Bryan Thao Worra has been announced as the keynote speaker for the 2018 League of Minnesota Poets Fall Conference in October at the Hopkins Center for the Arts.
“I greatly appreciate and admire the work of the League over the decades since they were first established in 1934,” Thao Worra said. “I will be addressing the issue of “Timelessness and Timeliness” this year. I look forward to seeing everyone there on Oct. 20-21.”
This year marks the 20th anniversary since Thao Worra came to live in Minnesota as a poet and writer. Born in Laos in 1973, he came to the US in the same year as the adopted son an American pilot flying in the country at the time and was raised with a love of art, literature and community service. He currently holds over 20 awards and distinctions for his writing and community work. In July, the Governor of Minnesota appointed him to the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans.
Additionally, See More Perspective will be joining Thao Worra as one of the workshop presenter. See More Perspective has been described as a “Chicago Institution,” “walking creativity,” and “The hardest working, most unjustly slept-on artist in the Twin Cities” … An award-winning hip-hopper, he is a Twin Cities Native, Chicago transplant, MC, poet, producer, engineer and educator.
Thao Worra will also celebrating the launch of his new book, BEFORE WE REMEMBER WE DREAM, and the 5th anniversary of his award-winning book DEMONSTRA. He’ll also be discussing many issues of his organization’s journey celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association, where he serves as president.
The purpose of the League of Minnesota Poets is “…to make Minnesota poetry conscious, and conscious to its own poets.” The League achieves this by striving to encourage the study of Minnesota poetry in the state’s schools; to create newspaper and magazine outlets for the best work of Minnesota poets; to publish periodic collections of verse by members in its League magazine called The Moccasin to provide a permanent record of accomplishments; And, accumulate historical material for a scrapbook to preserve pertinent information about the organization.
The League also sponsors a student poetry contest, provides poets in the schools, participates in readings, annual contests, collaborations and other events throughout the state. Through the publication of their annual member anthology The Moccasin and other works, both digital and print, LOMP is committed to the publication of their members work. While participating in these activities LOMP diligently documents their events creating a lasting body of work throughout their history.
The League holds biannual state meetings for their members in the spring and fall and annually sends delegates to their affiliated organization the National Federation of State Poetry Societies’ June convention. There are five regional League chapters throughout the state, Heartland Poets in Brainerd; Mississippi Valley Poets & Writers in the Twin Cities; Cracked Walnut, an online and reading based non-regionalized chapter; Southeastern Minnesota Poets in Rochester, and Southern Minnesota Poets in Mankato.
For more information visit www.mnpoets.org.
