Iowa’s Poet Laureate to read in House, Senate Tuesday
For Immediate Release January 13, 2006
(DES MOINES, Iowa) – The written word will come to life in the State Capitol Tuesday when Iowa’s Poet Laureate, Robert Dana, reads from his work for Iowa legislators.
Dana, who was appointed to the post by Governor Thomas Vilsack in 2004, will be the first Iowa poet laureate to read before the Iowa House of Representatives and Senate since the position was created in 1999.
“Robert's work is much admired by critics and readers both here and abroad,” Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Director Anita Walker said. “Having a poet of his caliber choosing to live and work in Iowa for 40 years as the Poet-in-Residence at Cornell College is a testament to the role cultural arts play in our state.”
Dana, a sports reporter for The Des Moines Register in the early 1950s, will read from his works at 10:05 a.m. in the House and at 1:00 p.m. in the Senate.
“I feel deeply honored, of course, to be the first Iowa Poet Laureate to read before both chambers of the Iowa Legislature,” Dana said. “I’m indebted to all those who supported my nomination to the post, and to all those responsible for this event.”
Dana said he will read “A Short History of the Middle West,” “Victor” or “Blood Harvest,” all of which were published in his book Starting Out For The Difficult World (Harper & Row, 1987).
Born in Boston in 1929, Dana served in the South Pacific in World War II before moving to Iowa, where he attended Drake University and graduated from one of the first classes of the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
He has published 14 books of poetry, beginning in 1957 and ending most recently with The Morning Of The Red Admirals (Anhinga Press, 2004). He has also authored a book about small publishers in America and another one on Paul Engle and the Iowa Writer’s Workshop.
Dana’s poetry has received numerous awards and honors, including the Delmore Schwartz Memorial Poetry Award, the Rilke prize and National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowships in 1985 and 1993. He was invited to the White House Salute to Poetry and American Poets, 1980.
He resurrected the historically famous but long dormant North American Review in 1964, moving its editorial base from Boston, where it originated and gained its initial fame in the 19th century, to Iowa, where it remains to this day. He was its editor from 1964 till 1968.
During his career, Dana has been published in numerous magazines, and he has taught nationally and internationally as a guest poet. He was an early advisor in the creation of the Des Moines National Poetry Festival and was a national guest poet in 2000.
Retired from teaching after 40 years as Poet-in-Residence at Cornell College, he has also served as Distinguished Visiting Writer at Stockholm University and at several American colleges and universities.
The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs is responsible for developing the state’s interest in the areas of the arts, history, and other cultural matters with the advice and assistance from its two divisions: the State Historical Society of Iowa and the Iowa Arts Council. The DCA preserves, researches, interprets and promotes an awareness and understanding of local, state, and regional history; and stimulates and encourages the study and presentation of the performing and fine arts, and public interest and participation in them. It implements tourism-related art and history projects as directed by the general assembly and designs a comprehensive, statewide, long-range plan with the assistance of the Iowa Arts Council to develop the arts in Iowa. More information about DCA is available at www.culturalaffairs.org.
###
