Join us for a special poetry reading and performance with the first Poet Laureate of Missouri. (And did we mention that he promises to make you laugh?)

Walter Bargen was Missouri's first Poet Laureate. He has published 18 books of poetry, including two books of prose poems, and is the recipient of many awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Writing Fellowship. His most recent books are: Days Like This Are Necessary: New & Selected Poems, Endearing Ruins, Trouble Behind Glass Doors, Quixotic and Gone West. His poems have been featured in over 300 magazines, including American Literary Review, American Letters & Commentary, Beloit Poetry Journal, Blue Mesa Review, Boulevard, Denver Quarterly, Georgia Review, International Quarterly, Iowa Review, Missouri Review, New Letters, New Novel Review, Notre Dame Review, Pleiades, Poetry Salzburg Review, River Styx, Seattle Review, Seneca Review, Sycamore Review and Witness.

Bargen was born at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. As a result of his father’s military career, he has lived in many places including, Germany, Switzerland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Missouri. He wrote his first poem when he was a senior in high school. He taught himself how to write by two simple processes, reading and writing. He reads not only to enjoy what others write but to learn how others write, and he firmly believes that reading and writing teach writing. He has lived outside Ashland, Missouri, since he graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a BA in philosophy. He later earned a M.Ed in English education from the same institution and then became distracted — again.

Listen to podcasts of a few of Walter Bargen's recent performances here and here.

Following up on his Tuesday night talk, Walter Bargen will lead a writing workshop, The Golden First Line, from 10 a.m.-noon on  Wednesday, June 8 in the Library Conference Room. More info here.