Wick Poetry Center

Shared Sky is a Wick Poetry Center project for the April 8, 2024 Eclipse

The April 8 total solar eclipse has sparked a new opportunity for interactive poetry from Kent State University’s Wick Poetry Center.The university and the city of Kent will be in the path of totality for the eclipse, and numerous visitors are expected to flock to the Kent Campus and the city to experience the phenomenon.The Wick Poetry Ce...

the Maj Ragain Poetry Park at Wick Poetry Center

Kent State University’s Wick Poetry Center marks its 40th anniversary this year with three days of poetry events and a gala planned for September to celebrate the program that has provided a platform for creative voices across the globe. “Our 40th celebration will be a testament to the ongoing mission of the Wick Poetry Center to enco...

Chris Wick (left) and David Hassler (right) stand in front of the Wick Poetry Center’s Poets for Science exhibition at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs’ 2023 Conference and Bookfair.

The Wick family has a long history of philanthropy at Kent State University that began in 1984 when brothers Bob and Walt Wick first established scholarships to support undergraduate poets at the university. Bob was a sculptor and former art department faculty member at Kent State, and the scholarships were born out of a desire to honor an...

the Maj Ragain Poetry Park at Wick Poetry Center

The Kent State University literary community gathered on Sept. 14 under crisp blue skies to remember one of Kent's most beloved teachers, the late poet Maj Ragain. “Maj wrote poems to, for and about this town, this home of his in Kent,” said David Hassler, director of the Wick Poetry Center in his remarks at the dedication. “His poems g...

Farnaz Fatemi, Poet Laureate Fellow, of Santa Cruz County, California, in partnership with Kent State University's Wick Poetry Center and several local Santa Cruz County organizations, will produce a series of nine monthly pop-up teen poetry workshops.

Farnaz Fatemi, poet laureate of Santa Cruz County, California, was awarded a $50,000 fellowship from the Academy of American Poets that she will use in partnership with Kent State University's Wick Poetry Center to produce a series of teen poetry workshops. Fatemi is an Iranian-American poet and writer and the author of "Sister Tongue,"...

Farnaz Fatemi

The Academy of American Poets Awards $1.1 Million to 23 Poets Laureate Across the United States The Academy of American Poets announced today that it is awarding $50,000 each to its 2023 Poet Laureate Fellows for a combined total of $1.1 million. These twenty-three individuals serve as poets laureate of states, counties, and cities acro...

Kent State student speaking at Lavender Graduation

This year’s Lavender Graduation (LavGrad) is Kent State University’s 11th annual celebration of its LGBTQ+ graduates. At the university’s first Lavender Graduation in 2013, just three graduates were celebrated, with about 25 guests in attendance. “The Lavender Graduation ceremony has grown considerably since then," said Ken Ditlevson, d...

Honors College

Sonyea Moore, a sophomore Honors student from Twinsburg, Ohio, is currently pursuing two majors and three minors in the College of Arts and Sciences and is thriving while doing so. Holding a 3.9 G.P.A., Sonyea is following her interests in the humanities through majors in anthropology and Africana studies, along with her minors in English,...

 Kent State University President Todd Diacon and others shared poems written for the recent publication “Dear Vaccine: Global Voices Speak to the Pandemic,” at the book’s release party this spring.

Kent State University President Todd Diacon and others shared poems written for the recent publication “Dear Vaccine: Global Voices Speak to the Pandemic,” at the book’s release party this spring.  Among the many other poems influenced by the events of the last two years, Diacon’s contribution described the COVID-19 vaccine as a sh...

The Ukranian Bandurist Chorus has captivated audiences in the U.S. and around the world since immigrating to North America from Europe in 1949.

Kent State University’s Wick Poetry Center is entering into a unique collaboration with the world-renowned Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America (UBC) to use poetry and music as a means to raise awareness and funds for the benefit of Ukraine. The Bandurist Chorus will hold “Amplify the Voice: A Benefit Concert for Ukraine” on Satu...