Campus Connection

Wisconsin Poet Laureate Bruce Dethlefsen will return to his alma mater to read poetry.

[caption id="attachment_16222" align="alignright" width="275" caption="Bruce Dethlefsen"][/caption] Dethlefeson — who graduated from UW-La Crosse in 1970 — will be joined by Cathryn Cofell, co-chair of the Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission, for the reading from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, in 1400 Centennial Hall. Admission is free. A retired educator and public library director living in Westfield, Dethlefsen began his two-year term as Wisconsin Poet Laureate in 2011. Author of two poetry chapbooks, Dethlefsen was twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize and served for years as the secretary of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. Two of his poems were featured on Garrison Keillor's The Writer's Almanac on National Public Radio and several poems appear on yourdailypoem.com. Published by Fireweed Press, Dethlefeson’s recent book of poems, Breather (2009), received an Outstanding Achievement in Poetry recognition in 2009 from the Wisconsin Library Association. Unexpected Shiny Things (2011), his most recent collection, was published by Cowfeather Press. Dethlefsen also writes music and plays bass guitar in the band Obvious Dog with Sauk City native Bill Orth and Cofell. The band took its name from former Wisconsin Poet Laureate Marilyn Taylor's description of "a poem beyond resuscitation." [caption id="attachment_16223" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Cathryn Cofell"][/caption] Cofell, a poet and tireless advocate for the arts, served on the board of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets and helped launch and promote Verse Wisconsin, the Foot of the Lake Poetry Collective, the Fox Cities Book Festival, the WFOP Chapbook Prize and the Harmony Café Poetry Series. Cofell is the author of six chapbooks, most recently Split Personality with Karla Huston (sunnyoutside) and performs from Lip, a CD of her poems set to the music of Obvious Dog. Her work is frequently published and has earned many awards including the 2009 John Lehman Poetry Prize from Wisconsin People & Ideas and multiple Pushcart nominations. Cofell returns to the Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission after working with Gov. Tommy Thompson to establish the commission and serve as its founding chair. Her website is cathryncofell.com. If you go— Who: Bruce Dethlefsen and Cathryn Cofell What: Poetry Reading When: 5:30-6:30p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 Where: 1400 Centennial Hall, UW-La Crosse Admission: Free