A Poet Questions the Questions

Cathryn Cofell

If you’re reading this, I assume you’re a poet or have an interest in poetry, which leads me to assume you’re a curious person. Curiosity is a critical trait for any aspiring poet. How can we delve into any topic without contemplation or examination, or attempt to answer questions others might have?

I am a curious person, interested in all sorts of factoids, rationales, backstories. I love a good question and do (mostly) believe there is no such thing as a dumb one. My questioning nature and desire to find answers has gotten me far, thus far, as a poet: Is this poem good enough to be published? Check. Could I write enough quality poems to have a book? Check. What if we set this poem to music? Check again.

Professionally, I have worked in marketing, nonprofit leadership and philanthropy, which led me to a slew of additional questions relative to the stewardship of poetry, such as:

• I like to volunteer, so why not volunteer for a poetry organization? I considered this question back in 1998 when I was asked to become the secretary for the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. Today, I’m in my fifth board term in various roles—that first term as secretary, and then VP, Central Fox Valley Regional VP with Christina Kubasta, President with Ronnie Hess and now Immediate Past President. I’ve served on many other boards for many other causes, but no other board has fulfilled me quite like the WFOP. The WFOP has no paid staff, so we’re critically dependent on poetry lovers to help us further our mission to promote, create and advocate for poetry across the state. It’s a question I encourage you all to ask of yourself: why NOT volunteer for the good of poetry?

• Why didn’t the state of Wisconsin have a poet laureate? I pondered this while perusing old meeting minutes for the WFOP and read that Russell King and a few others tried unsuccessfully to establish the position. This piqued my curiosity further, so I did research with my friend Yahoo and found Wisconsin was one of only 14 states without a poet laureate. Through that research, it was evident our state could benefit from one, so I asked the WFOP board to allow me to explore the idea further, in partnership with other state arts organizations. Many questions and answers later, we held the first Wisconsin Poet Laureate Advisory Committee meeting on September 18, 1999, with representatives of the Wisconsin Arts Board, the Wisconsin Humanities Council, the Wisconsin Writers’ Association and the Council for Wisconsin Writers. Had I not asked that first question and pushed through the hundreds of questions that followed, Governor Tommy Thompson would not have signed Executive Order 404 on July 31, 2000, creating the Office of State Poet Laureate and the Governor’s Poet Laureate Nominating Commission. Brenda Cárdenas would not be our current, 11th laureate, and we would not now be celebrating 25 years of laureates, with most of those same arts organizations and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters as our incredible steward.

• What’s with all the city laureates? A question I asked myself many times, as more cities in Wisconsin added positions. I feared the city positions would lessen the value of the state laureate. I was wrong. I’ve seen the immense amount of work done by city laureates throughout Wisconsin. Still, when my city, Appleton, started talking about a city laureate position and I was asked if I’d apply, my initial answer was “hell no,” because I worked a 50+ hour/week job and served on multiple boards. I was too busy, too tired. But thanks to nudging from good people and a planned early retirement from corporate life, I threw my poems in the ring and was chosen as Appleton’s first Poet Laureate in September 2024. It’s been a blast, and one of the best questions I’ve answered in my poetic career.

From all these questions that got answered, dozens more erupt. Almost daily in my service as a volunteer for the good of poetry, I get questions like these:

• What’s a Poet Laureate?

• Why does a city/state/country need one?

• Does a poet laureate get paid?

• Who’s your favorite poet?

• What’s your favorite poem?

• Why don’t your poems rhyme?

• How do you find inspiration?

• What’s your creative process?

• How do I know my poem is done?

• How hard is it to get published?

• Would you read this poem/manuscript/mountain and give me your feedback? Now?

Why poetry?

Why poetry indeed? I used to obsess over this question, without any rational answer. I could have done a million things with my life, but I chose this. Or did it choose me? I have answers for most of the above questions, but there is not enough space in Bramble to answer today. What I will say is this: Never stop questioning. Never stop being curious. Never stop doubting the importance of the written word and the transformational power of poetry, to change our world for the better.

Why poetry? Why poetry indeed. 

Cathryn Cofell is Appleton, Wisconsin's first poet laureate and immediate Past President of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. She’s published eight books of poetry, including Stick Figure With Skirt, winner of the Main Street Rag Poetry Award. www.cathryncofell.com