OPPORTUNITIES
Call for Applications: Poetry Coalition Fellow
Woodland Pattern, a founding member of the Poetry Coalition, is accepting applications for a paid Poetry Coalition Fellowship position. This position is 20 hours per week from September 2, 2026, to June 30, 2027. The total stipend is $20,000 plus $1,100 toward health care.
The Poetry Coalition is a national alliance of nearly thirty organizations dedicated to working together to promote the value poets bring to our culture and the important contribution poetry makes in the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds.
Founded in Milwaukee in 1979 as a forum and resource center for poets and other artists in the Great Lakes region, Woodland Pattern is dedicated to the discovery, cultivation, and presentation of poetry and the arts. Home to a nationally recognized collection of small-press poetry and offering annually more than 400 activities and events, Woodland Pattern promotes a lifetime practice of reading and writing through programs that encourage exchange across the visual, performing, and literary arts.
POSITION OVERVIEW:
The central responsibility of Woodland Pattern’s Poetry Coalition Fellow will be to assist with special projects related to our vast small-press poetry collection as we move into a new space with a much larger footprint after nearly 50 years in our former site. We expect to complete the move in the fall of 2026.
In addition to the large multi-room collection of books and media available for sale to the public, the new facility will have a new Permanent Collection featuring a Rare Books Reading Room and an archival library of authors and artists who have presented with us from 1979 to the present. The Fellow will work with Book Center Manager Lewis Freedman, providing assistance in the creation, organization, and physical and digital cataloguing of the Permanent Collection. The Fellow will also assist the Book Center Manager in the digitization and renovation of Woodland Pattern's book consignment system as we move into the new space.
The Poetry Coalition Fellow will also be involved in staff-wide efforts, such as Woodland Pattern’s annual Poetry Marathon, and may be engaged in any number of other administrative activities supporting programming and operations.
FELLOW RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Committing to 20 in-person hours per week for the entire ten-month fellowship
- Adhering to rules and policies of Woodland Pattern as appropriate
- Attending and participating in meetings, including ad-hoc meetings with other Poetry Coalition fellows and with leaders to foster community, professional development, and create a peer learning group
- Participating in the Poetry Coalition’s professional development sessions
- Completing evaluations at the end of the fellowship year
FELLOW QUALIFICATIONS:
- Poet with an active reading and writing practice
- Familiarity with and/or knowledge of 20th and 21st century poets and small presses
- Interest in literary arts programming, administration, and management
- Attention to detail
Note: We welcome all applicants, including those who are enrolled in or have recently graduated from MFA programs in creative writing. Woodland Pattern is committed to diversity and inclusivity. Women, people of color, people with disabilities, and those who identify as LGBTQ+ are strongly encouraged to apply. As all fellowship work will take place on site, applicants should live within driving distance of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
TO APPLY: Please submit a cover letter, resume, and two references through this form. No calls please.
Applications are due by July 15.
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 iniquity and suffering colonialism introduced to these lands through genocide and slavery, as well as through racist and xenophobic beliefs, laws, and practices that continue to inflict harm upon Black, brown, Indigenous, and immigrant lives. We honor those who have lived—and live now—at these intersections of identity and experience.
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 2026