April 17, celebrate National Poetry Month and the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act with Colorado Poet Laureate David Mason and Maria's Bookshop! David Mason is the Poet Laureate of Colorado. His books of poems include "The Buried Houses," "The Country I Remember," and "Arrivals." His verse novel, "Ludlow," won the Colorado Book Award in 2007, and was named Best Book of Contemporary Poetry of the year by the "Contemporary Poetry Review." It was also featured on the "PBS NewsHour." Mason is the author of an essay collection, "The Poetry of Life and the Life of Poetry," and a memoir, "News from the Village," which appeared in 2010. A new collection of essays, "Two Minds of a Western Poet," followed in 2011. Mason has also written the libretti for composer Lori Laitman's opera of "The Scarlet Letter, "her operatic adaptation of "Ludlow," and her oratorio, "Vedem. "A former Fulbright fellow to Greece, he lives in Colorado and Oregon and teaches at Colorado College.