Duluth is a city that combines nature with classic architecture. The natural beauty of the city combined with the retro buildings have helped influence many artists. One such artist is poet Louis Jenkins. He lives in Duluth, Minn., and his poems and books reflect his Minnesotan lifestyle.
Jenkins is currently working with Tony-winning actor and former Globe Theatre director Mark Rylance on a play titled “Nice Fish!”. The play is scheduled to premiere at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, on April 6, 2013.
“Yeah, it’s an ice fishing story,” Jenkins said.
According to the Guthrie Theatre’s website, the play is about two men that are ice fishing. The scene is set on the last day of the season and a blizzard is on its way.
"Unlike the Eskimos, we only have one word for snow but we have a lot of modifiers for the word," Jenkins wrote in his poem, "Too Much Snow".
Jenkins’ work contains little hints, like in the poem “Too Much Snow”, and not so little hints of the Northland, like, “Walking Through a Wall”.
"I got start started at a picnic up in Bowstring in the northern part of the state," Jenkins wrote in his poem, "Walking Through a Wall".
Originally from Enid, Okla., Jenkins’ interest in poetry first developed at a young age.
"I had a creative writing class in high school and there was a little competition going on between two or three of us to see who could come up with the best story," Jenkins said. "So, to liven up the game I wrote a poem."
Jenkins moved to Duluth in 1970.
"It was my wife, she was from Duluth. We visited a number of times and decided to move here," Jenkins said.
Living in Duluth had a great effect on Jenkins’ writing.
“Even before I came to Minnesota I was very much influenced by Robert Bly,” Jenkins said.
Bly is a famous American poet from Madison, Minn.
"When you live in a place, you are going to write about it," Jenkins said. "But, it doesn't mean you can't use your imagination."
It is not only the natural beauty Jenkins looks to for inspiration, but also the man-made beauty.
“Walking around the streets of Duluth is interesting,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins’ Northland themes have gained him some attention.
His work has earned many awards, including the George Morrison Award in 2000, as well as two Bush Foundation Fellowships for poetry.
Jenkins' poetry has even made its way to radio. Jenkins read his work on National Public Radio's program, A Prairie Home Companion.
"I just kept doing what I was doing all these years," Jenkins said. "In recent years I have gotten some attention for my writing."
Jenkins’ writing style has even grabbed the attention of Tony-Award winning actor Mark Rylance.
“Mark used one of my poems for his acceptance speech at the Tony Award,” Jenkins said. “It completely confused the audience. It was fun.”
At the 2011 Tony Awards, Rylance once again used one of Jenkins' poems in his speech. The poem he used was “Walking Through a Wall”.
According to Jenkins, "Nice Fish!" has been in the works since 2008. The production is a work of Rylance’s script that is based off of Jenkins poems.