29th Annual Poetry Marathon & Benefit
Sat. & Sun., JANUARY 28th & 29th, 2023 | 10 am-10 pm CT
Woodland Pattern’s most highly anticipated annual event, the Poetry Marathon is a two-day, 24-hour lyrical extravaganza with performances from more than 300 individual poets, musicians, and moving image artists from Milwaukee and around the globe.
All 24 hours of the Poetry Marathon will be livestreamed via Crowdcast. As usual, each hour will feature 10 or more poets reading for up to 5 minutes each, plus remarks and conversation among curators, our staff, and audience members. For those who would like to also gather in person, we are excited to be hosting three community watch parties this year (details below!).
In addition to being an extraordinary event and a beloved tradition for poets of all ages, the Poetry Marathon serves as a community-driven fundraiser. Participating poets are asked to raise a small amount of funds among family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc., and/or via social media, with a goal of $50 in pledges on each reader’s behalf. Those contributions are then matched by a sponsor for the hour and supplemented by major sponsorships. Thanks to our community, funds raised through the Marathon each January have kept Woodland Pattern going strong for decades, providing fuel for all our programmatic activities in the year ahead.
As always it's the mix of voices—of beginning, emerging, and established writers; of people of various ages, cultural backgrounds, and life experiences—that makes Woodland Pattern's Poetry Marathon an authentic celebration of our shared humanity and the possibilities of language. We thank you in advance for honoring the many individual creative practices that compose and enrich our vast community.
Marathon Potluck & Watch Party
SUN. JAN 29 | 4-7 PM @ Woodland Pattern (720 Locust St)
For those who miss the in-person Marathon, we will be throwing a tribute party to the "before times" with a community potluck at Woodland Pattern, where you can browse participating poets' books, hang out with friends, eat some chicken and dumplings, and watch the virtual Marathon in the gallery. To ensure we keep everyone safe, this party will be ticketed and limited to 50 people. Pre-registration is suggested to secure your spot if you'd like to join us, but walk-ins are welcome so long as we have space. Clink the link below or call us at 414-263-5001 to register. (Participating poets need not purchase a ticket!)
ADDITIONAL WATCH PARTIES! We also encourage you to attend one of the watch parties being hosted by our friends at Black Husky and 5 Points Art Gallery & Studios in Milwaukee, and Paradign Coffee & Music in Sheboygan.
SAT., JAN 28 | 12-6 PM @ Black Husky Brewing (909 E Locust St, Milwaukee)
SAT., JAN 28 | 12-3 PM @ Paradigm Coffee & Music (1202 N 8th St, Sheboygan)
SUN., JAN 29 | 7-10 PM @ 5 Points Art Gallery & Studios (3514 N Port Washington Rd, Milwaukee)
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Please be aware that all times listed are estimated. Hour segments may run a little shorter or a little longer than 60 minutes. If there are poets you really don't want to miss, please tune in at least 15 minutes in advance of the hour in which they appear!
Saturday, January 28th
10 am-10:45 am: YOUTH & CHILDREN HOUR —with students and teachers from Woodland Pattern's Poetry Camp, Riverwest Elementary, Hopkins Lloyd Community School, Cass Street School, and Goldin Youth & Family Center. Sponsored by Mary Gute Witte & Ned Witte, and Diane Bezella.
10:45 am-12 pm: COMMUNITY—Jean Marie Riquelme, Shauna Singh Baldwin, Sue Blaustein, Elizabeth Hoover, Martha Kaplan, Scott Lowery, Kelly Hoffer, Barbara Wuest, Peter Goldberg, Deborah Meadows, Margie Bruce, Bre Legan, Phyllis Wax, Stephanie Snyder, Marjorie Pagel, & Benjamin Binversie. Sponsored by the Shorewood Women's Club.
12 pm -1 pm: WEDNESDAY WRITERS—Janine Arseneau, Diane Bezella, Vince Bushell, Judit Schugurensky Gomez, Karen Haley, Barbara Leigh, Suzanne Rosenblatt, Darlene Rzezotarski, Carol Lee Saffioti-Hughes, María Elena Scott, & Virginia Small. Sponsored by Riverwest Currents.
1 pm-2 pm: WISCONSIN FELLOWSHIP OF POETS (CURATED BY ED WERSTEIN)—DeWitt Clinton, Anneliese Finke, Susan Firer, Ronnie Hess, Maryann Hurtt, CK Kubasta, Sandy Lindow, Ed Werstein, & Kathrine Yets. Plus 2022 Poetry in the Park performances by Nikki Wallschlaeger and Milwaukee Poet Laureate Mario Willis. Sponsored by Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets.
2 pm-3 pm: WISCONSIN POET LAUREATE COMMISSION (CURATED BY ANGELA TRUDELL VASQUEZ)—Esteban Colon, Dasha Kelly Hamilton, Max Garland, Nicholas Gulig, Freesia McKee, Rita Mae Reese, Margaret Rozga, Marilyn Taylor, Angela Trudell Vasquez, Jodi Vander Molen, & Lisa Vihos. Plus: Episode 17 ("Stir Fried") Premiere of Milwaukee Kitchen. Sponsored by Margaret Rozga.
3 pm-4 pm: LATINX POETS FEATURE (CURATED BY BRENDA CÁRDENAS & ROBERTO HARRISON)—Brenda Cárdenas, Anthony Cody, Shyanne Figueroa Bennett, Suzi Garcia, Mauricio Kilwein Guevara, Jose-Luis Moctezuma, Emily Pérez, Rafael Pérez y Pérez, & Elias Sepulveda. Plus: Excerpt of Carlos Cumpián reading from Human Cicada (November 5, 2022) and short film SMASH Dance Marathon by Takahiro Suzuki. Sponsored by Ortiz Brothers Barbers.
—INTERMISSION (4-4:30 pm)—
4:30 pm-5:15 pm: INDIGENOUS NATIONS POETS (CURATED BY KIM BLAESER)—Kimberly Blaeser, Tacey M. Atsitty, Aja Couchois Duncan, Max Early, Anthony Ceballos, Jennifer Foerster, Halee Kirkwood, & Annie Wenstrup. Sponsored by Scott Gelzer & Sherry Goldsmith + Outpost Natural Foods.
5:15 pm-6 pm: COMMUNITY—Deborah Heim & Ross Hightower, Chuck Stebelton, Janet Jennerjohn, Irene Cooper, Bryon Cherry, Mike Hauser, Alison Friske, Jay Besemer, Ish Klein, & Steve Timm. Sponsored by Bliffert Lumber & Hardware.
6 pm-7 pm: COMMUNITY—Paul Druecke, Krystal Languell, Daniel Townsend, Angela Voras-Hills, Richard Meier, Lauren Russell, Rick Ollman, Jacqueline Lalley, Karl Gartung, & Hal Rammel + Linda Binder. Plus: Jaap Blonk performing the first movement of Kurt Schwitters' famous sound poem "Die Ursonate" and short film Mountainsides by Zebulon Zang. Sponsored by Peter Goldberg.
7-10 PM FEATURED SMALL PRESSES
7 pm-7:30 pm: CITY POINT PRESS (CURATED BY DAVID WILK)—Barbara Henning. Dale Herd, E. Ethelbert Miller, Maureen Owen, David Wilk. Sponsored by City Point Press.
7:30 pm-8 pm: CITY LIGHTS PUBLISHERS (CURATED BY GARRETT CAPLES)—Will Alexander, Micah Ballard, Clark Coolidge, Evan Kennedy, & Mimi Tempestt. Sponsored by City Lights.
8 pm-8:25 pm: NION EDITIONS (CURATED BY CLAIRE MARIE STANCEK)—Roberto Harrison, Matthew Rana, Ed Roberson, Alli Warren, & Mia You. Plus: Roserade by Véro Marengère. Sponsored by Greg Flegel & Rich Greene.
8:25 pm-8:35 pm: BLACK OCEAN (CURATED BY CARRIE OLIVIA ADAMS) —Carrie Olivia Adams, Hussain Ahmed, Sadie Dupuis, & Brian Foley. Sponsored by Greg Flegel & Rich Greene.
8:35 pm-9:00 pm: PATHETIC LITERATURE (CURATED BY EILEEN MYLES) —Rae Armantrout, Ama Birch, Tom Cole, Eileen Myles, & Sparrow. Sponsored by Greg Flegel & Rich Greene.
9 pm-9:30 pm—RESCUE PRESS (CURATED BY CARYL PAGEL)—Daniel Khalastchi, Caryl Pagel, Marc Rahe, Adrienne Raphel, & Philip Sorenson. Plus: short film Roserade by Véro Marengère. Sponsored by Paula Kiely.
9:30 pm-10 pm—NOEMI PRESS (CURATED BY ANTHONY CODY & SUZI GARCIA)—Catherine Chen, Sarah Gzemski, Megan Kaminski, Angela Peñaredondo, & Sandra Simonds. Plus: short film Language Unknown by Janelle VanderKelen. Sponsored by Paula Kiely.
SPONSOR AN HOUR: If you've pledged to sponsor an hour, please link below to complete your sponsorship. You can also send a check by mail or call us.
Sunday, January 29th
10 am-10:45 am: WRITE ON, DOOR COUNTY (CURATED BY JEROD SANTEK & NANCY RAFAL)—Albert DeGenova, Edward John DiMaio, Ann Heyse, Ralph Murre, Mike Orlock, Carrie Sherrill, Peter Sherrill, & Karen Wilson. Sponsored by Door County Poets Collective.
10:45 am-11 am: POETS FROM ST JOHN'S ON THE LAKE—Sandy Duffy, Kent Mayfield, & Nick Pabst.
11:00 am-12 pm: RACINE/KENOSHA POETS (CURATED BY STEPHEN KALMAR)—Joseph Engel, Debra Hall, Stephen Kalmar II, Jessie Lynn McMains, Nick Ramsey, Nicholas Ravnikar, Carol Lee Saffioti-Hughes, Jean Preston, & Rachel Wiedower. Plus: short film Performing Grace by Portia Cobb. Sponsored by Ed & Brooke Krishok.
12 pm -1 pm: VETERANS FOR PEACE (CURATED BY BOB HANSON)—Doug Armstrong, Penny Lee Deere, Richard Epstein, James Hackbarth, Bob Hanson, Roger Quindel, Paul Moriarity, Larry Reed, & Harvey Taylor. Plus: short film Mirror Test by Duncan Marquiss. Sponsored by Janine Arseneau.
1 pm-1:30 pm: UNTOLD STORIES (CURATED BY AUSTIN REECE)—Jonathan Bechtel, Peter "Pita" Daniels, Melissa Davis, Christina Deimel, Deborah Estrada-Carson, Austin Reece, & Ed Block. Sponsored by Centro Cafe.
1:30 pm-2 pm: COMMUNITY—Paul McComas, Ben Turk, Greg Flegel, Brad Fiore + Sarah Boots, Tiffany Rommelfanger-Taylor, Eva Hagenhofer, & Matthew Jorgenson. Sponsored by Centro Cafe.
2 pm-3 pm: COMMUNITY—Louisa Loveridge Gallas, Evan Craig Reardon, Leila Bilick, Jeanie Marie Dean, Sally Kuzma, Scott Stark, Seth Copeland, Brad Vogler, Josie Hymes, Catherine Young, Jean Tobin, Jessica Drake Thomas, Dan Knauss, & Marie Mellott. Sponsored by Karen Campbell & Kevin Ronnie.
3 pm-4 pm: UWM QUEST PROJECT (CURATED BY DANA KALETA) in partnership with Life Center MKE, America Works of Wisconsin, UWM TRIO & Pre-College Programs, and UWM Writing Project Youth Programs—Dana Kaleta, April L. Holland, Earl Thompson, Kathrine Yets, Trynit Cardine, Yakira Robinson, Jenny Hussa, Michelle Streed, & Candance Doerr-Stevens. Plus: What's Best by Lydia Moyer. Sponsored by Dana Kaleta.
—INTERMISSION (4-4:30 pm)—
4:30 pm-5 pm: COMMUNITY—Peter Burzyński, Liat Mayer, Katie Bedolla, Franklin KR Cline, & Ed Makowski. Sponsored by Riverwest Realty.
5:00 pm-6 pm: PALM READINGS (CURATED BY ANTONIO VARGAS-NIETO)—Matthew Czarnecki, Diya Gitanjali Mark, Annie Grizzle, Karina Hinojosa Zavala, Robbie Jewell, Anika Kowalik, Francesca Kritikos, Rudi Medina, Melissa Mursch-Rodriguez, Antonio Vargas-Nieto, Sarah Yanni, & Carl Bogner. Sponsored by Odd Duck.
6-6:30 pm: #ALEETLEMOMENT (CURATED BY AE HEE LEE)—Joan Kwon Glass, Ae Hee Lee, Chloe Martinez, Joshua Nguyen, & Margaret Ray. Plus: My Mulholland by Jessica McGoff. Sponsored by Cactus Club.
6:30-10 PM FEATURED SMALL PRESSES (MILWAUKEE)
6:30 pm-7 pm: PITYMILK PRESS (CURATED BY CHELSEA TADEYESKE & EDIE ROBERTS)—Rebecca Felix, KP Kaszubowski, edie roberts, & Chelsea Tadeyeske. Plus: Leave Your Body by Natasha Cantwell. Sponsored by Milwaukee Film.
7 pm-8 pm: MOODY THE ZINE (CURATED BY MELISSA MURSCH-RODRIGUEZ)—Zhawa East, Ophelia Hix, Sindie Ho, Nick Naudi, Marr Reyes, Paola Segura, Artemis Sidikman, Kiara Xolo, & Araceli Zuniga. Plus: Tribute to George Perry Floyd, Jr. (Nine Minutes and Twenty-Nine Seconds) by Douglas Ewart. Sponsored by Reuter & Associates.
8 pm-9 pm: GENRE: URBAN ARTS (CURATED BY NAKEYSHA ROBERTS WASHINGTON)—Mikey Apollo, Portia Cobb, Edith Gonzalez, Gia Grillo, Fatima Laster, Amanda Luciano, Samihah Pargas, Nakeysha Roberts Washington, Fariba Safai, Umar Siddiqui, & Johnson Soldout. Sponsored by Genre: Urban Arts.
9-10 pm: VEGETARIAN ALCOHOLIC PRESS (CURATED BY FREDDY LAFORCE)—John Colburn, Janelle Cordero, Jeremy Delgado, Łukasz Drobnik, Marream Krollos, Georgia Lundeen, Jenn Marie Nunes, Lindsey Frances Pellino, Raegen Pietrucha, & Anthony Rodriguez. Plus: short films What's Best by Lydia Moyer and So That Humanity Can Survive by Teja Miholič. Sponsored by Vegetarian Alcoholic Press.
SPONSOR A POET: Click on the link below or give us a call to sponsor a reader. You can make your donation on the behalf of a particular poet, or if you’re unsure who to sponsor, consider a “Pledge a Reader” donation. Money received through these donations will go directly to a poet who is unable to meet the $50 pledge goal. This is a great way to support Woodland Pattern and a poet—win-win!
WE ARE DEEPLY GRATEFUL TO OUR SPONSORS!
Epic / Presenting
A unique collection of Wisconsin authors and illustrators owned by the General Federation of Women's Clubs-Wisconsin, with funding provided by the Gwendolyn M. Schultz Charitable Fund
Canto / Premier
Allison Coleman
Sonnet / Supporting
Karl Gartung & Anne Kingsbury
Haiku / Hour
Janine Arseneau
Diane Bezella
Karen Campbell & Kevin Ronnie
City Lights / Garrett Caples
Door County Poets Collective
Greg Flegel & Rich Green
Peter Goldberg
Scott Gelzer & Sherry Goldsmith
Dana Kaleta
Paula Kiely
Ed & Brooke Krishok
Margaret Rozga
Mary Gute Witte & Ned Witte
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 2022