INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — April is National Poetry Month and for Missouri's sixth poet laureate, this month is her Olympics.
"I just love poetry," Maryfrances Wagner said.
Wagner is a poet, a teacher and was appointed by Missouri Governor Mike Parson as the state's sixth poet laureate in July 2021.
"I love teaching and I love poetry," Wagner said. "You put the two together and it's like my passion come true."
Wagner says there are several things she loves about poetry.
"I love how it heals. I love how it sounds. I love how it touches other peoples' lives," Wagner said. "I love when other people write, that they find some sort of joy in what they've written."
She's instilling that joy at her workshops through her latest project: The Haiku Project.
"My goal has been to get everyone in Missouri who is willing, to write a haiku for me," Wagner said. "And this whole project has been nonjudgmental."
She shares there is no good or bad; the goal is just to get Missourians to read and write. She also has guidelines for haikus for anyone who may need assistance.
"These are cards that people have sent me haiku's and I have turned them into these little cards," Wagner said.
Currently she has 10,000 haiku cards from people all across the state.
"I had two goals: one was to put poetry in the hands of people who don't usually read it or write it, or even think they like it, and then the other was to promote Missouri poets, which I have," Wagner said.
Whether through her own publications or highlighting other Missouri poets, she hopes to instill that love for poetry year-round for everyone she meets.
"As a teacher, that's one of the great things in teaching is reach people to empower them," Wagner said. "And to let everyone have a voice."
Wagner said the 10,000 haiku cards that have been sent to her, will be shared across the state.
If you're interested in writing a haiku to Wagner, you can email her at wagnermaryfrances@gmail.com. You can include your name, where you're from and what school you attend if you're a student. Wagner hopes to receive thousands more haikus from people all across the state of Missouri.
Wagner will hold the Missouri poet laureate title through the end of June.
