Kimberly Blaeser, professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was recently recognized by the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas with the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award. Established in 1991, the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas is an organization of Native American writers, based at the University of Oklahoma. Awards for First Book of Poetry, First Book of Prose, and Lifetime Achievement are given out annually by the group.
“Receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award is both humbling and heartening,” Professor Blaeser said. “Thinking about my own role models who previously received this recognition and knowing I was selected by my fellow Native writers gives the recognition special significance.”
A faculty member affiliated with the American Indian Studies Program, Professor Blaeser specializes in poetry and creative nonfiction writing. An award-winning poet, Dr. Blaeser has published eight books including five poetry collections as well as short stories, creative nonfiction, and scholarship. Her plays have been performed in both the U.S. and Canada and her poetry translated into multiple languages. Dr. Blaeser was Wisconsin’s poet laureate for 2015-2016.
Dr. Blaeser holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame In Indiana.