Twyla Hansen Explained

Twyla M. Hansen (born 1949) is an American poet, who served as the Nebraska State Poet until 2018. She is the third Nebraskan and first woman to hold this position, to which she was appointed by Governor Dave Heineman in November 2013.^[1]

Life

Hansen was raised near the town of Lyons in northeast Nebraska and currently lives in Lincoln. She holds a bachelor's degree in horticulture and a master's degree in agroecology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.^[2] While working as grounds manager and arboretum curator at Nebraska Wesleyan University, Hansen took classes from poet William Kloefkorn, who became one of her mentors.^{[3] [4]} Hansen was appointed to replace Kloefkorn as Nebraska State Poet after his death in 2011.

Awards

• 2004 Nebraska Book Award for Poetry (for Potato Soup)
• 2012 Nebraska Book Award - Nebraska Center for the Book (for Dirt Songs: A Plains Duet)^[5]

Selected publications

Books

• Book: How to Live in the Heartland. Flatwater Editions. 1992. 978-0963353504.
• Book: In Our Very Bones. Slow Tempo Press. 1997. 978-0963555977 .
• Book: Sanctuary Near Salt Creek. Lone Willow Press. 2001 .
• Book: Potato Soup. The Backwaters Press. 2003. 978-0972618724.
• Book: Prairie Suite: A Celebration. Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center. 2006 . Illustrated by Paul Johnsgard.
• Book: Dirt Songs: A Plains Duet. The Backwaters Press. 2011. 978-1935218241 . With Linda Hasselstrom.
• Book: Rock • Tree • Bird. The Backwaters Press. 2017. 978-1935218456 .

Anthologies

• Book: Inheriting the Land: Contemporary Voices from the Midwest. Mark Vinz . Thom Tammaro . University of Minnesota Press. 1993. 978-0816623037 .
• Book: Leaning Into the Wind: Women Write from the Heart of the West. Nancy Curtis. Gaydell Collier. Linda Hasselstrom. Houghton Mifflin. 1997. 978-0395837382.
• Book: Woven on the Wind: Women Write about Friendship in the Sagebrush West. Linda Hasselstrom. Nancy Curtis. Gaydell Collier. Houghton Mifflin. 2001. 978-0395977088.
• Book: Rural Voices: Literature From Rural Nebraska. Dirt Road Press. 2002. 978-0971903005 .
• Book: Poets Against the War. Sam Hamill. Nation Books. 2003. 978-1560255390 .
• Book: Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. David J. Wishart. David J. Wishart. University of Nebraska Press. 2004. 978-0803247871 .
• Book: Women Write Resistance: Poets Resist Gender Violence. Laura Madeline Wiseman. Hyacinth Girl Press. 2013. 978-0615772783 .

External links

• Biography at the Nebraska Center for Writers
• Biography, selected poetry, and scholarly essays at Poetry from the Plains
• Twyla Hansen and Paul Johnsgard's "Prairie Suite: A Celebration"

Notes and References

1. News: . Lincoln Woman Named State Poet . . 2013-11-14 . 2013-12-10.
2. News: Hansen . Sarah Baker . 2013-12-02 . State Poet out to revitalize post, increase outreach . . 2013-12-10.
3. News: Tobias . Mike . 2013-12-05 . New Nebraska State Poet Not Afraid To Get Dirty . . 2013-12-10.
4. News: . Lincoln's Twyla Hansen named Nebraska state poet . . 2013-11-14 . 2013-12-10 . dead . https://archive.today/20131210193910/http://www.omaha.com/article/20131114/LIVING/131119368 . 2013-12-10 .
5. Web site: Nebraska Book Award Winners - Nebraska Center for the Book . Centerforthebook.nebraska.gov . 2015-03-06.