A poet of gritty realities and triumphal moments. —Robin Becker

Fairchild grew up in small towns in the oil fields of Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas, working as a lathe machinist, and now lives in Claremont, California. He has won a National Book Critics Circle Award and holds a University of Kansas Distinguished Achievement Award, the California Book Award, and others. Fairchild’s The Blue Buick: New & Selected Poems (W.W. Norton, 2014), gathers work from five of his previous books, including The Art of the Lathe (1998), one of the most widely read poetry books of recent times, and Early Occult Memory Systems of the Lower Midwest.

Upcoming Midwest Poets Series Events:
Monica Youn  . . . Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018
Patricia Smith . . . Thursday, April 12, 2018

Midwest Poets Series is sponsored by The Center for Arts & Letters and the College of Arts and Sciences at Rockhurst University, Kansas City, Mo., designed to enhance the literary and intellectual lives of the university, its neighbors, and the surrounding region.

Co-sponsors include the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; The Miller-Mellor Foundation, Patricia Cleary Miller Ph.D., the Stanley H. Durwood Foundation, KCUR-FM/89.3 and Rockhurst University.  The writers’ books are available for purchase at events.

A book signing and reception follow the readings.

Center for Arts & Letters, Rockhurst University (816) 501-4607
Director, Midwest Poets Series: Robert Stewart. Director, Center for Arts and Letters: Cynthia Cartwright.

Arrupe Hall is located at 54th Street and Troost Avenue, Kansas City, Mo. (#19 on campus map)
Park in any campus lot, all well lit and all free