MADISON, WI – Angela Trudell Vasquez will serve as Madison Public Library’s Poet-in-Residence from March-May 2022 and will offer a number of programs for all ages. 

During the residency, Vasquez will provide workshops catering to different age groups, including adults, teens, and youth and families. These workshops go beyond just words in bringing poetry to life. At each workshop, Vasquez will pair up with an artist, dancer or nature educator to provide an interactive exploration that broadens the ways we experience poetry. Workshops will be hosted at various library locations across the city. Participating workshop co-leads include Carolyn Byers, a Nature Educator from the Madison Audubon Society; Barb Wesson, a dancer; and two artists from the library’s Bubbler Artist Cohort: visual artist Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli and community artist Teena Wilder. The residency was designed to bookend and include National Poetry Month, which is celebrated in April. 

“During National Poetry Month, we wanted to celebrate poetry and its abilities to create connection, promote wellness, and share the stories we all have within us,” said Madeleine Kain, Youth Librarian at Madison Public Library. “We have always celebrated National Poetry Month as an organization, but this year we saw a way to expand that celebration further into the community in partnership with our amazing Madison Poet Laureate.”

In advance of the residency, Vasquez worked with the library and The Bubbler to offer Poetry Maker Kits available for pickup at the library. Each kit contains art supplies to create a response to Vasquez's poem, "Tree Friends." These kits are for all ages and are available at all library locations through mid-March. There are a number of ways to engage with this project, including heading downtown to The Bubbler Room at Central Library, where the poem is posted on a board in English and Spanish and stations for watercolor and collage are available, as well as using your own art and making supplies to create something and upload it online at madpl.org/poetry. Art can be returned to library locations in the Poetry Maker Kit envelopes, left in The Bubbler Room at Central Library or uploaded online - the deadline to submit creative responses to the poem is Friday, March 18. Once all the submissions have been gathered, a curator from The Bubbler, Emily Parkman, will create a collaborative, community art piece that will go on display at Madison Public Library locations during National Poetry Month in April.

"I am thrilled to be partnering with the Madison Public Libraries for the Poet-in-Residence program! This binds my love for libraries and books with being in community with patrons and the citizens of Madison,” said Trudell Vasquez. “When I was young my local library was everything to me. I traveled the world through reading and am happy to be able to give back to this great institution that gave me so much as a child and a young person."

The final event for the Poet-in-Residence program will be a reception at Pinney Library in May celebrating the Bus Line Poetry winners. More information available here. 
Madisonians can also engage with poetry at the library outside of the Poet-in-Residence program. As part of the National Poetry Month celebrations, a virtual workshop series aimed at older adults will focus on storytelling through poetry. These sessions will take place on Fridays in April from 12:30-1:30 p.m. and are led by former Madison Poet Laureate Poet Fabu as part of an existing program called Authors Speak, which highlights local authors. Additionally,  Madison Public Library has celebrated National Poetry Month for the past three years by posting a poem a day online throughout the entire month of April. That tradition will continue in 2022. 

Learn more about the Poet-in-Residence program, submit Poetry Maker Kit responses and see upcoming events online at madpl.org/poetry now through May. 

About Madison Public Library
Madison Public Library’s tradition of promoting education, literacy and community involvement has enriched the City of Madison for more than 145 years.  Visit the library online at www.madisonpubliclibrary.org, madisonpubliclibrary on Facebook, @madisonlibrary on Twitter, or @madisonpubliclibrary on Instagram.

About Angela Trudell Vasquez
Angela Trudell Vasquez is a poet, writer, teacher, and activist. She is the current City of Madison Poet Laureate, and the first Latina to hold the position. Angie Trudell Vasquez received her MFA in poetry from the Institute of American Indian Arts. Most recently her work has been published in Taos Journal of Poetry, Yellow Medicine Review, Raven Chronicles, The Rumpus, Cloudthroat, and the South Florida Poetry Journal. She has poems on the Poetry Foundation’s website, and was a Ruth Lilly fellow while at Drake University. In 2020, she co-edited a collection with former Wisconsin Poet Laureate, Margaret Rozga, entitled Through This Door, and published under her small press Art Night Books. Finishing Line Press will release her fourth collection of poetry, My People Redux, in 2022. Read more about Angela's reappointment as the City of Madison's Poet Laureate here. ​

UPCOMING PROGRAMS
March: 
Poet-in-Residence Art Inspiring Art: A Poetry Workshop for Adults
Alicia Ashman Library (733 N. High Point Rd.)
Thursday, March 3, 6-7:30 p.m.
Poet-in-Residence Words in Bloom Poetry Workshop for Teens
Pinney Library (516 Cottage Grove Rd)
Thursday, March 17, 6-7:30 p.m.

Poet-in-Residence Poetry and Nature Workshop for Kids
Sequoya Library (4340 Tokay Blvd.)
Monday, March 28, 5-6 p.m.

Poet-in-Residence Words in Bloom Poetry Workshop for Teens
Lakeview Library (2845 N. Sherman Ave.)
Thursday, March 31, 6-7:30 p.m.

April:
Authors Speak Sharing Your Life Story through Poetry with Poet Fabu
Virtual | Fridays, April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 | 12:30-1:30 p.m.

Poet-in-Residence Poetry and Nature Workshop for Kids
Pinney Library (516 Cottage Grove Rd)
Monday, April 4, 5-6 p.m.

Poet-in-Residence Art Inspiring Art: A Poetry Workshop for Adults
Central Library (201 W. Mifflin St.)
Thursday, April 28, 6-7:30 p.m.

Poet-in-Residence Bilingual Poetry & Dance Workshop for Families
Goodman South Madison Library (2222 S. Park St.)
Saturday, April 30, 10-11 a.m.

May [Check the website for event listings]:
Poet-in-Residence Poetry & Nature Workshop for Kids
Lakeview Library (2845 N. Sherman Ave.)
Monday, May 2, 5-6 pm

Poet-in-Residence Art Inspiring Art: A Poetry Workshop for Adults
Lakeview Library (2845 N. Sherman Ave.)
Thursday, May 5, 6-7:30 pm

Poet-in-Residence Words-in-Bloom Poetry Workshop for Teens
Meadowridge Library (5726 Raymond Rd.)
Thursday, May 26, 6-7:30 pm