Kansas Poet Laureate visits SCCC, discusses writing journeyFree Access



Current Kansas Poet Laureate Huascar Medina is one of them.

“I started writing at a really young age, I’m one of those people who prefer writing to talking since I’m rather introverted. My family and I moved around a lot since my father was in the military, so my best friends became books since I could take them with me when I left a place,” Medina said. “I always spent time reading and read a lot of poetry from Neruda, Dunbar, and many others. One of the reasons I started writing is because I was reading so much poetry and I was connecting with it so much and was in awe of how elegantly these poets expressed themselves, and I wanted to, at some point in my life, do the same thing as a writer. Writing is definitely an ongoing learning process, and it’s something I work on every day, and it’s a way of communication for me.”

So what especially stood out about poetry? Medina said that discovery came during his middle school years.

“I was in middle school, and we had to read ‘The Outsiders’ by S.E. Hinton, and there’s a Robert Frost poem mentioned in that book titled ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay,’ and we had to memorize that poem and say it in class,” Medina said. “That was the first poem I ever had to memorize, and I remember how good it felt to read that in front of my class, and it was one of the first times I’d really spoken up in class, and it was almost like I was armed with that poem from that day forward.”

Medina was named the Kansas Poet Laureate in 2019, and he said he has enjoyed his time in the position, including the implementation of some new changes.

“I’ve been the Kansas Poet Laureate since 2019 and my term ends in December. The program was originally under Humanities Kansas, but Gov. Kelly took the program and put it under Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, and I’ve been assisting with that transition,” Medina said. “Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic affected what I wanted to do in 2020 because of the lockdowns and everything else, and I’ve been making up for that big time this year and traveling around the state. I’ve been to Arkansas City, Liberal, Dodge City, Hays, Lawrence, Topeka, Hutchinson, Mankato, and a bunch of communities in between. They’ve all been different and wonderful to visit, and I’ve put many, many miles on my car. I’ve really enjoyed meeting people and having conversations with them and talking about writing and everything else. Any art form opens up the opportunity for creative expression, especially poetry. I’ve written poems about aspirations and fears and concerns and joy, and many of the people I’ve met have done the same thing with their own words, and poetry allows people to do that.”

Medina paid a visit to Liberal last Wednesday, a visit he said he has long been wanting to make. During his time in town, he visited Liberal High School and did a presentation at the library at Seward County Community College.

“This was a visit I’d been planning to do a few years ago, but it ultimately fell through because of the pandemic and I wasn’t able to get out there. That part of the state was on my list to visit because first off, there’s a very large Hispanic population in Liberal, and I wanted to show how there’s someone like them in a leadership position like the Kansas Poet Laureate, and maybe that will inspire some others to see it is possible for them to get into creative arts like this,” Medina said. “There haven’t been too many opportunities for me to visit schools, but I got to visit LHS Wednesday and went to the library and met many students and shared some books and poetry, and everyone there was extremely sweet and friendly. I remember meeting authors when I was growing up, and it was always a big deal for me because I was wanting to be a writer, and being in my position, if I can make that kind of imprint on even one young person who wants to be a writer, I feel like I’m successful. Everyone I met at the high school was really engaged and excited and asked questions and all of that, and it really fills my soul to have those interactions, especially with younger people, because they’re the ones who need the most inspiration right now since they’re the future and will be the ones creating music and art and everything else in the future.”

Medina added he hopes the next Kansas Poet Laureate will be as excited in the position as he is.

“Operate with good intention and care, listen as much as you speak, and authenticity is absolutely key. People can recognize when someone’s being performative, so when you’re being yourself and legitimately sharing your joy in your work, it will be really easy for people to gravitate toward you and listen to what you have to say and listen intently. As Poet Laureate, it’s important to listen to the audience as well, because it’s a shared space and everyone deserves to be heard.”

With his term as Kansas Poet Laureate ending soon, Medina said there are still some things he would like to see happen, and added he has some more stops coming up in the coming weeks.

“I was recently at the Kansas Book Festival in Topeka and got to meet a lot of people there, and I was also recently at the Prairie Festival in Salina to speak and share some other art with some other writers and artists and talk about how big an impact art can truly have on people,” Medina said. “The next Kansas Poet Laureate will be announced in November, I know the application deadline was early in September, and there were about 20 applications submitted, so it’s quite a big field for the selection committee to look at. I’m really excited to see the new person named, we’re at a very good place with this as far as momentum and growing the program and making it more visible to people. I wanted to visit Liberal ever since I became Kansas Poet Laureate, and I was so glad for the chance to do that finally, especially since it’s the home of William Stafford, who’s another big influence on my own work and what I do. I’m excited to see other places in Kansas, and I’ll forever be grateful for the chance to be in this position and be a role model for other writers and future poets.”

liberalfirst.com/local-news-3/12553-kansas-poet-laureate-visits-sccc,-discusses-writing-journey

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *