Denise Low
Encyclopedia
Denise Low is an American poet, honored as the second Kansas Poet Laureate (2007–2009). A professor at Haskell Indian Nations University
, Low teaches literature, creative writing and American Indian Studies courses at the university. She was succeeded by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
on July 1, 2009.
of mixed German, Scots
, Lenape
(Delaware), English
, French
, and Cherokee
heritage, she was born and grew up in Emporia, Kansas
, where she began her writing career as a high school correspondent for the Emporia Gazette
. She attained her bachelor
, masters
and doctoral
degrees in English from the University of Kansas, and an M.F.A.
in Creative Writing
from Wichita State University
.
As Poet Laureate of Kansas, Low continued the efforts of the state’s first laureate, Jonathan Holden
, by providing an open dialogue with Kansas poets. Besides appearing at many venues across the state, she established the Ad Astra Poetry Project. Personally contributing to the project bi-monthly via written releases, Low discusses specific notable poets. The Ad Astra project poets are also featured on www.kansaspoets.com.
. Thailand Journal was named a notable book of 2003 by the Kansas City Star. Low’s other book New & Selected Poems: 1980-1999 was published by Penthe Press. In 2005, she edited the Lawrence Arts Center’s Wakarusa Wetlands in Word & Image for Imagination. She and her husband Thomas Weso co-wrote a biographical work on the poet Langston Hughes
.
Low has published ten books of poetry and essays and has received awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities
, the Lannan Foundation
, the Kansas Arts Commission, the Poetry Society of America
and others. Low is also on the National Board of Drectors for the Associated Writers and Writing Programs. She reads and lectures regionally as well as nationally.
She has published poetry, reviews, articles about poetry and American Indian Literature in Midwest Quarterly, Kansas City Star, American Indian Literature, American Indian Culture and Research Journal, American Indian Quarterly, and others.
Haskell Indian Nations University
Haskell Indian Nations University is a tribal university located in Lawrence, Kansas, for members of federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States...
, Low teaches literature, creative writing and American Indian Studies courses at the university. She was succeeded by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg is an American poet, writer and professor, honored as the third Kansas Poet Laureate . A professor at Goddard College, a private, liberal arts college in Plainfield, Vermont, she serves as the coordinator for the Transformative Language Arts track, which she initiated...
on July 1, 2009.
Biography
Low is the daughter of Francis Dotson and Dorothy (Bruner) Dotson. A 5th generation KansanKansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
of mixed German, Scots
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
, Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
(Delaware), English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, and Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
heritage, she was born and grew up in Emporia, Kansas
Emporia, Kansas
Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 24,916. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 and 35 on the Kansas Turnpike...
, where she began her writing career as a high school correspondent for the Emporia Gazette
Emporia Gazette
The Emporia Gazette is a daily newspaper in Emporia, Kansas.The newspaper rose to national attention after William Allen White bought the newspaper for $3,000 in 1895. The paper rose to national prominence and influence in the Republican Party following a White editorial in 1896, "What's the...
. She attained her bachelor
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
, masters
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
and doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
degrees in English from the University of Kansas, and an M.F.A.
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in Creative Writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
from Wichita State University
Wichita State University
Wichita State University is a NCAA Division I public university in Wichita, Kansas with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs....
.
As Poet Laureate of Kansas, Low continued the efforts of the state’s first laureate, Jonathan Holden
Jonathan Holden
Jonathan Holden, the first Poet Laureate of Kansas, is a Professor of English at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. Chosen in 2004, his two year term began July 1, 2005. He was succeeded by Denise Low on July 1, 2007.-Biography/education:...
, by providing an open dialogue with Kansas poets. Besides appearing at many venues across the state, she established the Ad Astra Poetry Project. Personally contributing to the project bi-monthly via written releases, Low discusses specific notable poets. The Ad Astra project poets are also featured on www.kansaspoets.com.
Publications
Words of a Prairie Alchemist was designated a 2007 Notable Book by the State Library of KansasState Library of Kansas
The State Library of Kansas is a department within the state government of Kansas, with locations in Topeka and Emporia. Jo Budler is the State Librarian.-Locations:...
. Thailand Journal was named a notable book of 2003 by the Kansas City Star. Low’s other book New & Selected Poems: 1980-1999 was published by Penthe Press. In 2005, she edited the Lawrence Arts Center’s Wakarusa Wetlands in Word & Image for Imagination. She and her husband Thomas Weso co-wrote a biographical work on the poet Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
.
Low has published ten books of poetry and essays and has received awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
, the Lannan Foundation
Lannan Literary Awards
The Lannan Literary Awards are a series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional quality", according to the foundation...
, the Kansas Arts Commission, the Poetry Society of America
Poetry Society of America
The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists including Witter Bynner. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the have included such renowned writers as Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent...
and others. Low is also on the National Board of Drectors for the Associated Writers and Writing Programs. She reads and lectures regionally as well as nationally.
She has published poetry, reviews, articles about poetry and American Indian Literature in Midwest Quarterly, Kansas City Star, American Indian Literature, American Indian Culture and Research Journal, American Indian Quarterly, and others.
Poetry
- Thailand Journal: Poems. Topeka: Woodley-Washburn University, 2003. Kansas City Star Notable book of 2003.
- New and Selected Poems. Lawrence/Middletown, CA: Penthe, 1999. 2nd printing 2007.
- Tulip Elegies: An Alchemy of Writing. Lawrence/Middletown CA: Penthe,1993.
- Vanishing Point. Wichita/New York City: Mulberry, 1991. Chapbook of poetry.
- Selective Amnesia. Stiletto I (Dec. 1988): u.p.
- Howling Dog. Chapbook of poetry.
- Starwater. Lawrence: Cottonwood Review Press (Univ. of Kansas), 1988.
- Learning the Language of Rivers. Midwest Quarterly 38.4 (Summer 1987): 473-510. Chapbook.
- Spring Geese and Other Poems. Lawrence: University of Kansas Natural History Museum Publications, 1984.
- Quilting. Lawrence: Holiseventh, 1984. Fine-press edition.
- Dragon Kite, in Mid-America Trio. Kansas City: BookMark Press-University of Missouri-Kansas City, 1981. Chapbook of poetry.
Essays
- Natural Theologies: Literature of the Prairielands. Forthcoming, Omaha: Backwaters Press.
- Words of a Prairie Alchemist: The Art of Prairie Literature. North Liberty, Iowa: Ice Cube Press, 2006. 2007 Kansas Notable Book, State Library of Kansas.
- Langston Hughes in Lawrence: Photographs and Biographical Resources. With T.F.Pecore Weso. Lawrence: Mammoth, 2004.
- Touching the Sky: Essays. Lawrence/Middletown, CA: Penthe, 1994.
Books edited
- Wakarusa Wetlands in Word and Image. Lawrence: Imagination & Place and Lawrence Arts Center, 2005.
- Teaching Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony. Co-ed. with Peter G. Beidler. Special issue of American Indian Culture and Research Journal 28.1 (2004), UCLA.
- The Good Earth: Three Poets of the Prairie: Paul Engle, James Hearts, William Stafford. Eds. Denise Low, Robert Dana, Scott Cawelti. North Liberty: Ice Cube Press, 2002.
- Kansas Poems of William Stafford, with an introduction. Topeka: Woodley (Washburn Univ.), 1990. 7th printing 2007.
- A Confluence of Poems, a school edition. Lawrence: Cottonwood Review Press, 1984. 2nd printing, 1985.
- Confluence: Contemporary Kansas Poetry. Lawrence: Cottonwood Review Press (Univ. of Ks.), 1983.
- 30 Kansas Poets. Lawrence: Cottonwood Review Press (Univ. of Ks.), 1979. 2nd printing, 1980.