Karla Huston


Karla Huston is an American poet in Appleton, Wisconsin. She was the Poet Laureate of Wisconsin, serving a two-year term from 2017 to 2018.
Huston is the author of eleven chapbooks of poems, the latest Grief Bone,, and a full collection A Theory of Lipstick, Huston's work has garnered many awards, including a Pushcart Prize for the poem "Theory of Lipstick." She received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association for her collection of the same title. Her writing has earned residencies at Ragdale Foundation as well as the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Her chapbook, Flight Patterns won the Main Street Rag Chapbook Contest in 2003. Huston has also been awarded three Jade Rings from Wisconsin Writers Association.

Life and education

Huston was born February 11, 1949 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, raised in West Salem, Wisconsin. She attended the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1993.
Huston earned her Master of Arts/ Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 2003. She taught creative writing and literature at Neenah High School, Neenah, Wisconsin, from 1994 to 2009.

Books