Glenn North, Director of Inclusive Learning & Creative Impact
Glenn has more than 20 years of experience in museum education along with working with numerous arts and culture institutions and nonprofit organizations. Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, he attended Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, majoring in English and completed his undergraduate degree in English at Rockhurst University. He later received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with an emphasis in poetry at the University of Missouri – Kansas City.
Glenn’s career in museums began in 2003 at the American Jazz Museum as the Poet-in-Residence and Education Manager. In 2013, he became the Director of Education and Public Programs at the Black Archives of Mid-America. Prior to joining the Kansas City Museum staff, Glenn was the Executive Director of Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center and Museum. His interest in poetry and youth advocacy led him to establish the Kansas City chapter of the Louder Than A Bomb Youth Poetry Festival while also serving as the festival’s Artistic Director. He is the author of City of Song, a collection of poems inspired by Kansas City’s rich jazz tradition. He is a Cave Canem fellow, a Callaloo creative writing fellow, and a recipient of the Charlotte Street Generative Performing Artist Award. His ekphrastic and visual poems have appeared in art exhibitions at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the American Jazz Museum, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Kansas City Museum. Glenn is also an adjunct English professor at Rockhurst University and is currently filling his appointment as the Poet Laureate of the 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District.
Areas of specialty for museums: Education Programs, Curriculum Development, Public Programs, Ekphrastic Poetry, Public – Facing Poetry Programming, Event Planning, Traveling Exhibits, African American History, Multicultural Programming, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives, and Restorative Practices.