One woman drives across five states just to see her. The woman being driven to has no idea anyone's headed her way. The driving woman crosses three bridges & seven lakes just to get to her door. She stops along the highway, wades into the soggy ground, cuts down coral-eyed cattails, carries them to her car as
Kentucky
In 1926, Kentucky established a state poet laureate position, which is currently held by Frederick Smock, who was appointed to a two-year term in 2017. Smock is the author of many collections of poetry, including The Bounteous World: New Poems (Broadstone Books, 2013).
recent & featured listings
type |
name | state |
|---|---|---|
| Writing Program | Western Kentucky University | Kentucky |
| Landmark | Robert Penn Warren Birthplace Museum | Kentucky |
| Small Press | Blair Mountain Press | Kentucky |
| Small Press | Sarabande Books | Kentucky |
| Small Press | Finishing Line Press | Kentucky |
| Literary Magazine | Appalachian Heritage | Kentucky |
| Literary Magazine | The Louisville Review | Kentucky |
| Poetry-Friendly Bookstore | Joseph-Beth Booksellers | Kentucky |
| Poetry-Friendly Bookstore | Lincoln's Loft | Kentucky |
| Poetry-Friendly Bookstore | Poor Richard's Bookstore | Kentucky |
poems
poem
2016
—For Mammoth Cave National Park
Humongous cavern, tell me, wet limestone, sandstone caprock,
bat-wing, sightless translucent cave shrimp,
this endless plummet into more of the unknown,
how one keeps secrets for so long.
All my life, I’ve lived
poem
1985
to Ken Kesey & Ken Babbs
Clumsy at first, fitting together the years we have been apart, and the ways. But as the night passed and the day came, the first fine morning of April, it came clear: the world that has tried us and showed us its joy was our bond when we said nothing
