Opportunity: Wisconsin Poet Laureate Project
Wisconsin's 2025-2027 Poet Laureate, Brenda Cárdenas—also a Woodland Pattern board member!—invites you to participate in her Poet Laureate 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.
Brenda encourages all Wisconsin poets and visual artists to submit to this open call, and welcomes 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 who wish to participate must register under their regions (the same regions the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets uses) on the project’s website. Once you've registered, you will find all of the materials you will need to guide you—an introduction to the mode of ekphrasis, reading and writing prompts, sample ekphrastic pairings, etcetera.
A note from Brenda: Please email me at wisconsinpoetlaureate [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions you may have. This is a brand new website, and while we've tried to anticipate any kinks in the project, I doubt we have anticipated them all. Finally, I would be most grateful if you would spread the word about the project to any and all of your poet and visual artist friends and acquaintances. And, most importantly, have fun!
JUNE EVENTS
Concert: Formations Series for New & Improvised Music featuring Buttars/Ollman/Smith and John McCoy
*HYBRID*
Thurs. June 19 | 7 pm CDT | $10
Screening: THE SEPARATION OF SOCIETY by Pedro M. Gutierrez
The screening will be followed by a Q&A, moderated by Nakeysha Roberts Washington. Presented with Nakeysha Roberts Washington and Genre: Urban Arts.
*IN PERSON*
Fri. June 20 | 7 pm CDT | $Give What You Can
Community Group: Readshop
*ONLINE on Zoom*
Wed. June 25 | 6-7:15 pm CDT | Open to the public
Open Mic: resound return
*IN PERSON*
Fri. June 27 | 7 pm CDT | Open to the public
Exhibition: This Rhythm That's Mine
*On view through June 29*
Work by Intisar Abioto, Willemijn Bolks, Aaaalexandra Martins, Wendy Ronaldson, Olivia Simmons (plus JJJJJerome Ellis). Co-curated by JJJJJerome Ellis, and Julia Leone and Aidan Sank from SPACE.
Visit our unique collection of small-press poetry
Did you know Woodland Pattern is home to a nationally recognized collection of over 25,000 small-press poetry titles? To the largest selection of haiku in North America? To the biggest selection of books by Native American authors in Wisconsin? To broadsides, zines, chapbooks, pamphlets, and other hand-made items?
The dissemination of independent literature—particularly poetry, unconventional texts, works that honor bookmaking as a visual art, books by small- and micro-press publishers, and literature by writers from historically marginalized backgrounds—has been central to our purpose since our founding. Our inventory decisions are mission-driven, allowing us to support writers and publishers in ways that are inconceivable for a commercial bookseller.
Come in and discover. We encourage visitors to read and study at their leisure, and to use our space to learn more about poetry, book arts, and small-press publishing. You can also visit our online book center to browse selections from our inventory, or give us a call at (414) 263-5001 to see if we have a title in stock. As always, we will gladly place special orders, ship books to your home, and offer contactless pick-up at your request.
We acknowledge that in Milwaukee we live and work on traditional Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, and Menominee homelands along the southwest shores of Michigami, part of North America’s largest system of freshwater lakes, where the Milwaukee, Menominee, and Kinnickinnic rivers meet and the people of Wisconsin’s sovereign Anishinaabe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida, and Mohican nations remain present.
We further acknowledge the grave evil colonialism introduced to these lands through genocide as well as slavery, and also via racist and xenophobic beliefs, laws, and practices that continue to inflict harm upon Black, brown, and Indigenous lives. We honor those who have lived—and do live, now—at these intersections of identity and experience, and are committed to the active dismantling of white supremacy.
720 E. Locust Street
Milwaukee, WI 53212
Phone: 414 263 5001
Hours: Tues–Sun | 12-7 pm
Closed Mon
Building Accessibility: Despite the age of our physical location, and attendant limitations to access, Woodland Pattern is committed to making its programs and facilities available for as many as possible. Please call for more information.
Events Accessibility: Woodland Pattern is able to offer captioning services for its online events and with advanced notice can provide ASL interpretation for live events. Please contact us with accommodation requests and questions.
© Woodland Pattern 2025