Konza Tallgrass Prairie Haiku: Poems and Photographs

By Judith Lauter

Konza Tallgrass Prairie Haikuby poet, photographer, and neuroscientist Judith Lauteroffers an introduction to some of the wonders of the Konza Tallgrass Prairie Preserve located south of Manhattan, Kansas. Part of the beautiful Flint Hills region of northeast Kansas, Konza is a treasure trove of hills and valleys shaped by creeks that contribute to the watershed of the Kaw (Kansas) River.

Through photos and poems, the author guides us to a greater appreciation of this area, beginning on the banks of the Kaw, and then following a tributary creek to a trail that wanders through a gallery forest, up a hill bright with prairie wildflowers, and finally to a lookout where we find more flowers, a monarch butterfly on its migration, and a breathtaking Flint Hills sunset. Endnotes provide information about Konza prairie, including facts about the plants and animals shown in the photos.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 4, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524566319

Judith Lauter

Judith Lauter (JudithLauter.com) was born in Austin, Texas. When she was nine, her family moved to Michigan where she later met her husband, the poet Ken Lauter, in a poetry-writing seminar at the University of Michigan taught by Donald Hall (US Poet Laureate, 2006-7). Th e couple has subsequently lived in the deserts of Arizona, the mountains of Colorado, the prairies of Missouri and Oklahoma, and now make their home in the pineywoods of Nacogdoches TX. Judith holds a BA in English literature, three master’s degrees (creative writing, library/information science, and linguistics), and a PhD in communication sciences (Washington University in St. Louis). She taught and directed human neuroscience laboratories at major universities for more than three decades, before retiring in 2012 and returning to her fi rst loves, photography and poetry. In addition to scientifi c articles, chapters, and books (including How is Your Brain Like a Zebra? Xlibris, 2008, ZebraBrain.net), she has published poems in journals, and won two Hopwood Awards for poetry (University of Michigan), an Academy of American Poets prize (University of Denver), and the Norma Lowry Memorial Prize (Washington University). Her prize-winning photography has been compared to Eliot Porter’s; reproductions (including selections from this book) are available at FineArtAmerica.com. She has published eight previous books of poetry-and-images with Xlibris, plus a book of photos and poems about Wallace Stevens with the Stephen F. Austin State University Press (see inside for titles).

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Copyright © 2017 by Judith Lauter. 745359

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Photo credits: Cover and all interior photographs by the author; back-cover photo from the author’s collection; the three maps in the Preface are reprinted with permission.

Rev. date: 05/03/2017

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*     *     *

to Ken

who visited Konza with me

during our 50th anniversary year

— and --

to Jerry Williams

for sharing his love of the Konza prairie

in stories and poems he read us in E. Texas

Contents

Preface

Morning: The river, a creek, and a trail

Prairies Even Above Us

The Kaw Below McDowell Creek

What the Cottonwoods Say

Finding the Trail

Kings Creek

Midday: Gallery forest along the creek

Black Walnut

Honey Locust

Bur Oak

Chinquapin Oak

Looking Uphill

Afternoon: Hillside prairie bouquet

Kansas Blue Sage

Dotted Blazingstar

Sun-worshippers in September

Tall Thistle

Snow-on-the-mountain

Completing the Day: The overlook

Achieving the Hill

Black Saddlebags Dragonfly

Monarchs Take on Fuel

Horizon

Campfires in the West

Notes

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