Governor Laura Kelly today congratulated Huascar Medina, Poet Laureate of Kansas, on his recent nomination by President Joe Biden to be a member of the National Council on the Arts.
The National Council on the Arts advises the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, who also chairs the Council, on agency policies and programs. It reviews and makes recommendations to the Chairman on applications for grants, funding guidelines, and leadership initiatives.
“On behalf of the State of Kansas, I’m pleased to congratulate Huascar Medina on this tremendous honor,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Creativity and freedom of expression are what makes us Kansans. I look forward to seeing Medina’s future creative contributions in Kansas and in the Midwest.”
The Poet Laureate program of Kansas recognizes a citizen poet of exceptional talent and accomplishment and designates them as the top poet representing the state.
Medina is a poet, writer, and performer based in Topeka. He currently works as a freelance copywriter and as the Literary Editor for seveneightfive magazine publishing stories that spotlight literary and artistic events in northeast Kansas.
Medina’s poems can be found in his collection How to Hang the Moon, published by Spartan Press. He is the winner of ARTSConnect’s 2018 Arty Award for Literary Art. His new collection of poems, Un Mango Grows in Kansas, is available at huascarmedina.com.
The Poet Laureate program is free of charge to all Kansas non-profit organizations. If you are interested in hosting Huascar Medina as a speaker or presenter, please contact kcaic@ks.gov for more information.
Medina will also work with Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, under the Department of Commerce, to present his program, May our Voices Ring True, across the state.