Kimberly M. Blaeser (born 1955) is a Native American poet and writer enrolled in the

White Earth Band The White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, also called the White Earth Nation ( oj, Gaa-waabaabiganikaag Anishinaabeg, "People from where there is an abundance of white clay"), is a federally recognized Native American band located ...

of the

Minnesota Chippewa Tribe The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (MCT) is the centralized governmental authority for six Chippewa (Ojibwe or Anishinaabe) bands in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The tribe was created on June 18, 1934; the organization and its governmental powers are ...

. She was the Wisconsin Poet Laureate 2015–16.

Background

Kimberly Blaeser was born in 1955 in

Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...

. Being of German and

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...

Heritage, she grew up the White Earth reservation. In 2024 she will take up an appointment as the Lois and Willard Mackey Chair in Creative Writing at

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and has ...

Career

Blaeser was named Wisconsin Poet Laureate for 2015–2016 on January 7, 2015, by the Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission. She resides in rural Lyons Township, Wisconsin. Blaeser works as Professor of English at the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

, where she teaches Creative Writing, Native American Literature, and American Nature Writing. Her first book of poetry, ''Trailing You'', was awarded the 1993 Diane Decorah First Book Award from the

Native Writers' Circle of the Americas The Native Writers' Circle of the Americas (NWCA) is an organization of Native American writers, most notable for its literary awards, presented annually to Native American writers in three categories: ''First Book of Poetry'', ''First Book of Prose ...

, and she was the first critic to publish a book-length study of the fiction of her fellow White Earth Ojibwe writer,

Gerald Vizenor Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and Iri ...

. Her work is widely anthologized and has been translated into several languages, including Spanish, Norwegian, Indonesian, and

Anishinaabemowin Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous language o ...

. Blaeser has performed her poetry around the globe, having given readings of creative work at over two hundred different venues in a dozen different countries, including performances at the Borobudur Temple in Indonesia and in a Fire-Ceremony at the Borderlands Museum Grounds in arctic Norway. Blaeser is active in service to literature, the arts, and social justice. She currently serves on the editorial board for the American Indian Lives series of the University of Nebraska Press, and for the Native American Series of Michigan State University Press. She has served on the advisory board for the Sequoyah Research Center and Native American Press Archives, on the Poetry Fellowship Panel for the National Endowment of the Arts, and has been a member of the Native American Alumni Board for the University of Notre Dame. Most recently, Blaeser initiated the Milwaukee Native American Literary Cooperative which helped to bring 75 Native American writers to Milwaukee for the 20th Anniversary Returning the Gift Festival of Native Writers and Storytellers in 2012 and continues to sponsor events each year.

Bibliography

Poetry

*''Apprenticed to Justice''.

Salt Publishing Salt Publishing is an independent publisher whose origins date back to 1990 when poet John Kinsella launched ''Salt Magazine'' in Western Australia. The journal rapidly developed an international reputation as a leading publisher of new poetry ...

, 2007. *''Trailing You''. Greenfield Press, 1994 (First Book Award for Poetry,

) *''Absentee Indians and other Poems'' *''Downwinders'' *''Learning, At Last'' *''This Cocoon'' *''Two Haiku'' *''Copper Yearning''.

Holy Cow! Press Holy Cow! Press is an independent publisher based in Duluth, Minnesota. Founded in 1977, they have published more than 125 books. The press publishes between three and five new books each year, in genres including poetry, fiction, memoir, and b ...

, 2019.

Literary criticism

*"On Mapping and Urban Shamans", in ''As We Are Now: Mixblood Essays on Race and Identity'', edited by William S. Penn. University of California Press, 1997 *''Gerald Vizenor: Writing in the Oral Tradition''. University of Oklahoma Press, 1996.

Edited collections

*''Stories Migrating Home''. Edited and introduced by Blaeser and including her short story "Fancy Dog Contest." Loonfeather Press, 1999. *"Like 'Reeds through the Ribs of a Basket': Native Women Weaving Stories", in ''Other Sisterhoods: Literary Theory and U.S. Women of Color'', edited by Sandra Kumamoto Stanley. University of Illinois, 1998. *''Native American Literatures: An Encyclopedia of Works, Characters, Authors, and Themes''. Kathy J. Whitson, 1999.

In Anthology

*''Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology'', edited by Melissa Tuckey. University of Georgia Press, 2018. *''Thanku: Poems of Gratitude'', edited by Miranda Paul, illustrated by Marlena Myles. Millbrook Press, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaeser, Kimberley M. 1955 births Living people Ojibwe people Native American poets University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee faculty American people of German descent American women poets Writers from Billings, Montana Poets from Montana Poets Laureate of Wisconsin 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American poets 21st-century American women writers Native American women writers 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women American women academics