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Boonville —
Walter Bargen, Missouri's first poet laureate, held a poetry reading Thursday evening at Zuzak Wonder Store in Boonville.
Bargen grew up in a military family. William Bargen, his father, was an aviation mechanic. His childhood memories include the different locales in which he lived. He once resided in Germany, where his mother Anna Bargen was from.
"I was little more sensitive to international events due to my traveling abroad," Bargen said.
At the age of 12, the family landed in Belton. At the time, Belton was a small town unto itself, not the suburb of Kansas City it is now. The family remained long enough for Bargen to complete high school in Belton.
He said his experience there was that of a typical teenager though he did have a strong curiosity for philosophy, particularly Nietzsche. Among his high school friends, a camaraderie existed for the love of reading and prompted the friends to challenge each other on how many books they could read in a week's time. They meant to encourage one another in the pursuit of knowledge, Bargen said.
Bargen said a high school English teacher had become frustrated with the class and gave the students a challenge to write complex sentences for him. Each student in turn quickly scribbled a sentence down and turned it in. After looking at the students' submissions, he told them that none of them knew how to write a sentence full of thought and depth.
"It got me curious. I took it as a challenge to become more involved with language," Bargen said. His first poem that he wrote occurred in high school. He named it "Requiem", a poem dedicated to teenage angst.
In college, he obtained a bachelor's degree in philosophy and furthered his education with a master's degree in English education. "You can't be a writer without reading. Other writers influenced me," Bargen said.
Most recently Bargen received an honor in the A capella Zoo magazine on his short story "A Theory of Muses." Over the years he has been recognized for his literary achievements: National Endowment for the Arts poetry fellowship in 1991, Hanks Prize in 1996 and Chester H. Jones Foundation poetry prize in 1997. In 2008, he received the poet laureate distinction for the state of Missouri. He held that position for two years. His responsibilities included promoting the arts in Missouri by making a minimum of six appearances per year in public libraries and schools across the state.
Bargan says that he approaches his writing with different techniques in each book of poetry he produces. In 1980, he was more involved with images. In 1990 he was more concerned with telling a story or narrative, and now he is moving into an expression that blends image and story together.
Bargen currently resides near Ashland.
"Read poetry everyday," he said. "Ray Bradbury, one of the most famous science fiction writers, once said that reading poetry is a challenge. It stresses the senses."
Walter Bargen, Missouri's first poet laureate, held a poetry reading Thursday evening at Zuzak Wonder Store in Boonville.
Bargen grew up in a military family. William Bargen, his father, was an aviation mechanic. His childhood memories include the different locales in which he lived. He once resided in Germany, where his mother Anna Bargen was from.
"I was little more sensitive to international events due to my traveling abroad," Bargen said.
At the age of 12, the family landed in Belton. At the time, Belton was a small town unto itself, not the suburb of Kansas City it is now. The family remained long enough for Bargen to complete high school in Belton.
He said his experience there was that of a typical teenager though he did have a strong curiosity for philosophy, particularly Nietzsche. Among his high school friends, a camaraderie existed for the love of reading and prompted the friends to challenge each other on how many books they could read in a week's time. They meant to encourage one another in the pursuit of knowledge, Bargen said.
Bargen said a high school English teacher had become frustrated with the class and gave the students a challenge to write complex sentences for him. Each student in turn quickly scribbled a sentence down and turned it in. After looking at the students' submissions, he told them that none of them knew how to write a sentence full of thought and depth.
"It got me curious. I took it as a challenge to become more involved with language," Bargen said. His first poem that he wrote occurred in high school. He named it "Requiem", a poem dedicated to teenage angst.
In college, he obtained a bachelor's degree in philosophy and furthered his education with a master's degree in English education. "You can't be a writer without reading. Other writers influenced me," Bargen said.
Most recently Bargen received an honor in the A capella Zoo magazine on his short story "A Theory of Muses." Over the years he has been recognized for his literary achievements: National Endowment for the Arts poetry fellowship in 1991, Hanks Prize in 1996 and Chester H. Jones Foundation poetry prize in 1997. In 2008, he received the poet laureate distinction for the state of Missouri. He held that position for two years. His responsibilities included promoting the arts in Missouri by making a minimum of six appearances per year in public libraries and schools across the state.
Bargan says that he approaches his writing with different techniques in each book of poetry he produces. In 1980, he was more involved with images. In 1990 he was more concerned with telling a story or narrative, and now he is moving into an expression that blends image and story together.
Bargen currently resides near Ashland.
"Read poetry everyday," he said. "Ray Bradbury, one of the most famous science fiction writers, once said that reading poetry is a challenge. It stresses the senses."
