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April 16, 2023: Poetry Special with Denise Lajimodiere and Tracy K. Smith

North Dakota Poet Laureate Denise Lajimodiere (left) and former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith (right)
Denise Lajimodiere

North Dakota's new Poet Laureate and a former U.S. Poet Laureate each in interview and presenting poems.

Sunday, April 16, at 5pm:

It's a Poetry Month special! Denise Lajimodiere became North Dakota's new Poet Laureate (by vote of the Legislature) in early April, 2023. She talks with Prairie Public's Bill Thomas about going through the legislative process, her relationship with long-time Poet Laureate Larry Woiwode, what she is hoping to do in the position, and what she is working on now.

North Dakota Council on the Arts Director Kim Konikow talks about another bill this year that makes Poet Laureate a two year appointment. We hear the poems Spring, Dragonfly Dance, Birchbark Biting, and Identity Crisis. The last one is from a performance that combines her poem with music especially composed to go with it by Russ Peterson.

As a a Poet Laureate bonus, Tracy K. Smith (recently in Grand Forks for the UND Writers Conference) talks about her experience as U.S. Poet Laureate and her thoughts about poetry in the country and the world.