Left to right, Poetry Bus poets Sara Dovre Wudali, Su Love, Athena Kildegaard and Michael Kleber-Diggs at La Boulangerie Marguerite. (Patti Hoffmann)
On Saturday, March 22, Minnesota poets Sara Dovre Wudali, Athena Kildegaard, Michael Kleber-Diggs and Su Smallen Love gathered at La Boulangerie Marguerite, 300 13th Ave. NE, to share their poetry with the local community. The event featured readings by the poets, followed by a lively Q&A session and casual conversation afterward.
The event was part of the Poetry Bus project, a modern homage to the Poetry Out Loud initiative that took place in the 1960s and ’70s, led by John Rezmerski. That original program toured the state, bringing poetry to small towns and rural communities.
Today’s metaphorical Poetry Bus aims to recreate that same experience, with plans to visit rural areas and host events at farmers markets, brew pubs, libraries and art galleries. Bringing poetry to rural communities that may not have art events is the goal. Kildegaard believes, “The arts — in no matter what form — helps people answer life questions and remind people that the world is beautiful.”
Sara Dovre Wudali is a writer and editor living in Saint Paul. A 2024 Poetry Fellow in the Loft Mentor Series, she has received support from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council. Her poems and essays have been published in several literary journals and anthologies. such as Barrelhouse and under the gum tree.
Athena Kildegaard’s most recent book of poetry, “Prairie Midden” (Tinderbox Editions), won the 2023 WILLA Literary Award for Poetry. She teaches at the University of Minnesota Morris
Michael Kleber-Diggs is the author of “My Weight in Water”, a memoir about his complicated relationship with lap swimming (forthcoming with Spiegel & Grau, 2026). He teaches creative writing at Augsburg University and through the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop.
Su Smallen Love’s five published books of poetry include “Weight of Light,” nominated for the Pushcart Editors’ Book Prize, and “Buddha, Proof,” a Minnesota Book Award finalist. Her current book in progress concerns legacies of nuclear power in Minnesota and has been supported by the Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and the St. Croix Watershed Research Station.
The most recent stop on the bus tour was April 5 at the Moorhead, Minn., library.
In August, the group will travel through southwestern Minnesota. Funding is from a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board.