Ryan Patterson
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Nick Demske, left, and Dave Demske celebrate after Nick received an award at a Wisconsin Writers Awards event in May in Madison. |
RACINE — Nick Demske has always loved words.
In middle school, language provided an outlet for him.
That was when Demske began writing poetry to help deal with the mental health challenges he was facing, including anxiety and depression.
“I realized at some point, ‘Oh, when I do this, it really helps balance me out,” said Demske, who is executive director of the Racine Public Library. “Poetry has been a really important health and wellness tactic in my survival strategy in life.”
He continued writing poetry while studying English and creative writing at Carthage College.
After that, Demske received some notice for his work, publishing one full-length book of poems and a chapbook.
Demske put poetry on the backburner for several years as he became more involved in civic engagement, including being a Racine County Board supervisor from 2018-24.
In fall of 2024, he began writing poetry again.
That creative reignition was recently recognized when Demske won a state prize, the Lorine Niedecker Poetry Award.
He was one of eight honorees at a Wisconsin Writers Awards event in May in Madison.
Demske
SUBMITTEDHua Xi, the award judge who is also a poet, wrote that Demske’s poems are delightful, “full of witty observations and pure feeling.”
“These are risky and defiant poems, full of unexpected twists of language and imagery that produce a sharp and melancholy whimsy,” Xi wrote.
Demske was honored and surprised to win a poetry prize for the first time in many years.
“I was over the moon about it,” he said.
Niedecker was born in Wisconsin and lived for most of her life near Fort Atkinson, about 60 miles west of Racine.
Demske adores Niedecker’s work so was thrilled to win a prize named after her.
The award includes $500 and a five-day residency later this year at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point, Wisconsin.
Demske looks forward to having several days to write and “be in community with other writers and other creatives.”
Rita Mae Reese, from left, Nick Demske and Steven Espada Dawson at a Wisconsin Writers Awards event in May in Madison.
Dave DemskeThe relational aspect of poetry has become more important to Demske over the years.
Writing poems remains a cathartic outlet similar to when he was younger, but Demske also greatly enjoys the people he has met through poetry.
“It’s still a very important therapeutic tactic in my life,” Demske said. “The community became really important and central to me, differently than my creative work.”
After several years off, Demske, who recently finished a poetry manuscript and is working on a new collection, plans to keep writing.
He writes poetry for his own health, but Demske also hopes his words connect with people.
“This stuff actually has an impact if you do it correctly,” Demske said. “I want to heal myself and heal others.”
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