The answer, my friend, may not be blowing in the wind this fall—but books and poetry sure are. The tenth—yes, tenth—Wisconsin Book Festival kicks off in Madison on October 19 and runs all week long with events from nationally renowned Wisconsin authors like Larry Watson and Leslie Kagen to, gulp, me (along with Ronnie Hess and Margot Peters). And our Wisconsin People & Ideas short story and poetry contest winners step up to the podium read their works on Friday night at Avol’s Books during the fest, too. Visit the Wisconsin Book Festival website for details at wisconsinbookfestival.org or check out Jason’s picks for this year’s fest on page 9.
New by comparison is the Lorine Niedecker Wisconsin Poetry Festival, held a week earlier on October 14–16 in nearby Fort Atkinson. Sponsored by the Friends of Lorine Niedecker, this entire weekend of events is free, including an evening film festival as well as hour-long round-tables with individual poets where listeners can ask questions, such as, What is this supposed to mean? And here at the Wisconsin Academy HQ we have some surprises in store for you as well. A book discussion club begins this January in which we discuss Wisconsin writers both old and new: details here at wisconsinacademy.org/bookclub. Plus we’re kicking off a contest to nominate your favorite contemporary Wisconsin writer—see the above website for details and prizes. When the top ten are compiled, everyone will have a chance to vote for the number one who will receive, ta da, the “big cheese” trophy—every author’s or poet’s dream.
Yes, it may be fall. But here in Wisconsin our literature is blooming.
