#wisconsin writer

[eziojensenthe3rd]

Post from cohost i feel is worth saying here

[crmsnmth]

One Cold Day In November

The leaves fall In ballet dancer shadows Gently leaving home for the first and last time Riding the faith of a biting and cutting wind There's nothing left to grasp Sleep now in the waiting of white sheets

Trees stretch their skeleton branches Sometimes the wind pushes it aside And it's limbs crack and cackle Sending out the signal that it's time for hibernation three-monthO slumber What I'd give for that kind of sleep

[laurelroadpoetry]

[uwmspeccoll]

Wood Engraving Wednesday

Noted Wisconsin artist Frank Utpatel (1905-1980) was a longtime collaborator with Wisconsin writer and publisher August Derleth (1909-1971), who founded the Arkham House publishing firm in Sauk City, Wisconsin, publisher of, among other things, the works of H. P. Lovecraft. Many of Utpatel's book illustrations were done as wood engravings. Presented here are four engravings by Utpatel, printed directly from the original blocks for August Derleth's journal musings Walden Pond: Homage to Thoreau, and printed in 1968 by letterpress publisher Carroll Colman (1904-1989) at his Prairie Press in Iowa City, Iowa.

A Thoreau enthusiast, Derleth made three pilgrimages to Walden Pond in 1938, 1947, and 1965. This book presents some of his journal entries from those visits, "brought together here in the hope that fellow Thoreauvians may find something to their liking in these pages." Our copy was signed by Derleth and Utpatel to Wisconsin resident Genevieve Turk.

View more wood engravings by Frank Utpatel.

View more posts on works by August Derleth.

View more posts with wood engravings!

[rextomblr]

all right, nobody missed me but I'm back at it on tumblr. sigh. I don't think I could ever leave this place, the real world just isn't as fun.

[anarcho-puppy]

yo madison folks! i’m super excited for this cool event, y’all should come!

[rustbeltjessie]

Writer’s Tears (August 16, 2023 // Fish Creek, WI)

[letmelickyoureyeballs]

PSA

PSA to all writers who have characters in/from Wisconsin, Massachusetts, or Rhode Island: You better be using “bubbler” instead of “drinking fountain”. Did not realize other states don’t use this term.

Also if the character is in/from the Midwest(Wisconsin): You do not understand how often we say “ope” and “sorry”. Yes even after running into an inanimate object, we will say both of those.

And as a person from Wisconsin, I do inhale cheese, milk, and bratwurst/sausage on a regular bases. You don’t understand how many gallons of milk we go through each month.

This PSA comes from talking with someone from Florida and I wanted to share.

[pretensesoup]

Did a reading for the novel on Saturday night. I was in Madison, which is fine, and there were a bunch of Madison old-timers in the audience.

So. Most of the time when people write historical fiction, they change the names of the businesses they mention. You don't have to, as I understand it, but businesses can get cross if you don't. But in many cases, I...didn't. At least for the ones that aren't there anymore, I figured what was the harm? No one gets murdered in any of the restaurants, and no one was gonna read the novel anyway except @tryxyhijinks, so why not use the actual names? But there are also some business names I made up.

Anyway, the book opens at a dive bar called Lorenzo's Lounge. That was the section I read. Afterward, an older gent came up to me and said, "You mentioned Lorenzo's Lounge. That brought back some memories."

I said, "I bet," while thinking to myself, "I made that one up though."

Then I started to think, did I? So I googled it.

Nope. I didn't make that up.

[sure-thing-casey]

Casey O'Brien, 2023

[zeel26]

the flickering neon lights and chilled northern air has a way of making me miss you more. No vacancy.

[musingsofanaroace]

I finished the rough draft in March 2023.

Set in the summer of 1952, it follows Hazel’s return to the city where she grew up after losing her partner of thirty-five years to cancer. In her grief, she becomes introspective and withdrawn from the world. Will the heartbeats of home heal her despair, or will she succumb to the alluring waves lapping against the shore? This novel deals with various topics, such as societal expectations, queer identity, misogyny, homophobia, and mental illness. 

Besides the main plot listed above, this novel contains many side plots: 1) A little boy named Laurie goes missing, and Hazel joins in the search to find him. The search for Laurie dregs up memories of her brother Reed who drowned when he was only four years old. 2) Hazel learns that her sister Rue suffers from depression, and the sight of books hanging from a whirligig just might save her sister's life. 3) Throughout the novel, she gets to know her nephew Chad and his secret lover Lonnie who is deaf. 4) Hazel reconnects with her ex-girlfriend Margo who is on a quest to save Pike River from toxic waste and illegal dumping. 5) And a few others that I won't list here because they contain spoilers.

Potential Release Date: 2026

[heydecenter]

John Kinville’s Book Launch

The content provides an interesting glimpse into the journey of John Kinville, a local author in Chippewa Falls, and his challenges in getting his book published. The post effectively highlights the inspiration behind the book and the support the author.

by Emma O’Shea  (Heyde Center for the Arts Intern) I recently had the opportunity to meet John Kinville, a local author in Chippewa Falls. An hour before the book launch begins for Kinville’s The Grey Eagles of Chippewa Falls: A Hidden History of a Women’s Ku Klux Klan in Wisconsin, we sit down in the rows of chairs to talk about his inspiration for the book and the challenges he faced to get…

[thecrystalcrux]

When I Lost My Brother

On December 13, 1986, I reached the low point of my life. I was the eldest and Mike was a year younger than me. Both of my younger brothers, Mike and Steve, were born with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. For a while, they both walked but their gait was unsteady and eventually the disease robbed them of their ability to stand. Mike and Steve ended up in wheelchairs. Since Mike and I were only a…

[uwmspeccoll]

Publishers’ Binding Thursday

This week’s publishers’ binding is an edition of How Private Geo. W. Peck Put Down the Rebellion or, the Funny Experiences of a Raw Recruit published in Chicago by Thompson and Thomas in 1900. The volume also includes Peck’s Boss Book. Both were written by Wisconsin writer and politician George W. Peck. How Private Peck Put Down the Rebellion was illustrated by True Williams, who also illustrated many of Mark Twain’s books, and Peck’s Boss Book was illustrated by H.E. Patterson. 

In 1863 George W. Peck enlisted in the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment as a private and this book includes humorous sketches extremely loosely based on his time in the Union Army. Peck owned and edited several newspapers in Wisconsin in which he published his famous Peck’s Bad Boy series among others. Following his newspaper career, Peck was mayor of Milwaukee and shortly thereafter governor of Wisconsin. 

The binding is a blue-green color with the title stamped in gold at the top of the cover, with an illustration of a man trying to get on a horse stamped in black below. The spine features the title stamped in gold and an illustration of something exploding above a soldier’s head stamped in black. Also in the book is the bookplate of Philip J. Hohlweck, who donated the book to our collection. It features a map-ish design with a ship and has this lovely sentiment: “There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away.” 

View more Publishers’ Binding Thursdays.

-- Alice, Special Collections Department Manager

[rextomblr]

I need queer writing friends.