Posts tagged poetry

Poetry and Family

Every April, National Poetry Month gets lots of people excited about discovering new poets and maybe even writing a poem or two.  Steven Rodriguez is a student in the UW Madison’s First Wave Hip Hop arts program.  Today, he shares a poem he wrote for someone he’s trying to help. 

Steven Rodriguez is a student in the UW-Madison’s First Wave Hip Hop and Urban Arts Program – the only undergraduate hip hop arts program in the country.

In Praise of Size:

Representative Jim Sensenbrenner got some bad press earlier this year for making unflattering remarks about first lady Michelle Obama’s figure. To be blunt, the Wisconsin congressman said Mrs. Obama has a big butt. He’s since apologized, but Madison poet Fabu thinks he’s not the only one with some misconceptions about black women and beauty.

Milwaukee Does Strange Things:

The summer festival season is upon us including Summerfest in Milwaukee, followed by a several months of ethnic and neighborhood festivals in that city. To celebrate, poet Susan Firer shares her poem “Milwaukee Does Strange Things To People.”

Commentator Susan Firer is the former poet laureate of Milwaukee and the author of many books, including Milwaukee Does Strange Things To People.

Lost and Found Language:

Cinco de Mayo is the annual celebration of Mexican heritage, and one of the fastest growing holidays in America. Today, Wisconsin poet and school principal Oscar Mireles shares the story of his struggle to hold onto his first language – Spanish. His poem is called “Lost and Found Language.”

Oscar Mireles is the principal of Omega School in Madison. He’s been writing poems for 25 years and is the editor of two anthologies, called “I Didn’t Know There Were Latinos in Wisconsin.”

Accordion:

January is National Polka Month. And what better place to commemorate this iconic sound than in Wisconsin, where the polka is our state dance? To celebrate, poet Susan Firer shares her poem “1956, The Year My Sister, Using Her Ill Health Once Again, Blackmailed My Parents Into An Accordion.”

Commentator Susan Firer is the former poet laureate of Milwaukee and the author of many books, including Milwaukee Does Strange Things To People.

Lorine Niedecker:

Fort Atkinson hosts the 3rd annual Lorine Niedecker Wisconsin Poetry Festival this weekend. Niedecker is admired today as a great American modernist poet, but she lived most of her life in relative obscurity along the Rock River. Biographer Margot Peters shares her story.

Margot Peters is an award-winning biographer. Her most recent work is Lorine Niedecker: A Poet’s Life.

Nesting:

It’s time to meet a new Wisconsin poet.  Erin Trondson has just published a collection of poems called “Nesting” – a record of her daughters’ first years and of her own thoughts about motherhood.

Martin Luther King Day:

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, we asked Madison’s poet laureate, Fabu, to share some of her own memories of Dr. King, and some of her poetry.

You’ll find the complete poems on her website, at artistfabu.com.