Nebraska Poets Reading Series

Veronica Torraca-Bragdon is a poet, singer/songwriter, and special educator, having graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a degree in K-12 Vocal/Instrumental Education, then remaining a Maverick to receive her masters in Special Education. 

     Her poems have been set to music by Nebraska composer Dave M. Gardner, premiered by Omaha Symphonic Chorus and Bellevue Choral Society, along with being featured on the soundtrack of Japanese Anime REDLINE for lyrics and vocals.

     Her discussion questions have been incorporated into award-winning author Tammi Croteau’s books to extend learning about kindness and inclusion. 

Veronica’s original music can be found on her YouTube page, while her self-published first book, “Outside the Box, Inside the Wrapping”, is available on Amazon.

     She lives with her husband, Dan, and their son, Sullivan, in Papillion, NE.

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FREE and Open to the Public

Twyla M. Hansen’s newest poetry book is "Feeding the Fire." She is a Larksong Writers Place founding board member, Humanities Nebraska Speaker’s Bureau writing presenter since 1992, and was the first female Nebraska State Poet from 2013 to 2018.

     Recent honors include the Nebraska Literary Heritage Award, Nebraska Center for the Book President’s Award, and a Lincoln High School Distinguished Alumni Award. Her book "Rock • Tree • Bird" won the 2018 Nebraska Book Award and WILLA Literary Award for poetry.

     Twyla’s writing is published recently in Briar Cliff Review, Oakwood, Prairie Schooner, South Dakota Review, "More in Time: A Tribute to Ted Kooser, Nebraska Poetry Sesquicentennial Anthology 1867-2017," and on the websites of Academy of American Poets, Poetry Foundation, and Poetry Out Loud, plus many more.

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FREE and Open to the Public

Julie S. Paschold (Tansy Julie the Soaring Eagle) is a queer disabled poet and artist from Nebraska. They have their BS and MS in agronomy from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Their first book, "Horizons" (Atmosphere Press) is a collection of poetry honoring soil, one of our nonrenewable resources.

     Julie has been published in AKA’s Advocate, Fine Lines, Plainsongs, The Awakenings Review, the Nebraska Writer’s Guild, The Raven’s Perch, Iconoclast, The Radical Teacher, and several publications on medium.com.

     Two of their chapbooks won honorable mention in contests by Writer's Digest in 2021 and 2022.

     Julie sells their sketches at Ravenwood in Norfolk, NE. For more, read her blog on medium or blogspot.

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FREE and Open to the Public

Bonnie Johnson-Bartee is the author of two chapbooks of poetry, "Bildungsroman 38" (2004) and "Named, but Unknown" (2006), and is the editor of Teachers College: Essays on the Art of Education (WSC Press, 2007), and her latest book, "Cord Blood" (Sandhills Press 2022) won a 2023 Nebraska Book Award. Her work can be found in Nebraska Life, Words Like Rain (WSC Press, 2005) and editions of Voices Out of Nowhere and Judas Goat. 

     She teaches creative writing and literature courses at Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska, and at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska, where she also serves as the coordinator of the Visiting Writers Series and is the faculty editor of Northeast Community College’s annual Voices Out of Nowhere.

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FREE and Open to the Public

Jon Volkmer grew up Nebraska City. He holds and MA in Creative Writing from Denver University, and a PhD in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

     His 2006 poetry collection "The Art of Country Grain Elevators" (Bottom Dog Press, with photography by Bruce Selyem) contains reflections of his youth, and especially of his father’s grain elevator business.

     His other books include the newly published novel "Brave in Season" (Sunbury Press 2023), a travel memoir, "Eating Europe" (Parlor Press 2006) and a YA biography of Roberto Clemente (Townsend, 2008).

     His poems have appeared in Poet Lore, Parnassus, Painted Bride Quarterly, The Worcester Review, and other venues.

     He is professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania.

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FREE and Open to the Public

Hannah Wilkinson is an independent poet writing in Omaha, NE. She has published two collections: "Unto the Breach" and "Half Agony, Half Hope."

     Poetry is her most essential form of self-expression and empowerment. Her words are a direct link to her passion and her pain and they have saved her life more than once. She hopes they can do some good for others as well. 

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FREE and Open to the Public

Kassandra Montag grew up in rural Nebraska and now lives in Omaha with her husband and two sons. She holds a master’s degree in English Literature and her award-winning poetry and short fiction has appeared in journals and anthologies, including Midwestern Gothic, Nebraska Poetry, Prairie Schooner, and Mystery Weekly Magazine.

     In 2021, she won an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Nebraska Arts Council. She is the author of a poetry collection "Chorus of the Underground Sea" and two novels "After the Flood" and "Those Who Return". Her work has been published in fifteen languages and has been optioned for film. 

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FREE and Open to the Public