Enjoy readings by Great Plains writers Twyla M. Hansen, Michael Catherwood, David Wyatt, and Mike Stinson.
This Plains Writers Series will feature Twyla M. Hansen, Michael Catherwood, David Wyatt, and Mike Stinson. The reading will begin at 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026, in the second-floor lounge of the Humanities Building at Wayne State College. The event is free and open to the public and will also be livestreamed on the Plains Writers Series Facebook page.
Following the Plains Writers Series reading will be Poetry Slam 53 at 7 p.m. at The Max Bar and Grill in downtown Wayne. Participant registration begins at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free, and poets wishing to compete should bring three original poems and a $5 registration fee.
About the Readers
Twyla M. Hansen served as Nebraska State Poet from 2013 to 2018 and has conducted poetry readings, discussions, and creative writing workshops through Humanities Nebraska since 1993. Her books have received Nebraska Book Awards, WILLA Literary Awards, and the High Plains Book Award. Her collaborative poem-art books include Seen in Otoe County, Prairie Suite: A Celebration, and Field Trip. She serves on the board of Larksong Writers Place.
Michael Catherwood is the author of Dare, If You Turned Around Quickly, Projector, and Near Misses. His honors include a Nebraska Arts Council Grant and the Holt Prize for Poetry. His poems have appeared in numerous literary journals, including Agni, Briar Cliff Review, South Dakota Review, and The Common. He has served as associate editor of Plainsongs since 1995 and lives in Omaha.
David Wyatt is the author of Gathering Place and Evening All of a Sudden, both published by WSC Press. He received a Distinguished Merit Fellowship from the Nebraska Arts Council in 2006 and the inaugural Loraine Williams Poetry Prize from The Georgia Review in 2013. His poems have appeared in Prairie Schooner, The Georgia Review, Poetry, and other publications. He lives in Lincoln.
Mike Stinson is a retired psychotherapist whose writing includes poetry, a newspaper poetry feature, and a personal-interest column called Walking the Dog. His poems have appeared in journals and anthologies, and his chapbook extra innings features baseball haiku. He enjoys photography, road trips, sports, and exploring Nebraska’s small towns and landscapes.
The event is sponsored by WSC’s Language and Literature Department, School of Arts and Humanities, and WSC Press.
For more information about this event, please contact:
Chad Christensen
402-375-7118
[email protected]