Wayne students, professors and community members gathered in the Humanities lounge on Sept. 12 to hear Mark Sanders read poetry from “In a Good Time,” his new book published by WSC Press.

Students usually look forward to the Plains Writers Series around the same time as the poetry slams, but this year, students were also treated to plains writer Mark Sanders who premiered his new book. WSC Press adviser and Plains Writers Series director Chad Christensen said the series is a wonderful opportunity to hear and meet Great Plains writers. Christensen said they usually host two a semester at the same time as the poetry and fiction slams, but because they published Sanders’ book, there was another this year.

Sanders’ new book is published by the WSC Press, a collaboration of graduate/undergrad students and Christensen, who publish books from local writers and Nebraska natives.

“This [PWS] is a lot different because we actually got to publish his book,” Christensen said. “We did the layout and design.”

Sanders’ poetry features many Nebraskan themes because he was born and raised in Nebraska. Although he lives in Texas now, working at Stephen F. Austin University, he was born in Creighton, Nebraska, and grew up in Ord, Nebraska. Sanders has a more complex history with Wayne, especially.

“My mother went to Wayne State,” Sanders said. “I can remember being a kid and visiting her, playing in the Willow Bowl.” Sanders said he always enjoys coming to Wayne because it “feels like home.”

The book’s name, “In a Good Time,” comes from a poem in the book. “In a Dark Time” and “In a Bad Time” are two poems by other writers which discuss the darker side of life but Sanders’ poem tries to take those dark themes and make them exist with the good. There’s a part in the poem which reads, “The world is beautiful because it is the world.”

“That’s a really pivotal line,” Sanders said. “It’s like a wash of positivity.”

Sanders said he rarely does poetry readings and that this was his first time reading many of these poems aloud. In addition to writing poetry and working at Stephen F. Austin University, Sanders runs the Sandhills Press, a publishing company for many Great Plains writers. Sanders also operates a small farm with his wife in Nacogdoches, Texas, where they live with many horses and dogs.

For more information on Sanders’ book, students can visit wscpress.com or to buy it, talk to Christensen or search for it on Amazon.