Council for Wisconsin Writers

Supporting Wisconsin writers from 1964 to 2022

Lisa Vihos

by

CWW Board Member Among Poets Reading at State Book Festival

The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters invites members of the public to join them at the 2015 Wisconsin Book Festival for a reading featuring the Wisconsin People & Ideas 2015 Fiction and Poetry Contest winners. Fiction readers include: Nikki Kallio (Hortonville), Erica Kanesaka Kalnay (Madison), and Kathryn Gahl (Appleton). Poetry readers include Council for Wisconsin Writers board member Lisa Vihos (Sheboygan), Sean Avery (Madison), and Kathleen Dale (Milwaukee).

More information about this event and the Academy’s quarterly magazine, Wisconsin People & Ideas‘s annual writing contests is at www.wisconsinacademy.org/events/wisconsin-people-ideas-2015-fiction-and-poetry-contest-reading#sthash.Nm1AsxSj.dpuf

Information about the Council for Wisconsin Writers’ annual contests, which will be open for entries from Nov. 1-Jan. 31, is at www.wiswriters.org.

The Council for Wisconsin Writers is a non-profit, tax-exempt, membership organization dedicated to promoting local, state, and national awareness of Wisconsin’s great literary heritage and to encourage excellence among today’s Wisconsin writers.

by

CWW Board Member Wins Poetry Award

Wisconsin People & Ideas magazine announced today that Council for Wisconsin Writers board member Lisa Vihos of Sheboygan, Sean Avery of Madison and Kathleen Dale of Milwaukee are winners of the magazine’s 2015 Poetry Contest. Vihos took first place for her “Lessons at the Checkpoint,” Avery’s “Prayer ( Song ) for Magic,” placed second, and Dale won third place for her “The Self-organizing Universal Nail Salon,”  In addition, Vihos and Dale received honorable mentions for other poems they entered in the contest.  Here is the WP&I  news release:
Congratulations to the Winners of the
Wisconsin People & Ideas 2015 Poetry Contest:
Winners of the 2015 Wisconsin People & Ideas Poetry Contest receive cash awards of $500 (first place), $250 (second place), and $100 (third place). The first-place author also receives a one-week artist residency at Shake Rag Alley School for Arts and Crafts in Mineral Point, and all three award-winning poets will read at the 2015 Wisconsin Book Festival in Madison and will have their prizewinning poems (and one other, selected by the editor) appear in Wisconsin People & Ideasmagazine.
Our 2015 contest honorable mention poems and poets:
  • “Hooked,” by Sharon Foley—Whitefish Bay
  • “Annunciation,” by Lisa Vihos—Sheboygan
  • “Neighbors,” by Jeri McCormick—Madison
  • “Sand County,” by Jessi Peterson—Eau Claire
  • “What Remains,” by John Pidgeon—Green Bay
  • “Let’s Intuit Something,” by Jess Williard—Madison
  • “Some People,” by Molly Murphy–Madison
  • “A Few Miles Outside Warroad, Several Weeks Before the Fall,” by Christine Holm—Oconomowoc
  • “We Were Wrong, But Were Given Five Ruins to Consider for Winter,” by Christine Holm—Oconomowoc
  • “Homeless in August,” by Kathleen Dale—Milwaukee
Wisconsin People & Ideas publishes fiction and poetry from Wisconsin writers, highlights new works from our visual artists and photographers, and covers science and environmental issues that affect Wisconsin’s people, lands, and waters. The magazine hosts annual fiction and poetry contests that award cash prizes up to $500, publication in the magazine, and a reading at the Wisconsin Book Festival, and more.  Since 1954, the independentWisconsin People & Ideas magazine has been a trusted resource for people who care about the issues and ideas that shape life in Wisconsin. Wisconsin People & Ideas is available at Wisconsin Academy events and exhibitions as well as selected bookstores, and is delivered quarterly to Wisconsin Academy members and libraries across the state.
This year the poetry contest lead judge is Kara Candito (right). The 2015 contest was coordinated by Jason A. Smith, editor, Wisconsin People & Ideas, and the preliminary judges were John Lehman, Zachary Carlson, and CX Dillhunt . The contest received 568 poem submissions from across the state of Wisconsin. All judging was done blindly and ranking was done solely on the merit of individual stories in the opinion of our judges.
Thank you to everyone who submitted their work to the 2015 poetry contest. Your participation is what has made this contest one of the best showcases for Wisconsin poets for over twenty years. Look for the first- through third-place poems to appear in the forthcoming spring/summer double issue of  Wisconsin People & Ideas . Honorable mention poems will appear in subsequent issues of the magazine, beginning with the Fall 2015 issue. Congratulations to all our winners and honorable mention poets—and keep on writing!
Wisconsin People & Ideas thanks lead and preliminary judges for volunteering their time and efforts to the 2015 contest, and extends a special thanks to 2015 contest sponsors Shake Rag Alley School for Arts and Crafts in Mineral Point for donating a weeklong artist residency for the first-place winner, the Wisconsin Book Festival for hosting our contest winners’ reading, and Wisconsin Public Radio for promotional support. More information on the contest, prizes, and sponsors can be found at wisconsinacademy.org/poetrycontest.
Thanks to our contest sponsors!
Wisconsin People & Ideas  l  1922 University Avenue  l  Madison, WI  53726  l  608.263.1692

by

In Memory of Ellen Kort

Posted on CWW Facebook by CWW board member Vihos:

“Today, we mourn the passing of a wonderful writer and Wisconsin’s very first poet laureate, Ellen Kort. Her vision, her caring for others, her inspiration; all will be sorely missed.”

Here’s the link included in Lisa’s post:

http://www.ayearofbeinghere.com/2013/09/ellen-kort-walking-on-water.html

by

WI Poet Blogs on "Best American Poetry"

Wisconsin poet, museum educator, college alumni director and grant writer Lisa Vihos is guest blogger this week at The Best American Poetry.

You can read her posts at http://blog.bestamericanpoetry.com/the_best_american_poetry/guest_bloggers/

More information about Lisa, who is a CWW board member, is at http://www.wiswriters.org/vihos.htm. Please visit and read all about Lisa and CWW.

by

WFOP News, Readings and Conferences

From Cathryn Cofell, PR Coordinator for Sarah Gilbert, Poetry Reading Series Coordinator (and WFOP Regional VP):

Monday, April 21, 6:30 p.m., Harmony Cafe, Appleton – Paul Scot August and Robert Vaughan

The Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets (WFOP) Fox Valley Poetry Series meets at Harmony Café, 233 E. College Ave, Appleton on the third Monday of every month except December (the first Monday). Each evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with the featured reader(s), followed by an open mic open to anyone who wishes to read 1-2 poems.

Poet Paul Scot August is originally from Chicago but has spent the 2nd half of his life now in Wisconsin. He has an MA in Creative Writing from UW-Milwaukee. He is a former poetry editor of The Cream City Review and has been nominated three times for a Pushcart Prize. His poetry has appeared in Mead: the Magazine of Literature & Libations, Lindenwood Review, Louisville Review, South Dakota Review, Tygerburning, Connotation-Press, Midwestern Gothic, Los Angeles Review, Dunes Review, Naugatuck River Review, Passages North and elsewhere. He currently lives in the Milwaukee area with his two children.

Robert Vaughan leads writing roundtables at Redoak Writing in Milwaukee. His writing has appeared in over 400 print and online journals. He was former fiction editor at Thunderclap! and is senior flash fiction editor at JMWW, as well as poetry and fiction editor at  Lost in Thought magazine. Published books include Flash Fiction Fridays, a poetry chapbook called Microtones, and a book of short-form stories called Diptychs, Triptychs, Lipsticks and Dipshits.  Robert’s first full-length collection, Addicts & Basements, was just released by Civil Coping Mechanisms .

READINGS

**********************************************************************************

MAR 25 DAVID GRAHAM AT APPLEBLOSSOM BOOKS:  The reading takes place at 6:30 pm at Apple Blossom Books, 200 E City Center, Oshkosh.   David Graham has published six collections of poetry, including Stutter Monk (Flume Press) and Second Wind (Texas Tech University Press).  He also co-edited (with Kate Sontag) the essay anthology After Confession: Poetry as Confession from Graywolf Press.  He is Professor of English at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin. An open mic will follow where participants may read one or two of their own poems or poems by others that they love.   Come early and enjoy a meal or grab a cup of coffee at Caramel Crisp and Café whose inner doors connect with the bookstore.

MAR 28 Making It Speak: Poets and Artists in Cahoots, EBCO ARTWORKS, 1201 Erie Avenue Sheboygan:  Members of the Mead Library Poetry Circle and the Sheboygan Visual Artists will present a unique, secretly collaborative exhibit which is free and open to the public, showcasing poems inspired by art and art inspired by poems.  Refreshments will be served during a reception from 6-10pm. Poems featured in the exhibit will be read beginning at 7:30pm. Most of the 17 participating artists and 16 poets have never met and have not yet seen one another’s response to their art form.  The exhibit may also be viewed March 29-30, April 5-6, and April 12-13 from 10am to 4pm.  Participating poets are Jean Biegun, Gerald Bertsch, Sylvia Cavanaugh, Karl Elder, Kathryn Gahl, Nancy Harrison Durdin, Dawn Hogue, Maryann Hurtt, Mary Kunert, Joanne Lensink, Jodie Liedke, Leighanne Metter-Jensen, Georgia Ressmeyer, Clarke Ross, Lisa Vihos, and Marilyn Zelke-Windau. For further information please contact Marilyn Windau at 920-467-6614 or Georgia Ressmeyer at 920-457-6172.

WED, APR 2, ARTHUR STRINGER AT RIPON COLLEGE: 7:30 PM, North Reading Room of Lane Library. An award-winning poet from West Virginia, Stringer will be presenting work from his most recent collection of poems, Late Breaking, published in 2013 by Salmon Poetry.  His visit is being sponsored by the Ripon College Visiting Writers Series, with assistance from the Schang Family Visiting Writer Fund.  For more information, contact David Graham, Department of English, at 748-8722.

APRIL 7 – 14: FOX CITIES BOOK FESTIVAL!!

This year offers 50 authors and 75 events lined up for your enjoyment, including a great day of Poetry &… (Poetry & Translation, Poetry & Music, Poetry & Art) on Sunday, April 13.  Printed programs available at most venues, including local libraries, UW-Fox Valley, Lawrence University and Atlas Coffee Mill. Follow this link for  an electronic copy of the program or visit http://www.foxcitiesbookfestival.org/ .

TUES, APR 8 STUDENT INVITATIONAL, presented by the Foot of the Lake Poetry Collective:  7:00 p.m. at THELMA Center for the Arts, 51 Sheboygan Street in Fond du Lac.  Council for Wisconsin Writers 2012 prize-winning authors will read from recent work.  This annual event features area college and university students reading their fiction, non-fiction and poetry.  Open mic follows.  Refreshments and good company happening at THELMA.

WED, APR 9 ESTELLA LAUTER, featured at the DICKINSON POETRY SERIES: On the second Wednesday of every month the Dickinson Poetry Series features a reading by a local or regional poet followed by an open mic and reception. The public is welcome, and admission is free.  7:00 p.m. at the UUF, 10341 Highway 42 in Ephraim.  For more information visit www.uufdc.org or call 920.854.7559.

WORKSHOPS & CONFERENCES

**********************************************************************************

 WED, APR 2  CREATIVE WRITERS WORKSHOP at the Kress Family Branch Library in De Pere (333 N. Broadway). 6-8 p.m. Bring poems or short prose to read, along with copies for critique.  A group for networking and support.  Contact John with any questions: olski_jp@co.brown.wi.us

WISCONSIN FELLOWSHIP OF POETS’ SPRING CONFERENCE, APR 25-26, RADISSON HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTER, GREEN BAY:  http://wfop.org/confrncs/vernconf.html