Dickinson Poetry Series Welcomes Wisconsin Poet Laureate

Karla Huston by Mike Roemer.

On April 11 at 7 pm, 2017-18 Wisconsin Poet Laureate Karla Huston will be featured at the UUFDC’s Dickinson Poetry Series.

A lifelong resident of Wisconsin, Huston started writing poetry in her 40s when she began teaching creative writing at Neenah High School, where she worked for 15 years.

Huston thinks of herself as a Wisconsin writer and much of her writing reflects Wisconsin values. Her poetry finds its roots in the stories we tell, those memories which define us as human. Her poems often draw on art, Greek mythology and Hollywood movie stars of yore. Recurrent themes often have to do with aging and women.

Huston regularly speaks at book festivals and writing conferences about the public value of poetry and the arts. She has taught poetry workshops at The Mill: A Place for Writers in Appleton since 2011. In addition to traveling the state for readings, as Poet Laureate, Huston hopes to nurture poetry among the elderly and memory-impaired by working with Memory Cafés.

The author of eight chapbooks of poems, Huston received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association for her full collection, A Theory of Lipstick. Huston’s work has garnered many other awards, including a Pushcart Prize for the poem “Theory of Lipstick.” Her writing has earned her residencies at the Ragdale Foundation and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference.

On the second Wednesday of every month the Dickinson Poetry Series features a local or regional poet followed by an open mic and reception to meet the poets. The series is named for Emily Dickinson, a prolific poet and philosophically in tune with Unitarian beliefs. The public is welcome and there is no charge. The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is located at 10341 Hwy 42 in north Ephraim. For more information call 920.854.7559.