South of Lake Superior, a Culture Center
Located in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood, Woodland Pattern is a poet- and artist-run nonprofit book center, gallery, and performance space. Each year, we present over 350 programs and events that encourage collaboration and exchange across the visual, performing, and literary arts.
Dedicated to the discovery, cultivation, and presentation of independent literature and the arts—since 1980.
Supporting Small-Press & DIY Publishers
Our book center holds a carefully curated and nationally recognized collection of approximately 25,000 titles of poetry, small-press literature, and ephemera, including limited-run broadsides, chapbooks, zines, and other hand-made items, many produced in conjunction with our programs. We are also home to the largest collection of haiku in North America, the largest Native American section in Wisconsin, and our collection of contemporary poetry is the most comprehensive of its kind available for purchase in the U.S.
In many communities, there are generators of imagination that connect us to the arts and to each others' stories of humanity. Woodland Pattern is that place for Howard Leu and me.
—Chelsea Wait
A Forum for Writers & Artists
For forty years, we have acted as a bridge between local and national communities of writers, artists, and musicians while offering a space for people in our immediate community to gather, learn, perform, share ideas, and build relationships that make us stronger.
A welcoming, inviting, and invigorating place to be.
—Janine Arseneau
Sustaining a Lifetime Practice of Reading & Writing
In addition to hosting poetry readings, concerts, film screenings, and exhibitions, Woodland Pattern offers year-round educational opportunities in creative writing and related arts for people of all ages—from after-school programs and summer camps for children and youth to book discussions, writing groups, and workshops for adults and seniors.
Woodland Pattern & COVID-19
Due to the ongoing pandemic, Woodland Pattern has closed its doors for the first time in four decades. During this hiatus from our physical space, we are working to facilitate remote projects and welcome your input and participation. If you have an idea for a project you'd like us to consider, please contact us!
We also invite you to sign up for our newsletter to receive Prompts Against Anxiety—weekly exercises that promote at-home creativity, personal fortitude, and solidarity with others.
Finally, please take a look around on our new website to take advantage of the various resources here, including weekly activity books available for download from Cosecha Creative Space. Be sure to check out our NEA Big Read Project as well as Tarot: The (Re)making of a Language in our new virtual gallery. And of course, please consult our events calendar for online book discussions, writing groups, workshops, live poetry performances, and more.
We acknowledge that in Milwaukee we live and work on traditional Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, and Menominee homelands along the southwest shores of Michigami (Big Lake), part of North America’s largest system of freshwater lakes, where the Milwaukee, Menominee, and Kinnickinnic rivers meet and the people of Wisconsin’s sovereign Anishinaabe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida, and Mohican nations remain present.
720 E. Locust Street
Milwaukee, WI 53212
Phone: 414 263 5001
Hours: Tues–Fri | 11-8pm
Sat & Sun | 12–5 pm | Closed Mon
Contactless pick-up: Wed–Sat | 2-6 pm
Building Accessibility: Despite the age of our physical location, and attendant limitations to access, Woodland Pattern is committed to making its programs and facilities available for as many as possible. Please call for more information.
Events Accessibility: Woodland Pattern is in the process of obtaining captioning services for its online events and can provide ASL interpretation for live events. Please contact us with accommodation requests and questions.
© Woodland Pattern 2020