take part during the fall semester as part of the Saints Scribe program.

For more information, contact Seward County Community College Library at (620) 417-1160.

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