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In this episode, our guests are Topeka poets Dennis Etzel Jr. and Eric McHenry. Both are fifth generation Topekans, Topeka High graduates, and Professors of English at Washburn University–but they write very different work. Our guests read from their own poetry, talk about writing poetry in Topeka, and discuss the vibrant Kansas writing scene. Guest host Miranda Ericsson joins us for this lively and enlightening conversation.
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Show Notes
Dennis Etzel Jr. was born, raised in, and never left Topeka, Kansas. He teaches English at Washburn University. His chapbook The Sum of Two Mothers was released in 2013, and his work has appeared in Denver Quarterly, Indiana Review, BlazeVOX, Fact-Simile, 1913: a journal of poetic forms, 3:AM, DIAGRAM, and others.
He earned B.A. degrees in Computer Systems (1999) and English (2004) from Washburn University, an M.A. in English literature/creative writing and Graduate Certificate in Women and Gender Studies from Kansas State University (2006), and an M.F.A. degree in creative writing from The University of Kansas (2010).
He is a TALK Scholar and Speaker for the Kansas Humanities Council, and volunteers for the YWCA of Topeka and Midland Hospice.
Eric McHenry’s new book of poems, Odd Evening, will be published by Waywiser Press in 2016. His previous collections include Potscrubber Lullabies, which won the Kate Tufts Discovery Award in 2007, and Mommy Daddy Evan Sage, a children’s book illustrated by Nicholas Garland. He also edited and introduced Peggy of the Flint Hills, a memoir by Zula Bennington Greene. His poems have appeared in The New Republic, Yale Review, Cincinnati Review, Field, Orion, The Guardian (U.K.), Poetry Daily and Poetry Northwest, from whom he received the 2010 Theodore Roethke Prize. Since 2001, he has been a poetry critic for The New York Times Book Review. He lives in Lawrence with his wife and two children and teaches creative writing at Washburn University.
Recommended Poets
- William Stafford
- Ben Lerner
- Gary Jackson
- Ed Skoog
- Nick Twemlow
- Kevin Young
- Claudia Rankine
- Leah Sewell
- Patricia Lockwood
- Sarah Fox
Poet Interviews on TSCPL.org
Thanks for listening!
If you enjoyed this episode of HUSH, find some of our other episiodes including poetry related Episode #55 Topeka Poets and Episode #39 Sylvia Plath.
Have a suggestion? Want to be our next guest? Leave a comment or email us podcast@tscpl.org.
Miranda Ericsson
Miranda is your Readers Librarian. She loves to talk books, and to connect readers with their next great reads. Her favorite reads are poetry, literary fiction, and speculative science fiction, and she's passionate about promoting literature written by Kansas authors. She works with library programs that support and engage writers in our community, so ask her for more information about the Local Writers Workshop and Great Writers Right Here author fair. Miranda also facilitates TALK book discussions, co-leads the BookBites book discussion group, and serves as a member of the library's Top City Reads Together team.