Monday Reading Recommendation: Poems by Don Welch
On August 6, the Department of English marks the 5-year anniversary of the death of Don Welch, poet and long-serving faculty member at UNK. Current students may often pass the bronze statue dedicated to him that stands outside Thomas Hall by the library. But, in sharp contrast to an inert statue, Don brought a dynamic presence to campus and inspired countless people to express themselves through art, not just the students in his classes but also faculty and staff across UNK. One could find him at one end of Thomas Hall collaborating with the department’s office associate on a series of postcards featuring her photography and at the other end of the building, co-writing a poem with a philosophy professor. Thirty books of his poetry can be found at the Calvin T. Ryan Library starting at Call No. PS3573.E438 (in the UNK Special Collections on the second level).
“One of the most memorable experiences I have had at UNK was having the opportunity to study poetry under Dr. Don Welch. His love for poetry and his incredible ability to teach and help young poets as they craft their poems has inspired me to want to work with young poets myself.” —Rachel Nozicka, UNK 2015, English and Philosophy double major
Below faculty members share their favorite poems by Don Welch.
· Dr. Gene Fendt: “The Glassed Bird”
· Dr. Maria O’Malley: “To a Young Poet,” “New Snow” and “Shadows”
· Dr. Amanda Sladek: “Advice from a Provincial”
· De. Rebecca Umland: "The Emperor's Glassed Bird," "There is No Wind in Heaven," "The Rarer Game," and "Every Mouth of Autumn Says Goodbye"
· Dr. Denys Van Renen: “About Your Classrooms”
Check out a profile on Don Welch here. A reading will be held in his honor on Friday, August 6, 2021 at 7:00 pm at Kitt’s Coffee in downtown Kearney. Read more about it here.
Top photo: photo and student interview from “My Loper Life” by Kyle Means, UNK Communications and Marketing, 2015.
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Check back every Monday for reading suggestions from the Reading Circle. For more book ideas, see these past Monday posts:
Global Environmental Literature reading recommendations HERE
Recommended plays that read well on the page HERE
Recent scholarly books on revolutionary movements HERE
A Literary Mystery: Who wrote The Woman of Colour (Olivia Fairfax) HERE
Foreign language films to watch this summer HERE
Fun summer books recommended by friends at the Calvin T. Ryan Library HERE
History and Literature of Spaceflight reading recommendations HERE
Memorial Day reading recommendations HERE