In its 42nd year, the 2026 Salina Spring Poetry Series features a lineup of accomplished poets who will read in downtown Salina. In-person readings will occur at 7 pm on Tuesdays in April at Red Fern Booksellers (106 S Santa Fe Ave).
Since its founding in 1984 by poet Patricia Traxler, the series celebrates National Poetry Month each April and serves as a meeting point for national, regional, and local poets and appreciators of poetry. Celebrating poetic perspectives in the community, each reading entertains and provokes thought on critical issues. The series integrates diverse poetic voices, mirroring social discussions and artistic expressions. Over the years, it has hosted Pulitzer Prize winners and U.S. Poet Laureates, alongside many Kansas Poet Laureates, regionally significant poets, and new voices.
The series this year is sponsored by Salina Arts & Humanities and was curated by Traci Brimhall, Kansas Poet Laureate. Admission to each reading will be $5 at the door and free for students with ID.
Jennifer Maritza McCauley is the author of the cross-genre collection SCAR ON/SCAR OFF (Stalking Horse Press), the short story collections When Trying to Return Home (Counterpoint) and Recognition (U. Wisconsin Press, ‘27), the poetry collections Kinds of Grace (Flower Song), VERSUS (Texas Review Press, ‘27) and Tumbao (Texas Review Press, ‘29) and the speculative collection NEON STEEL (Feb ‘26). She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Kimbilio and CantoMundo and her work has been a New York Times Editors’ Choice, Best Fiction Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews and a Must-Read by Elle, Latinx in Publishing, Ms. Magazine and Southern Review of Books. She is seasonal faculty at Yale Writers’ Workshop and an assistant professor of English at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
