Ex-Texas Poet Laureate to speak at Collin College’s Frisco campus

by John P. Meyer

Head on over to the Founder's Hall Shawnee Room (Rm. 148) on Collin College's Preston Ridge campus On Wed., June 6 (at 10:15 a.m.) to hear a presentation by former Texas Poet Laureate Alan Birkelbach.

Mr. Birkelbach, a Plano resident, was Poet Laureate of Texas from 2005-2006; his subject matter centers on Southwestern and Texas themes, and includes references to cowboys, prairies and dusty towns. Reminiscent of Plano, sort of.

Titled "Different Man, Different River: Life is a journey and we change with each second, what do we learn along the way?" - honest to God, that is the actual title - the event is free, which syncs up nicely with what we know about the income of most poets: hopefully Birkelbach negotiated for 15% of the door.

Actually, Birkelbach is better off wage-wise than most poets: he's been commissioned by the City of Plano to write poems about the city's history, to be used in some fashion by the five Plano public libraries.

Stick around after the presentation for the Q/A - you can ask Alan about ways to get cities to commission you to write poems. And whatever else you'd like to know. He'll also be signing copies of his new book, Alan Birkelbach: New and Selected Works: a much more manageable title than that attached to his presentation.