Editor’s Note

Summertime, according to Gershwin, the living is easy, and summer in Wisconsin is indeed a golden time, a brief season that evokes leisure, cold beer, boats, lakes, and beaches, all of which we touch on in this, our summer issue. Our cover story celebrates the current spotlight on Native American art and artists nationally and internationally, and how Native artists with connections to Wisconsin are playing a major role in this long overdue recognition. The Wisconsin Table features a fresh take on brewing beer in Waukesha County that’s also a look back at the history of brewing culture in the state. We have stories about sand and beaches on Lake Michigan, and about boats and boat building on Lake Superior. You will also find, as always, new poems, and another fine short story from our annual writing contest.

This has been a year of change and upheaval for me. There have been two deaths in the family in recent months, one of which was a relief and one that I’m still grieving. Our twenty-year-old son unexpectedly moved home for the summer. Enough said about that. And in the midst of production on this issue, we adopted a collie puppy and I was offered a full-time job, both welcome and exciting events that will require change and adjustment. After the publication of this, my sixth issue as interim editor, I will be joining Beloit College, another renowned Wisconsin institution, and one even older than the Academy, where I will serve as editor of Beloit College Magazine Wisconsin People & Ideas was my introduction to the Academy, and it is the heart and soul of the organization. It has been a pleasure and an honor to take the helm of the magazine during this time of ongoing transition, and as excited as I am to join Beloit College, I will miss my colleagues at the Academy and being part of the team that produces this remarkable magazine for you, our valued members. I hope that you all enjoy the summer, and this issue of the magazine. Thank you for reading, and for being a part of our community. I hope that our paths will cross again on down the road.

Fiction

42 Snow Door

Janice Wilberg

Poetry

48 Poetry from Wisconsin Poets

Lailah Dainin Shima, Elisabeth Harrahy, Nick Sengstock, Alexandria Delcourt

Book Reviews

52 Sometimes Creek by Steve Fox

Reviewed by Anthony Bukoski

53 How a Civilization Begins by Richard Vargas

Reviewed by Oscar Mireles

54 Gauntlet in the Gulf ed. by Claude Clayton Smith

Reviewed by Eva B. McManus

55 Culture Work ed. by Marcus Cederström and Tim Frandy

Reviewed by Kaitlyn Berle

Climate & Energy Spotlight

56 The Wisconsin Farmers Union: Empowering Farmers and Building Community

Jessica James

Ideas that move the world forward

Wisconsin People & Ideas is the quarterly magazine of the nonprofit Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. Wisconsin Academy members receive an annual subscription to this magazine.

Since 1954, the Wisconsin Academy has published a magazine for people who are curious about the world and proud of Wisconsin ideas. Wisconsin People & Ideas features thoughtful stories about the state’s people and culture, original creative writing and artwork, and informative articles about Wisconsin innovation. The magazine also hosts annual fiction and poetry contests that provide opportunity and encouragement for Wisconsin writers.

Copyright © 2023 by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Postage is paid in Madison, Wisconsin.

WISCONSIN PEOPLE & IDEAS

CHRISTOPHER CHAMBERS interim editor

JEAN LANG copy editor

CHARLOTTE FRASCONA cold reader

JODY CLOWES arts editor

HUSTON DESIGN design & layout

ISSN 1558-9633 facebook.com/WisconsinAcademy twitter.com/WASAL instagram.com/WatrousGallery