William Kloefkorn

William (Bill) Kloefkorn is a Nebraska poet and educator based in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is the author of twelve collections of poetry, two short story collections, a collection of children's Christmas stories, and three memoirs. Additionally Kloefkorn is professor emeritus of English at Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Kloefkorn holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas, and did additional graduate work at the University of Kansas and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Prior to teaching at Nebraska Wesleyan, Kloefkorn taught at Wichita State University and at Ellinwood High School in Ellinwood, Kansas.

In 1982, Kloefkorn was appointed State Poet of Nebraska, a position roughly equivalent to Poet Laureate. However, in 1921 the Nebraska Legislature permanently bestowed the title of Poet Laureate of Nebraska to John Neihardt, who is still recognized as holding this title.

In addition to his literary honors, Kloefkorn likes to boast that he won first place in the 1978 Nebraska Hog-Calling Championship.

Kloefkorn's poems are deceptively complex. Even the simplest subjects, under his close eye, suddenly becomes increasingly complex and multi-faceted until you, too, are able to see the dimensions you would otherwise have missed. A modest Midwestern writer, much like our current National Poet Laureat, Kloefkorn also has the distinction of being one of the easiest poets for an editor to work with, and the rare distinction of being generous to his peers, non-competetive, and easily as well-behaved as his grand-children, some that cannot say of many poets. There are some brilliant poets coming out of the Midwest and West, and not primarily out of lauded workshops. Kloefkorn was a regular contributor to South Dakota Review, one of the best literary magazines west of the Mississippi.

Kloefkorn resonates as a poet of place, and the Great Plains and West are painstakingly rendered in his gentle but clear-sighted poetry. This is a poet of great humanity, whose voice never strays far from the image, from the place, from the people of that place. And yet, through it all, there is a universality. His works invite you in for a cup of coffee and one of those comfortable conversations that later leave you realizing you've just been before a true visionary...in this case a visionary of the Plains. You are unlikely to see this kind, gentle man at a "poetry slam" (any more than one might see Wallace Stevens at one). He would not be found shouting obscenities, dissing his peer poets for entertainment or strutting his ego on a stage. There is no slam with Kloefkorn. Only that cup of coffee and the gradual realization of wisdom gained.

Notable publications

* "At Home on This Moveable Earth" (University of Nebraska Press, 2006)
* "Loup River Psalter" (Spoon River Poetry Press, 2001)
* "Welcome to Carlos" (Spoon River Poetry Press, 2000)