2017 Assembly Joint Resolution 43
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: proclaiming May 12, 2017, as Lorine Niedecker Day in the state of Wisconsin.
Whereas, Lorine Niedecker was born May 12, 1903, on Blackhawk Island near Fort Atkinson; and
Whereas, Lorine Niedecker's reputation as a major 20th-century poet has expanded since her death in 1970 with the publication of her collected works and two editions of correspondence; and
Whereas, Lorine Niedecker has been referred to as “The Emily Dickinson of the Midwest”; and
Whereas, Lorine Niedecker is well-known internationally, her poetry translated into Spanish, Portuguese, and French; and
Whereas, her poetry is taught in schools and colleges around the United States; and
Whereas, the Friends of Lorine Niedecker has devoted itself to celebrating her life and work; and
Whereas, the city of Fort Atkinson has embraced Lorine Niedecker with pride, supporting the Friends, hosting the annual Lorine Niedecker Wisconsin Poetry Festival, and showcasing her work with public art installations; and
Whereas, Lorine Niedecker dedicated herself to poetry, becoming especially devoted to objectivism in poetry, focusing on an object rather than one's feelings and conveying its essence along a musical line; and
Whereas, she began to be published by small presses and little magazines; and
Whereas, during her lifetime she saw only four books of her poetry published (New Goose, My Friend Tree, North Central, and T&G) but expanded as a poet, writing longer poems like “Wintergreen Ridge” and the autobiographical “Paean to Place”; and
Whereas, she became admired by her poetic peers for the subtlety of her tightly crafted, nuanced, and ironic poems, as well as for her total devotion to her calling; and
Whereas, she is perhaps best known as a “poet of place” who wrote about the Blackhawk Island that she loved; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the
assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin Legislature proclaim May 12, 2017, as Lorine Niedecker Day in the state of Wisconsin.
