Curriculum Vitae

JEAN KIERNAN DETJEN

Poet | Writer | Arts Advocate
jeankiernandetjen.com | Appleton, Wisconsin

POETRY

Environmental and place-based poetry

Books

Salt and Soil — chapbook, Kelsay Books, 2026

Earth and Echo — chapbook, Kelsay Books, 2026

Manuscripts

River and Root — poetry manuscript, submitted

Something Older Than Law — poetry manuscript, under contest consideration

PUBLICATIONS & JOURNALISM

Freelance Journalist — 2025–present

Columnist, Artful Living — Scene Newspaper, 2015–2016

HONORS & AWARDS

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

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