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Presentation: Poetry Recitation by Andrea Musher, "Dream Faster". Introduced by City Arts Administrator, Karin Wolf.
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Andrea Musher earned her Bachelor's degree at Cornell University, and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she took and taught some of the first Women's Studies courses offered, including the class that she created, Women and Poetry. She has taught writing and literature to students from 4 to 90 in almost every possible venue from parks to prisons, nursery schools to nursing homes, bars, bookstores, and colleges, private homes and public parks.
Chosen by Tuschen, Madison's first Poet Laureate, and appointed by Mayor Sue Bauman, Andrea served as Madison's second Poet Laureate from January 1st, 2001 through the end of 2007. With the generous support and superb assistance of Karin Wolf, Andrea worked to formalize, and raise the profile of this municipal position through the passage of a city council recognition-resolution, the selection of Fabu as the city's 3rd Poet Laureate, and the establishment of the Tuschen Poet Laureate Memorial fund (with the Madison Community Foundation) to help sustain the work of future laureates.
Retired after 26 years of teaching English and Women's Studies at UW-Whitewater, Andrea is currently immersed in writing an opera (music and libretto) entitled, FRIEDA AND CAROLINE; she was deeply delighted with a concert performance of selected songs from the work given April 15, 2016 in conjunction with a Women's Studies Conference. And there seem to be at least two more operas waiting to get their chance to take center stage. Making music may just help to beat back dementia.