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LISTEN: Annette Hope Billings On Poems That Loiter And Make Demands

C.J. Janovy
/
KCUR
Annette Hope Billings

Topeka poet Annette Hope Billings has described herself as a shy child who found her voice through theater productions at Topeka High School – but she didn’t fully devote herself to expressing that voice until after a long career as a nurse. After nearly forty years in that field, Billings retired earlier this year to concentrate on writing full-time. In March, the Topeka Capital-Journal wrote a profile of Billings. She told the reporter she feels as if “writing is a form of nursing using words.” She has written two plays andtwo books of poetry.

All of our WORD readings, including bonus tracks by some poets, are archived on SoundCloud.

A free press is among our country’s founding principles and most precious resources. As director of content-journalism at KCUR, I want everyone in our part of America to know we see them and we’re listening. I work to make sure the stories we tell and the conversations we convene reflect our complex realities, informing and inspiring all of us to meet the profound challenges of our time. Email me at cj@kcur.org.
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