In celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University, David Hassler, the Bob and Walt Wick Executive Director of the Wick Poetry Center, sheds light on the Center’s history, programs, and community impact while also sharing a few poems and discussing highlights from the recent anniversary events.

Robert Wick, a sculptor and former art department faculty member at Kent State University, and his brother, Walter Wick, established the Wick Poetry Center in memory of their sons. Today, the Wick Poetry Center encourages new voices by promoting opportunities for individuals and communities locally, regionally and nationally. Wick engages emerging and established poets and poetry audiences through readings, publications, workshops and scholarship opportunities.

David Hassler directs the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University. He is an author, editor, poet, and playwright, with works including the poetry collection Red Kimono, Yellow Barn, for which he was awarded Ohio Poet of the Year 2006; May 4th Voices: Kent State, 1970, a play based on the Kent State Shootings Oral History Project; Growing Season: The Life of a Migrant Community, a documentary book he authored with photographer Gary Harwood, and which received the Ohioana Book Award and the Carter G. Woodson Honor Book Award; and additional co-edited works. His TEDx talk, “The Conversation of Poetry,” conveys the power of poetry to strengthen communities.

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