Ellen Kort was Wisconsin's first Poet Laureate, serving from 2000-2004. She was the author of 11 books and 8 collections of poetry. Ellen's work was featured in a variety of anthologies and incorporated architecturally in downtown Milwaukee's Midwest Express Center, the Green Bay Botanical Gardens and the Fox River Mall. Ms. Kort's poetry was performed by the New York City Dance Theatre and recorded on audio by Ellen Burstyn, Ed Asner and Alfre Woodard. Ellen used her skills as a poet and teacher to reach out to the community in numerous ways, teaching at local universities and schools and conducting writing workshops for at-risk teens, nurses, physicians and for survivors of cancer, AIDS and domestic abuse. Ellen was a guest on Wisconsin and National Public Radio and traveled widely as a poet, speaker, and poetry workshop facilitator throughout the U.S., New Zealand, Australia, the Bahamas, and Japan.
