Lorine Niedecker
Poet of Place
I think lines of poetry that I may use — all day long and even in the night.
– Lorine Niedecker, speaking to Cid Corman shortly before her death in 1970.
One of the finest American poets at all, besides being easily the finest female American poet … Lorine Niedecker never fails; whatever she writes is excellent.
– Basil Bunting
Life
Lorine Niedecker (1903-1970) was an important twentieth-century American poet. Living most of her life on the shores of the Rock River near Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, Niedecker is perhaps best known as a poet of place who wrote about the Blackhawk Island that she loved. Niedecker died in 1970, just as her poetry was reaching a larger audience.
Writing
In addition to her writing about her home place, Niedecker’s body of work includes surrealist-influenced exploration of dreams and the subconscious, folk poetry influenced by Mother Goose tales and vernacular speech, exquisite haiku-like short poems, and expansive long poems which explore history, biography, and geologic time.
Research
Over the past half-century, Niedecker’s life and writing have been the subject of serious study by critics from around the world. She has often been praised for her perseverance in total devotion to the craft of poetry and for the sublety, intelligence, and irony visible in her extraordinarily condensed, carefully crafted, and highly musical poems.
The Friends of Lorine Niedecker
The Friends of Lorine Niedecker (FoLN) is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and expanding the legacy of Lorine Niedecker.
Support our mission with a tax-deductible donation
FoLN Events
The Friends of Lorine Niedecker hosts multiple events each year, including poetry readings through the Solitary Plover and the North Central reading series.
Upcoming Friends of Lorine Niedecker events:
FoLN News
The Friends of Lorine Niedecker publishes the Solitary Plover, a bi-annual newsletter which includes Niedecker-related news and original poetry from contributors around the world.
Our blog includes occasional Niedecker-related news items:
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2027 Lorine Niedecker Fellowship — Applications Open October 15
The Friends of Lorine Niedecker, in partnership with Write On, Door County, are pleased to announce the 2027 Lorine Niedecker Writing Fellowship. Offered every two years to an emerging or established poet familiar with Niedecker’s work, the fellowship encourages new writing engaged with the poetics of place. The fellowship includes… Read more
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Canceled: February 21 Woodland Pattern Screening of ‘Welcome Poets’
We regret to announce that the in-person screening and discussion of Welcome Poets, scheduled for Saturday, February 21, at Woodland Pattern in Milwaukee, has been canceled. While we’re sorry to lose this particular event, the cancellation comes with good reason — with something even more exciting on the horizon in… Read more
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Watch Welcome Poets and Host a Screening
The recent 6-part PBS Wisconsin series Welcome Poets, which explored Wisconsin Poet Laureate Nicholas Gulig’s relationship to Fort Atkinson and the legacy of Lorine Niedecker, is now available for streaming at https://pbswisconsin.org/welcome-poets/ or on YouTube. The PBS Wisconsin site includes all 6 episodes in the series (each runs between 7… Read more