Kimberly Blaeser

Wisconsin’s Poet Laureate, Kimberly Blaeser shares her background in writing, why she uses different types of technology to write, and how images are an important part of her writing process. She  transitions into revision of two poems. Watch as she makes subtle changes to one of her picto-poems that blend images with poetry, and a historical poem about “Mochi,” a prisoner of war.

In this video, Kimberly Blaeser shares her writing process from the very beginning. She uses photos of newborn mice, combined with an image from Cirque du Soleil to create a poem about “weird beauty.” Her focus on language and precise word choice is a major aspect of this first draft.

• How she finds time to write
• Doing writing “messily”
• Revision
• The great feeling of being “in the zone”
• Advice for students about putting the time in, not being afraid to share your writing, reading poetry out loud, and finding the kind of writing you want to do