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Image by Ashley Byrd

2025-2027 Wisconsin Poet Laureate Project

This is a multi-pronged project which brings Wisconsin poets and visual artists together in a relay of ekphrastic works. Ekphrastic poems are simply those that are inspired by visual art, and ekphrastic visual art is that which is inspired by a poem. We encourage all Wisconsin poets and visual artists to participate and welcome those who have already seen their poetry published or their art exhibited as well as those who are beginning to explore writing poems or creating visual art. All poets and visual artists who wish to participate must register under their regions.

How it Works

1. Register as a Poet or Visual Artist

  • Complete your registration.

  • The first ten poets to register will form the first round of poets.

  • The first ten visual artists to register will form the first round of visual artists in each region.

2. Attend a Workshop (Optional)

After registering, poets may:

  • Attend an in-person ekphrastic poetry workshop hosted by Cárdenas (see the Events page for details and updates).

  • OR use the materials provided on the website to begin independently.

3. Poets (Round One): Create Your Poem

  • You have two weeks to write an ekphrastic poem inspired by any work of visual art in the world.

  • Visit and read the Creative Inspiration page.

  • Avoid using pornographic or offensive content (racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, etc.).

  • If you attended a workshop, Cárdenas will provide artwork options to choose from.

  • Once complete, post your poem in your region group.

4. Visual Artists (Round One): Create Your Artwork

  • You will choose a poem from a first-round poet in your regional group.

  • You have one month to create a visual artwork (any medium) inspired by that poem.

  • Visit and read the Creative Inspiration page.

  • Once complete, post a photo (file size limited to 500KB) of your artwork in your region group.

5. Poets (Round Two): Create a New Poem

  • Choose an artwork from the first-round photos posted in your region group.

  • You have two weeks to write a poem inspired by this artwork—no need to read the original poem that inspired the visual artist.

  • Visit and read the Creative Inspiration page.

  • Once complete, post your poem in your region group.

6. Visual Artists (Round Two): Create a New Artwork

7. Continue the Relay
The process continues, alternating between poets and visual artists in your region, until all registered participants have created and passed along their work.

8. View the Project Archive
All poems and artworks will be archived on the website, documenting the entire creative relay—so you can see how it started, evolved, and ended.

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Wisconsin

Regions

WI Poet Laureate

Brenda Cárdenas

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Current Wisconsin Poet Laureate Brenda Cárdenas has authored Trace (Red Hen Press, 2023), winner of the 2023 Society of Midland Authors Award for Poetry and silver winner of Foreword Review’s Indie Poetry Prize; Boomerang (Bilingual Press); and three chapbooks. She also co-edited the anthologies Resist Much/Obey Little: Inaugural Poems to the Resistance and Between the Heart and the Land: Latina Poets in the Midwest. Her poems and essays have appeared in many literary journals and anthologies, including Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology, Poetry, Prairie Schooner, Braving the Body, Latinx Poetics: The Art of Poetry, Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Anthology, among others. Cárdenas has also enjoyed collaborating with musicians, composers, visual artists, and choreographers. For example, in 2024, her poem “Para los Tin-Tun-Teros,” set to choral music by Daniel Afonso, was performed by the National Concert Chorus at Carnegie Hall. Cárdenas is Professor Emerita of English at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Woodland Pattern in Milwaukee where she lives with her husband, the poet Roberto Harrison, and their dog Maya.

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