Wisconsin Academy: To steward Wisconsin Poet Laureate position and provide continuing support for Poet Laureate Commission

Contact: Jason A. Smith, communications director

MADISON—Citing a long history of support for the arts, the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters today announced it will steward the Wisconsin Poet Laureate position and provide staff support for the Poet Laureate Commission. “The Wisconsin Poet Laureate is more than just a symbolic appointment,” says Wisconsin Academy executive director Margaret Lewis. “The poet laureate plays a crucial role in keeping the arts accessible and vital—to all age groups—and acts as a statewide emissary for poetry and creativity. The Wisconsin Academy will support the Poet Laureate Commission for the foreseeable future in order to ensure the survival of this meaningful program.”

As part of the new stewardship arrangement, the Wisconsin Academy will provide space for Wisconsin Poets Laureate both past and present and related Poet Laureate Commission information on their website, provide publicity for the current poet laureate, and aid in the search and selection of future poets laureate. In addition the Wisconsin Academy will act as the Poet Laureate Commissions fiscal sponsor, accepting charitable contributions on behalf of the Commission in order to pay expenses related to Wisconsin Poet Laureate activities as well as enhance the commission’s growing endowment.

“The Poet Laureate Commission is extremely pleased that the highly respected Wisconsin Academy stepped forward as steward of the Wisconsin Poet Laureate program after Governor Walker discontinued the State’s stewardship,“ says Poet Laureate Commission co-chair Jane Hamblen. “The program has selected four distinguished poets laureate over the last decade. The relationship with the Wisconsin Academy will allow this celebration of poetry and creativity in Wisconsin to continue for many years to come.”

About the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

Founded in 1870, the Wisconsin Academy applies the sciences, arts, and letters to bring context, civilized discussion, and meaningful action to the most important issues and ideas of today. We create spaces—public forums, art galleries, publications—where citizens join together to examine the challenges of our times, suggest solutions, and look at the world in new ways. We celebrate and preserve Wisconsin’s human, cultural, and natural resources. In this way the Wisconsin Academy connects people and ideas for a better Wisconsin. Wisconsin Academy programs include the James Watrous Gallery at the Overture Center for the Arts, a gallery by and for Wisconsin artists; Wisconsin People & Ideas, our quarterly magazine about Wisconsin thought and culture; Academy Evenings, our statewide series of public forums; and the Wisconsin Idea, a public policy program—the most recent of which focuses on “The Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin.” For more information on our programs and events, or to become a member of the Wisconsin Academy, visit http://www.wisconsinacademy.org.

About the Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission

The Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission is the volunteer selection and support body for the Wisconsin Poet Laureate. Governor Tommy Thompson created the commission on July 31, 2000 and Governor Jim Doyle renewed the Commission’s charter during his term. Five statewide organizations—the Council for Wisconsin Writers, the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, the Wisconsin Regional Writers Association, the Wisconsin Humanities Council, and the Wisconsin Arts Board—were directed to appoint members to the Poet Laureate Commission. The Commission’s duties are to plan and conduct the poet laureate selection process, assign responsibilities to the new poet laureate, and assist that individual in performing official duties. The Wisconsin Poet Laureate is asked to contribute to the growth of poetry in this state, plan and attend at least four statewide literary events each year, and perform in at least four government, state, and civic events as requested by Wisconsin school systems, libraries, and literary organizations.