WTAMU: Texas Poet Laureate to Headline Evening of Works by Porter

Provided

The writings of a former West Texas A&M University professor-turned-Texas Poet Laureate will come to life at a Oct. 14 virtual event.

Jenny Lind Porter was the professor of English at then-West Texas State University from 1959 to 1961 and maintained close ties with the school long after she departed. More than 20 years ago, Porter, who served as Texas Poet Laureate in 1964 and 1965, began donating her collection of rare books, art and antique furnishings to WT, leading to the establishment of the Texas Poets’ Corner in 2003.

Following her death in June 2020, a $2.8 million gift from her estate endowed three professorships, a scholarship fund and a legacy initiative to expand the holdings and programs of the Poets’ Corner.

The first such program, “A Virtual Evening with Jenny Lind Porter,” will begin at 7 p.m. Oct. 14 via Zoom.

Such events fulfill WT’s desire to provide access to intellectual resources, insight and wisdom, as set out in the University’s long-term plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World. The plan is being fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign.

“The planning committee for this event is excited for the guests to hear the profound and prolific poetry of Jenny Lind Porter,” said organizer Dr. Mary Liz Brooks, WT’s Jenny Lind Porter Professor of Communication. “It is quite the honor to have Cyrus Cassells headline this event as he is also a decorated poet. Our intention for the evening is to pay tribute to Jenny Lind Porter and what better way to accomplish this than by hearing others read the poetic words she wrote.”

Cyrus Cassells, the 2021 Texas Poet Laureate, will lead a lineup of readers who’ll share Porter’s works from the Texas Poets’ Corner.

Cassells, a 2019 Guggenheim Fellow, is a professor of English at Texas State University and winner of the National Poetry Series, a Lambda Literary Award, a Lannan Literary Award, two NEA grants, a Pushcart Prize and the William Carlos Williams Award. His eighth book, “The World That the Shooter Left Us,” will be published by Four Way Books in March 2022.

The lineup also includes Dr. David Craig, associate professor of physics; Dr. Pat Tyrer, the Jenny Lind Porter Professor of English; and English graduate student Julia Alexander of Friona.

The event is free. To register, visit wtamu.libcal.com/event/8358262.

-West Texas A&M University