'Thoughts on things / fold unfold' on Fort Atkinson's built landscape

Lorine Niedecker’s words transform Fort Atkinson’s public spaces into poetry walls

We encounter poetry in a range of forms and settings: in printed books where the deliberate typesetting of words and their spatial relationship to the page is integral to the art; read aloud at a bookstore, or lovingly by a caregiver; on television or radio; or even clipped and remixed in internet memes designed to uplift, amuse or provoke. There are poetry podcasts.

Poetry shared through the mural, as public art, is part of a larger, widespread muraling tradition — transforming the built landscape and offering serendipitous, accessible engagement with images, words and ideas. Even a small child who can’t yet read can behold the scale and expressive colors of a poetry wall and ask questions about it — what do the words say? what do they mean?

Three sites on the streets of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin — in the region where Lorine Niedecker lived most of her life — now bear murals sharing excerpts of her poems. Each of them were grassroots efforts by the Friends of Lorine Niedecker. In the first episode of Welcome Poets, series writer and narrator Nicholas Gulig remarks on a chance encounter with Niedecker’s words in public as he drives into town, preparing to move to the area to work as a professor at UW-Whitewater.

“The poetry walls are another example of our priority to bring Niedecker’s life and work out of the archive and into the community,” shared Anne Engelman, President of the Friends of Lorine Niedecker board.

From the beginning, Engelman knew murals could spark conversation. The first mural, installed in 2009 on the southeast corner of North Main Street and Sherman Avenue, features Niedecker’s lines from “Paean to Place”: “Fish / fowl / flood / Water lily mud / My life.”

Mural on a brick building with the words “Fish/ fowl/ flood/ Water lily mud/ My life” painted in large colorful letters. At the bottom, text reads “Lorine Niedecker, Blackhawk Island 1903–1970.” — Poetry wall installed 2009 on the southeast corner of N. Main St. and Sherman Ave. in Fort Atkinson, Wis. (Source: Friends of Lorine Niedecker)

“People would complain, ‘There’s no picture there . . only words,’” Engelman recalled. “Then historic floods came to Fort Atkinson, and suddenly the poem really resonated.” She remembers a local woman saying that whenever she stopped at the nearby stoplight, her child in the back seat would chant the words to the poem aloud.

When erected, each mural paired the poem with a public question. For “Fish / fowl / flood / Water lily mud . . . ” the question was: What six words describe *your* life? Engelman laughs, recalling how even the local diner joined in: “Scottie’s Eat-Mor put up: ‘Spatula / eggs / bacon / My breakfast’ on their signage.”

Funding was intentionally kept independent. “I didn’t use any city money,” Engelman explained. “That gave us flexibility.”

A large group of people stand in a line on the sidewalk in front of a colorful mural painted on a brick wall. The mural features bold, geometric lettering in red, blue, black, and orange. Part of the text reads “SOLITARY PLOVER,” with “SOLITARY” in blocky red-and-white letters and “PLOVER” in a patterned blue-and-orange style. Additional words in black and gray, along with arrows and decorative elements, fill the mural’s background. The group consists of people of various ages, casually dressed, some holding papers or bags, appearing gathered for a community or celebratory event. — Poetry wall installed July 2018 on Sherman Avenue in Fort Atkinson, directly across the street to the west of the first poetry wall above. (Source: Friends of Lorine Niedecker)

In July 2018, a second mural went up directly across the street on West Sherman Avenue, also drawn from “Paean to Place.” The text reads: “I was the solitary plover / a pencil for a wing-bone / From the secret notes / I must tilt. . . ” The public question posed there was: If Niedecker saw herself as a solitary plover, what are *you*?

A third mural was added in October 2021 on the north side of the Hometown Pharmacy building at South Main and South Water Street West. It features lines from Niedecker’s 1968 book North Central: “Mergansers / fans on their heads // Thoughts on things / fold unfold / above the river beds.” The accompanying question asked: What thoughts do you have that fold and unfold about the riverbed?

A colorful mural painted on a brick wall shows abstract brushstrokes in greens, blues, and yellows, with words in bold red, white, blue, and black letters reading: “Mergansers/ fans/ on their heads/ Thoughts on things/ fold unfold/ above the river beds.” — Poetry wall on the north side of the current Hometown Pharmacy building on the corner of South Main Street and South Water Street W in Fort Atkinson. (Source: Friends of Lorine Niedecker)

All three murals were designed and painted by artist and designer Jeremy “Guzzo” Pinc, with funding from a variety of local organizations, state arts and humanities councils, and private donors.

The murals connect with other public art efforts in Fort Atkinson, including projects in local schools where Lorine Niedecker’s poetry appear in hallways and classrooms. By rooting her work in shared spaces where people gather, work, and learn, these initiatives encourage students to see creative expression as part of daily life and ensure that Niedecker’s legacy continues to resonate in the community.