Poet laureate Kort had UW-Green Bay ties


Author Ellen Kort died Tuesday in Appleton at age 79. Kort had ties to UW-Green Bay, back in the days when the official Wisconsin poet laureate position was new and the University held the honor closely. Former Prof. Denise Sweet of Humanistic Studies and First Nations Studies, of course, held the title with distinction from 2004-08, but before her it was Kort, the very first laureate, who occasionally taught poetry courses here. Friends remember that she touched many lives with her poetry and compassion.