The Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission (WPLC) is thrilled to announce Brenda Cárdenas as the state Wisconsin Poet Laureate serving a three-year term from January 15, 2025 through December 31, 2027.

Brenda Cárdenas was born and raised in Milwaukee and has also lived in Beaver Dam, Appleton, Menasha, and Fond du Lac. She obtained her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Writing (Poetry) at the University of Michigan. She recently retired from a 35-year career teaching Creative Writing to students at every level from seventh graders to doctoral candidates. From 2007 to 2024 she taught Creative Writing and U. S. Latino/x Literatures at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

A former City of Milwaukee poet laureate, Cárdenas has authored two full-length books: Trace (Red Hen Press) and Boomerang (Bilingual Press). She has also authored or co-authored three chapbooks: Bread of the Earth/The Last Colors, Achiote Seeds/Semillas de Achiote, and From the Tongues of Brick and Stone.

Brenda Cárdenas is Wisconsin's eleventh poet laureate, following Nicholas Gulig, who served 2023–2024. Cardenas was one of several poets who submitted their applications in mid-October 2024. She was one of four finalists who were selected from the pool of applicants and interviewed by the sixteen commissioners of the WPLC. Commissioners represent literary organizations in the state or are at-large members. The other finalists (listed alphabetically) were Jose Felipe Avergue, Christina Kubasta, and Catherine Young.