Missouri poet coming to campus

Missouri’s first poet laureate, Walter Bargen, will be reading for the Midwest Poets Series at 7 p.m.  Thursday, Jan. 26, in Rockhurst’s Mabee Theater.

During his term as the Missouri Poet Laureate – January 2008 to early 2010 – Bargen traveled the state from St. Joseph to Loss Lake and from Short Bend to Hamberg Bend.  Bargen’s poems generally represent aspects of Missouri or the Midwest – lakes, small towns, people and ridges.

Bargen’s 13 books include "Days Like This Are Necessary", "West of West", "Theban Traffic and The Feast". His writing has appeared in more than 100 magazines including Boulevard, Witness, Georgia Review, Iowa Review, Missouri Review and New Letters.

Admission is $3 at the door. Mabee Theater is located in Sedgwick Hall on the Rockhurst University Campus, 54th Street and Troost Avenue. A complimentary reception and book signing will follow the reading. For more information, call 816-501-4607.