Curriculum Vitae
JEAN KIERNAN DETJEN
Poet | Writer | Arts Advocate
jeankiernandetjen.com | Appleton, Wisconsin
POETRY
Environmental and place-based poetry
Books
Salt and Soil — Kelsay Books, forthcoming Winter 2026
Earth and Echo — Kelsay Books, forthcoming Summer 2027
River and Root — Kelsay Books, forthcoming Spring 2028
Manuscripts
Something Older Than Law — poetry manuscript, submitted; in competition
The Map You Draw in Water — poetry manuscript, submitted; in competition
In Progress Manuscripts
Watershed of the Unsaid — poetry manuscript
PUBLICATIONS & JOURNALISM
Freelance Journalist — 2025–present
Columnist, Artful Living — Scene Newspaper, 2015–2016
HONORS & AWARDS
Poetry Contest Winner — Poetry for a Shared World, Waupaca Community Arts Board, April 2026
Featured Arts Organization of the Year — National Independent Film Association (NIFA), 2019
(for Northeast Wisconsin Arts Association)
Feature Profile — Insight on Business Magazine, February 2018
Feature Profile — Fox Cities Magazine, “Splash City,” June 2017
Cover Feature — Women Magazine, January 2017
Dreamers and Doers Award — Appleton Downtown, Inc. (ADI), 2014
(for Mile of Music Team)
Volunteer of the Year — The Trout Museum of Art, 2012
JURIES, PRESENTATIONS & PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION
Presenter — Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) Annual Awards, 2014 & 2018
Juror — Bergstrom Mahler Museum Art Fair, 2018
Juror — Art at the Park, Fox Cities Building for the Arts / Trout Museum of Art, 2017
Judge — Avant Garde Challenge Fashion Runway Competition, Creative Appleton Downtown, Inc., 2018
READINGS & MEDIA
Podcast Guest — Media Rants with Tony Palmeri, February 2026
Topics: poetry, writing, activism, civic engagement, environmental literature
Podcast Guest — But Why Not? with Evan Freimuth, April 2019
Topics: founding Northeast Wisconsin Arts Association (NEWAA), poetry, community engagement
Podcast Guest — Fresh Take with Josh Dukelow, WHBY, January 2018
Topic: launch of Northeast Wisconsin Arts Association (NEWAA)
ARTS LEADERSHIP & CURATORIAL WORK
Founder & President — Northeast Wisconsin Arts Association (NEWAA), 2017–2020
Founder & Curator — Take Me to the River, ArtRevivalFoxCities, 2016–2017
Vice President, Arts, Culture & Music — Launch Wisconsin, 2017
International Artist Representative & Fine Art Curator, 2016–2017
CULTURAL & COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP
Board of Trustees, Past President — Appleton Public Library, 2009–2013
Founder & Executive Director — Project Starfish, 2008–2015
Creative Mentor & Project Approval Board Member — Antix! Productions, 2021–2022
Placemaking Team Member — Creative Downtown Committee, Appleton Downtown Inc., 2016–2021
Committee Member — Acre of Art / Sculpture Valley, 2017–2020
Artist Recruitment Team — Mile of Music, 2013–2015
Committee Member — The Trout Museum of Art, 2012–2013
Board Member — Toward Community: Unity in Diversity, 2009–2011
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Member — Academy of American Poets
Member — Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets
EDUCATION
University of Notre Dame — B.A., American Studies, 1989
Emphases: Journalism & Communications, Fine Arts, Social Sciences
London Program — University of Notre Dame, United Kingdom
SELECTED PRAISE
“Soft, yet fierce poems… she captures it all, simmers the world to an essence of beauty, grace, and opportunity.”
— Karla Huston, Wisconsin Poet Laureate (2017–2018)
“A surprising first book that reads like the work of a well-published eco-poet… soft yet rebellious… A delightful read from start to finish.”
— Cathryn Cofell, Appleton’s first Poet Laureate
“Calling Detjen a poet feels insufficient. She is a true painter whose pieces read like short stories, as if Mother Earth itself is speaking.”
— D. R. Baker, poet and author
“Ablaze with imagery… Detjen bears witness to a world worth saving in luminous, Vermeer-like detail.”
— Bobbie Lee Lovell, poet
