
This fall, Thatcher Hoffman Smith Poetry Series is excited to welcome poet !
Join us at 10 a.m Tuesday, Nov. 3, for a poetry reading in the Kerr McGee Auditorium at Meinders School of Business, NW 26th & N. McKinley Ave, Oklahoma City. Admission is free!
Ken Hada lives in the Crosstimbers Section of rural Oklahoma. He finds inspiration from the Natural world, both at home and in his travels. Much of his writing concerns questions of spirituality and the human experience within Nature. Author of fourteen collections of poetry, his latest book is Nexus (2026). His poetry has been awarded by The Western Writers of America, "The Wrangler Award" from the National Western Heritage Museum, the Poetry Prize by South Central Modern Language Association and The Oklahoma Center for the Book. His work has been featured on various public radio programs and other media outlets, including four of his poems featured on NPR program "The Writer's Almanac." In addition to his poetry, Ken remains active in scholarship, writing and publishing regularly on regional writing, literary ecology and multicultural literatures. He is a professor at East Central University where he directs the annual Scissortail Creative Writing Festival, now in its 22nd year. More information available at kenhada.org.
Every spring since 1999, the Thatcher Hoffman Smith Poetry series brings a nationally renowned, award-winning poet to our campus. The event features live readings of their work, book signings, and an open mic sessions for local poets to showcase their talents.
The Thatcher Hoffman Smith Spring Poetry Series is proud to have hosted major poets for 25 years.
Past poets include winners of National Book Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, Guggenheim Fellows, Academy of American Poets Chancellors, and Poets Laureate of the U.S. or U.K.
Our interviews with some of the previous poets are linked below.
| YEAR | POET NAME |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Patricia Smith |
| 2025 | Ada Limón* & George Bilgere |
| 2024 | |
| 2023 | & |
| 2022 | |
| 2021 | & Clemonce Heard |
| 2019 | |
| 2018 | |
| 2017 | * |
| 2016 | & Andrea Gibson |
| 2015 | |
| 2014 | Tracy K. Smith * |
| 2013 | Terrance Hayes |
| 2012 | |
| 2011 | Carolyn Forché |
| 2010 | * |
| 2009 | * |
| 2008 | |
| 2007 | * |
| 2006 | * |
| 2005 | * & |
| 2004 | |
| 2003 | Naomi Shihab Nye |
| 2002 | |
| 2001 | Michael Ondaatje |
| 2000 | Jane Hirshfield |
| 1999 | Robert Pinsky * |
* denotes a Poet Laureate
