Poems by Independence, IA School Amanda Whitaker’s Sixth Grade Class
Oct. 10, 2010

I worked with this class last October to write persona poems in response to this Breughel painting. Enjoy the students’ terrific work by clicking here to download the pdf file.

--Mary Swander

An article by Mary Swander:

How did you become interested in poetry?

This is the question I’ve been asked most frequently this past year that I’ve been Poet Laureate of Iowa...

Mary Swander sends you her holiday greetings in the form of the following newsletter which you can view in your reader:

Holiday Greetings from the Poet Laureate

This website was begun by Mary Swander, Poet Laureate of the State of Iowa, working in conjunction with Matthew Steven and Jim Coppoc. These three poets thank the Iowa Arts Council for their generous support to make the development of this site possible. iowalit.com is intended for use by the people of Iowa to share their poetry and other writing with each other. It is also intended to be a central bulletin board for posting of readings, slams, and literary events. A translation and school corner will highlight literary work by the diverse people of our state, young and old. And finally, iowalit.com will profile some very talented Iowa writers and their works, opening a window into the creative process.