Former poet laureate will speak at youth writing awards

Former Wisconsin poet laureate Bruce Dethlefsen will be the featured speaker at the 2016 George Putz Memorial Student Writing Contest awards ceremony May 7.

Dethlefsen is a retired educator and public library director from Westfield. He was poet laureate in 2011-2012. He teaches poetry workshops and runs a poet camp twice every year.

The ceremony begins at 9 a.m. at the Mielke Arts Center, N5649 Airport Road, Shawano. Cash prizes and certificates will be awarded to students in grades 1-12. There is no cost to attend the event.

Students from Shawano and Menominee counties submitted entries in the categories of fiction, nonfiction and poetry for the contest, which is conducted annually by Shawano Area Writers.