William Kloefkorn
Encyclopedia
William Charles "Bill" Kloefkorn (August 12, 1932 – May 19, 2011), was a Nebraska
poet
and educator based in Lincoln, Nebraska
. He was the author of twelve collections of poetry, two short story collections, a collection of children's Christmas stories, and four memoir
s. Additionally Kloefkorn was professor emeritus of English at Nebraska Wesleyan University
.
Kloefkorn was born in Attica, Kansas
and obtained Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Emporia State University
in Emporia, Kansas
, and did additional graduate work at the University of Kansas
and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
. Prior to teaching at Nebraska Wesleyan, Kloefkorn taught at Wichita State University
and at Ellinwood High School in Ellinwood, Kansas
.
In 1982, Kloefkorn was appointed State Poet of Nebraska, a position roughly equivalent to Poet Laureate
. (In 1921, the Nebraska Legislature
permanently bestowed the title of Poet Laureate of Nebraska on John Neihardt
, who died in 1973. A successor to this title has not been named.) Kloefkorn died in Lincoln, Nebraska
.
In addition to his literary honors, Kloefkorn boasted that he won first place in the 1978 Nebraska Hog-Calling Championship.
An elementary school in Lincoln is named after Kloefkorn.
Memoirs
Fiction
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and educator based in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
. He was the author of twelve collections of poetry, two short story collections, a collection of children's Christmas stories, and four memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
s. Additionally Kloefkorn was professor emeritus of English at Nebraska Wesleyan University
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Nebraska Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational university located in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2007, it has 1,600 full-time students and 300 faculty and staff. The school teaches in the tradition of a liberal arts college education....
.
Kloefkorn was born in Attica, Kansas
Attica, Kansas
Attica is a town in Harper County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 626.-History:Land for the City of Attica was purchased in late June, 1884 and became the end of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway. The town was incorporated later, on February 16th...
and obtained Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Emporia State University
Emporia State University
Emporia State University is a university in the city of Emporia in Lyon County, Kansas, just east of the Flint Hills.- History :...
in Emporia, Kansas
Emporia, Kansas
Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 24,916. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 and 35 on the Kansas Turnpike...
, and did additional graduate work at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a public research university located in the city of Lincoln in the U.S. state of Nebraska...
. Prior to teaching at Nebraska Wesleyan, Kloefkorn taught at Wichita State University
Wichita State University
Wichita State University is a NCAA Division I public university in Wichita, Kansas with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs....
and at Ellinwood High School in Ellinwood, Kansas
Ellinwood, Kansas
Ellinwood is a city in the southeast corner of Barton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,131.-History:...
.
In 1982, Kloefkorn was appointed State Poet of Nebraska, a position roughly equivalent to Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
. (In 1921, the Nebraska Legislature
Nebraska Legislature
The Nebraska Legislature is the supreme legislative body of the State of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in the City of Lincoln, Lancaster County....
permanently bestowed the title of Poet Laureate of Nebraska on John Neihardt
John Neihardt
Johnathan Gneisenau Neihardt was an American author of poetry and prose, an amateur historian and ethnographer, and a philosopher of the Great Plains...
, who died in 1973. A successor to this title has not been named.) Kloefkorn died in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
.
In addition to his literary honors, Kloefkorn boasted that he won first place in the 1978 Nebraska Hog-Calling Championship.
An elementary school in Lincoln is named after Kloefkorn.
Selected publications
Poetry- Alvin Turner As Farmer (Windflower Press, 1972) - reissued by Logan House Press in 2005
- Uncertain the Final Run to Winter (Windflower Press, 1974)
- Loony (Issued as: APPLE: NO. 10/11, 1975)
- Platte Valley Homestead, (Platte Valley Press, 1981)
- Drinking the Tin Cup Dry (White Pine Press, 1989)
- Going Out, Coming Back (White Pine Press, 1995)
- Welcome to Carlos (Spoon River Poetry Press, 2000)
- Loup River Psalter (Spoon River Poetry Press, 2001)
- Sergeant Patrick Gass, Chief Carpenter (Spoon River Poetry Press, 2002) Verse written by Kloefkorn in the voice of Sergeant Patrick GassPatrick GassPatrick Gass served as sergeant in the Lewis and Clark Expedition . He was important to the expedition because of his service as carpenter and he published the first journal of the expedition in 1807, seven years before the first publication based on Lewis and Clark's journals.-Early life:Gass...
, chief carpenter on the Lewis and Clark ExpeditionLewis and Clark ExpeditionThe Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
based on research into the expedition and the journal kept by Sergeant Gass himself - Out of Attica (The Backwaters Press, 2008)
- Swallowing the Soap: New and Selected Poems (Bison Books: University of Nebraska PressUniversity of Nebraska PressThe University of Nebraska Press, founded in 1941, is a publisher of scholarly and popular-press books. It is the second-largest state university press in the United States and, including private institutions, ranks among the 10 largest university presses in the United States...
, 2010)
Memoirs
- This Death by Drowning (University of Nebraska Press, 1997)
- Restoring the Burnt Child: A Primer (University of Nebraska Press, 2003)
- At Home on This Moveable Earth (University of Nebraska Press, 2006)
- Breathing in the Fullness of Time (University of Nebraska Press, 2009)
Fiction
- A Time to Sink Her Pretty Little Ship (Logan House Press, 1999)
- Shadowboxing and Other Stories (Logan House Press, 2003)