To the Stars: Kansas Poets of the Ad Astra Poetry Project

Brief Description: "This book collects [Denise Low's] Ad Astra Poetry Project broadsides in print form. Each entry presents a biography, poem, and commentary about the poem in concise form, easily accessible for readers... Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg adds discussion questions for those who wish to use this book for classes or other groups. Clear discussion, free of jargon, makes this ideal for sharing with students and friends. Low selects poems that comment, in some way, on Kansas experience"--P. [4] of cover. Marc Notes: Includes index.; This book collects [Denise Low's] Ad Astra Poetry Project broadsides in print form. Each entry presents a biography, poem, and commentary about the poem in concise form, easily accessible for readers... Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg adds discussion questions for those who wish to use this book for classes or other groups. Clear discussion, free of jargon, makes this ideal for sharing with students and friends. Low selects poems that comment, in some way, on Kansas experience--P. [4] of cover. Publisher Marketing: Denise Low, 2nd poet laureate of Kansas, revives the British tradition of one-page publications, called "broadsides," as a way to present poetry. Her web-based broadsides include over forty poets with Kansas connections: Gordon Parks, William Stafford, James Tate, B. F. Fairchild, Diane Glancy, Albert Goldbarth, Jo McDougall, and Kevin Young to name a few. This book collects her Ad Astra Poetry Project broadsides in print form. Each entry presents a biography, poem, and commentary about the poem in concise form, easily accessible for readers. The 3rd Kansas poet laureate, Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, adds discussion questions for those who wish to use this book for classes or other groups. Clear discussion of the poems, free of jargon, makes this ideal for sharing with students and friends. Low selects poems that comment, in some way, on Kansas experience. These Kansas poetry publications-available to arts organizations, schools, libraries, and newspapers throughout the state-have attracted a national following.

Contributor Bio:  Low, Denise Denise Low has published 20 books of poetry and essays. Among her publications are Words of a Prairie Alchemist (Ice Cube Press, 2006), Ghost Stories of the New West (Woodley Memorial Press, 2010), and Langston Hughes in Lawrence (Mammoth Press, 2004). Most recently, she is the author of NATURAL THEOLOGIES: ESSAYS ABOUT LITERATURE OF THE NEW MIDDLE WEST (The Backwaters Press, 2011). She has served on the board of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs, where she was also president and conference chair. She has taught at Haskell Indian Nations University, the University of Kansas, and the University of Richmond. In addition to being the Kansas Poet Laureate from 2007-2009, she is the recipient of awards from the Academy of American Poets, the Newberry Library, Lannan Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Kansas Arts Council, Kansas Center for the Book, and the Roberts Foundation National Writing Competition. She received an MFA in Creative Writing from Wichita State University and a PhD from the University of Kansas.