Karla Huston is Wisconsin’s new poet laureate. During her two-year term, Huston plans to promote poetry writing and reading among elderly and those with memory impairment.
Huston succeeds Kimberly Blaeser, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports
Huston’s books of poetry include the collection “A Theory of Lipstick” (2013).
The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters took over stewardship of the poet laureate position in 2011 after the state cut its support for the program, citing budget reasons. The laureate receives a $2,500 annual stipend and accepts the responsibility of arranging or attending at least eight statewide literary events each year.
During her laureateship, Blaeser spearheaded a poetry recitation project around the state, which has resulted in an online map and video archive of Wisconsinites reciting poems. Browse the collection www.wisconsinpoetlaureate.org/poetry-in-wisconsin.
For more on this announcement, visit Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
