Ashland writer named Missouri's first poet laureate
COLUMBIA — Gov. Matt Blunt named Ashland writer Walter Bargen as Missouri’s first official poet laureate on Tuesday. Bargen was notified of his selection by phone at 10 a.m. on Monday. He said being named Missouri Poet Laureate is “like a cherry on the whipped cream.”
“I’ve been writing for 40 years and suddenly this happens,” Bargen said. “I never had this in mind, I just write because there’s a great feel of enjoyment for me.”
Bargen, 59, has published 11 books of poetry and expects a 12th to be released this year. His work has been in more than 100 publications, including the American Literary Review, International Quarterly and River Styx. He has also received multiple awards, the most recent being the 2005 William Rockhill Nelson Award for the best poetry book by a Missouri writer and the Chester H. Jones Foundation Poetry Prize in 1997.
In addition to writing, Bargen has worked for 20 years at MU as a senior coordinator for the Assessment Resource Center, a department of the College of Education. Despite having a full-time job, Bargen has been able to release four books since 2001.
“People always ask me ‘How do you write so much?’” he said. “But I don’t feel like I get to write enough.”
The position of Missouri Poet Laureate is a new one, created by Gov. Blunt through an executive order on Oct. 18 of last year. He said then that he hoped the chosen poet could be another extension of Missouri’s artistic heritage.
“By naming a poet laureate, we will help continue this tradition for future generations of Missourians,” Blunt said in a press release on Tuesday.
Bargen, too, sees opportunity in the honor. “I hope it brings more attention to poetry in general, and creates a wider readership,” he said.
Blunt accepted applications for the position through Dec. 1, 2007. A selection board from the Missouri Center for the Book then narrowed the 135 applicants down to four finalists before making a recommendation to the governor.
The terms of the Missouri Poet Laureate position have yet to be fully decided, although Bargen will serve two years and is required to make at least six yearly appearances in public libraries and schools across the state. Bargen is scheduled to appear at a poetry reading at the Kansas City Literary Festival on May 17 and at a Feb. 13 event in the rotunda of the Jefferson City capitol building, where he will read some of his poetry.
Bargen will receive no money from the state, but the president of the Missouri Center for the Book’s board of directors, Mark Tiedemann, said that his organization will compensate him for travel expenses related to his mandated appearances. Additionally, Missouri Center for the Book has arranged for Bargen to receive a $5,000 honorarium in two equal installments over his term. The first installment is being provided by the Missouri Arts Council, Tiedemann said, although it is not yet know who is providing the second installment.