Bruce Dethlefsen is the 2011-2012 Wisconsin Poet Laureate. He is the author of two chapbooks,
Decent Reed, and
Something Near the Dance Floor, the latter of which won the Posner Award Honorable Mention. His latest book,
Breather, won an Outstanding Achievement in Poetry award from the Wisconsin Library Association. Bruce served six years as secretary of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poetry and hosted the Poet Tree reading series at the Montello Public Library for ten years. He lives in Westfield, Wisconsin.
Cathryn Cofell was raised with music in her home and in her heart, which is apparent in her work both on the page and off. After publishing five chapbooks of poetry (most recently
Kamikaze Commotion (Parallel Press)) and garnering close to 50 awards for her work, she felt it was time to shift direction and experiment more formally with the performance of this work. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Obvious Dog that experiment has taken off as Lip. Bill Orth and Bruce Dethlefsen perform as Obvious Dog. They took their name from Wisconsin Poet Laureate Marilyn Taylor’s description of “a poem beyond resuscitation.” Bill, from Sauk City, plays guitar, bass and sings when he's not working his ridiculously busy but rewarding day job.
Danez Smith was a winner of the Urban Griot award for the Best Poet under 21, was a Slam Champ in 2007,and has represented Saint Paul, MN and Madison, WI in many national competitions. He's shared stages with Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Naughty by Nature, MC Lyte, Amiri Baraka, Universes, Beau Sia, and Mayda Del Valle, is a
First Wave Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is a Production Manager for radio station WSUM.
