Accomplished Poets

Robert Dana — Iowa's former poet laureate, whose collection of poems Starting Out for the Difficult World was on the short list for a 1988 Pulitzer Prize — tends to draw inspiration from his experiences as an orphan and a veteran of World War II. His poems are full of images of dread and solitude, of walking never-ending paths in search of why. His most recent book of poetry, published in 2004, is called The Morning of the Red Admirals. Don Caswell, the former director of Anhinga Press, initiated the Anhinga Prize for Poetry in 1983. His poetry has been collected in five books, including Three Legged Dog, in which lyric poetry mingles with a country sensibility. His work has also appeared in such literary journals as Poetry and New Letters. Dana and Caswell read their poetry today at the Writers Place (3607 Pennsylvania, 816-753-1090) at 3:30 p.m.
Sun., May 31, 3:30 p.m., 2009