Through poetry, Wild Words celebrates the innate relationship Kansans have with the prairie. During the summer of 2023, Humanities Kansas is partnering with Kansas cultural organizations to distribute free copies of this original poetry chapbook within their communities.

The chapbook features 11 poems inspired by Kansas native plants and wildflowers with original illustrations by Melissa Dehner, followed by questions to engage readers in humanities-themed conversations.

This collection of poems is an invitation to listen to the call of native plants in Kansas, to the specific places where we make our homes and live in community with many human and other-than-human co-inhabitants.

––Megan Kaminski, editor of Wild Words

Poetry by Gwendolyn Brooks, CAConrad, Gary Jackson, Canese Jarboe, Megan Kaminski, Aubrey Streit Krug, R.B. Lemberg, Huascar Medina, Janice Northerns, James Thomas Stevens, and Wyatt Townley. Edited by Megan Kaminski. Botanical advising by Courtney Masterson.

Wild Words is made possible by the Humanities Kansas Friends of the Humanities, the Sunflower Foundation, the Elizabeth Schultz Environmental Fund of the Douglas County Community Foundation, Kansas Tourism, and Native Lands Restoration Collaborative.