Wisconsin Poet Laureate

The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters is the new home of the Wisconsin Poet Laureate. We announced in May of 2011 that the Academy will steward the Wisconsin Poet Laureate position and provide staff support for the Poet Laureate Commission for the foreseeable future.  “The Wisconsin Poet Laureate is more than just a symbolic appointment,” said then 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 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.”