Rebroadcast: Hanford-area native and former Washington Poet Laureate on how the ‘Atomic City’ shaped her life episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 17, 2026 · 20 MIN

Rebroadcast: Hanford-area native and former Washington Poet Laureate on how the ‘Atomic City’ shaped her life

from OPB Audio · host Oregon Public Broadcasting

Seattle poet Kathleen Flenniken grew up in Richland and worked as a civil engineer at Hanford in the 1980s. She served as Washington State Poet Laureate from 2012-2014. In her first year as poet laureate, she published a collection called Plume, which deals directly with how her Hanford area upbringing influenced her.  The book explores the history of the site, the death of her best friend's father from a radiation illness, and her childhood in "Atomic City.” Flenniken sits down with us from the campus of Washington State University Tri-Cities.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 17, 2026

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Rebroadcast: Hanford-area native and former Washington Poet Laureate on how the ‘Atomic City’ shaped her life

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