University of Wisconsin School of the Arts at Rhinelander returns for its 50th installment from July 20 to 24. Highlighting offerings for this year’s school program are Beginning Poetry and Advanced Poetry and will be taught by Wisconsin’s Poet Laureate (2011-2012), Bruce Dethlefsen.

Dethlefsen, from Westfield, is the author of A Decent Reed and Something Near the Dance Floor and also Breather, which was awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award in Poetry from the Wisconsin Library Association. As Poet Laureate he has traveled the state conducting poetry writing workshops and has given hundreds of public poetry readings.

Both of Dethlefsen’s classes will be offered as one-day workshops; a new format for School of the Arts at Rhinelander. Beginning Poetry will be offered Saturday, July 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., and Advanced Poetry will be offered Sunday, July 21, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. as well. Registration information is available at the School of the Arts website, www.soawisconsin.org.

Poets create their work from listening and practice, Dethlefsen said, and great poems can come from simple things. “Poets use words to paint the best picture they can for the reader. They have to learn to pay attention, not only to the outside world but to what’s going on inside them.”

Dethlefsen added that poets can be inspired and nurtured. “Having great teachers and reading great poetry helped me become a successful poet,” he said. “Encouragement and support from others, like the members of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, allowed me to accept myself as an artist.”

School of the Arts at Rhinelander 2013 will offer more than 60 classes taught by 30 instructors chosen for their experience in both artistry and teaching. Courses include art, culinary arts and nutrition, digital media, mind/body/spirit and performing arts and writing. Varied class lengths allow flexibility for those who can only attend for a day, a weekend or the entire week.

Classes will be held at James Williams Middle School and Rhinelander High School.