Hunting Bargen

As the first man to hold the position of Missouri Poet Laureate in the 187-year history of the state, Walter Bargen is kind of like the Neil Armstrong of Missouri poets. “It’s funny you should put it that way,” he says. “The poem that I wrote after the appointment, that I felt I was supposed to write, I called ‘Moonwalk Missouri.’ It’s about taking a night walk in the moonlight, and I play on Neil Armstrong’s first words on the moon.”Bargen’s approach to the office is to rekindle public awareness of poetry. He quotes Nobel Prize-winning author Octavio Paz: “He once said that poetry had been exiled to the outskirts. With the exiling of poetry, he says, the best of humanity was exiled. One of the activities of poets laureate is to push poetry back to the center.” As part of the celebration of National Poetry Month, meet Bargen today at the Helzberg Auditorium in the Kansas City, Missouri, Public Library’s Main Branch (14 West 10th Street). A 6 p.m. reception is followed by a 6:30 conversation hosted by Angela Elam, host of KCUR’s New Letters on the Air. The event is free, but reservations are recommended; call 816-701-3400.

Wed., April 30, 6 p.m., 2008