TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An associate English professor at Washburn University has been named the Poet Laureate for Kansas.
The nonprofit Kansas Humanities Council announced the appointment of Eric McHenry in a news release Thursday. McHenry’s work has been featured in national publications such as Poetry International, Yale Review and Slate. His poetry reviews have appeared in the New York Times and Columbia magazines.
In his new role, he will spend the next two years presenting readings and discussions about poetry in communities across the state. He said in the release that poetry provides “language that’s equal to life’s richness and complexity.”
Kansas Humanities Council executive director Julie Mulvihill said McHenry brings “an abundance of talent and enthusiasm” to his position.