William Kloefkorn, Nebraska
William
Kloefkorn lives and writes in Lincoln, where he is emeritus professor
of English at Nebraska Wesleyan. He¹s the author of 12 books of poetry,
including Covenants, a book he wrote with Utah¹s poet laureate,
David Lee. He¹s also written two collections of short stories, a
memoir, and a collection of children's Christmas stories. He initiated
the Nebraska “poets in the schools” program, and has read his
work and conducted workshops in elementary, junior high, and high schools
in Nebraska and across the country. He's received several awards for his
work, and his writing appears in numerous periodicals and anthologies.
Appointment: 1982
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The role of a state poet or laureate is to represent writing in general, and poetry in particular, as freshly and responsibly as possible. The poet can best do this by writing poems that challenge and invigorate, and by reading and discussing the poems with others—students of all ages, non-students of any and all descriptions. The poet's responsibility is not to proselytize, but through language to encourage critical thinking and to invite open-mindedness—and likewise to demonstrate the immense pleasure that can derive from the sound and sense.
–William Kloefkorn
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