What is a poet's work and what role do libraries play in it? This month we talk about poets we love. Amy Ludtzke, Assistant Director of the Dwight Foster Library in Fort Atkinson, introduces us to Lorine Niedecker, a modernist poet who lived on Blackhawk Island. We gain a healthy respect for the office of Poet Laureate of Wisconsin and talk to current Poet Laureate Karla Huston.

What is a poet's work and what role do libraries play in it? This month we talk about poets we love. Amy Ludtzke, Assistant Director of the Dwight Foster Library in Fort Atkinson, introduces us to Lorine Niedecker, a modernist poet who lived on Blackhawk Island. We gain a healthy respect for the office of Poet Laureate of Wisconsin and talk to current Poet Laureate Karla Huston.

With the recent Zinefest in Milwaukee, WI and Print and Resist Zinefest in Madison, WI, it only made sense to talk about zines this month! Shauna and Steev talk about the definition and history of zines and zine culture. Voices in this episode include zinesters: John Porcellino (King-Cat Comics), Chris Wilde (Co-founder of QZAP), and Kristopher Pollard (Kpolly). Librarians include: Kristina Gomez (Milwaukee Public Library) and Katherine Charek Briggs (Assistant Director, LGBT Campus Center, UW-Madison).

How can a drag queen reading a story affect a community? Why do drag queens and public libraries create partnerships? Is this happening in Wisconsin? We find out in this month's episode as we tell the story of Beloit Public Library's first EVER drag queen story time, in Beloit, WI. Shauna speaks with Cass Marie Domino, a queen and activist based in Madison, WI, as well as Marilyn and Rob Schuh, co-founders of The Yellow Brick Road Organization, a non-profit based in Beloit, WI.

We start Season 2 with a deep dive into some of the ideas Shauna brought back from the Inclusive Services Institute. Shauna talks with Leah Langby (IFLS) and Rene Bue (Hedberg Public Library) about what other Wisconsin libraries are doing to make their spaces and policies more inclusive, then we discuss how the Sun Prairie Library is doing (spoiler alert: we could be doing better).

Shauna goes to see musician Annie Clark aka St. Vincent and gets to ask her a question!

Shauna and Steev talk about a document titled “What Does It Mean to Be Inclusive?” from the Department of Public Instruction’s Division of Libraries and Technology. We hear from Irma Keller, Director at Tomah Public Library, about the Inclusive Services Institute that she recently attended with Shauna. Ms. Keller shares her story as it relates to WI public libraries becoming more inclusive in their services.

This month Shauna and Steev talk about music and libraries. Not only do libraries house collections of music, but some actually host live shows and even help people create their own music! Our interviews come from two musicians and Wisconsinites: Rob Dz, a hip-hop artist who also works at Madison Public Library, and singer-songwriter J.E. Sunde.

Libraries are publicly funded institutions, so what happens when one of our patrons thinks a book, movie, album, or magazine shouldn’t be here? Is it ever ok to censor materials? How does the first amendment fit in to this? Shauna and Steev pick at these ideas with help from Kristin Pekoll, Assistant Director for the Office of Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association and Lynn Montague, Head of Youth Services at Sun Prairie Public Library. Then Steev interviews Shauna about censorship from the perspective of a prison librarian. Shauna talks about her former job as Librarian at Dodge Correctional Institution.

Shauna and Steev talk about their love of comics and graphic novels. Some authors and artists we mention or play clips of include: Mariko Tamaki, Scott McCloud, Craig Thompson, Alison Bechdel, Neil Gaiman, Lynda Barry, Jeff Smith, Mike Mignola, Art Spiegelman, Christophe Chabouté, and MORE.