Author Archives: Katherine Wikoff

About Katherine Wikoff

I am a college professor at Milwaukee School of Engineering, where I teach literature, film studies, political science, and communication. I also volunteer with a Milwaukee homeless sanctuary, Repairers of the Breach, as chair of the Communications and Fund Development Committee.

A haiku for October

Posted on October 19, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

As I was researching AI and art/text generation, doing prep for tomorrow’s Digital Society class, I came across a website purporting to use AI to create poetry. Skeptical but intrigued, I followed the prompts to enter a noun, an adjective, … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, poetry, Teaching | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Through a screen

Posted on October 18, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

I just finished teaching a class in the southeast corner, second floor of Diercks Hall on Milwaukee School of Engineering’s campus in downtown Milwaukee. I had the window screens lowered because it’s a sunny (although blustery) day, and I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

“Hoosiers” – Evoking Nostalgia for America’s Midwestern Autumn

Posted on October 16, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

Hoosiers (1986) gets Midwestern autumn exactly right, both the beauty of the landscape and the nostalgic harkening to a wholesome, mythic era that has slipped into the past. I love this film’s quiet opening, from its first image of headlights … Continue reading →

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October, gray and yellow

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

Who would ever have thought I’d love this combination of colors? I took this photo of the municipal building and the BMO Tower in Milwaukee yesterday afternoon walking back to my office from Discourse, the new coffee shop in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

At the doctor’s office (photos taken while waiting to check in)

Posted on October 12, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

I had an appointment earlier this week and noticed the sunlight in a hallway off to the side while waiting in line to check in. The person at the head of the line was having an extended conversation with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

My own little light at the end of a tunnel

Posted on October 5, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

Stayed late at work last night, although not quite as late as this darkness would seem to indicate. Sunset is coming earlier in Wisconsin these days, and the Grohmann Museum closes at 5 PM. I took this picture on my … Continue reading →

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When life imitates art (or, the imperfection of perfection)

Posted on October 4, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

I walked into my office in the Grohmann Museum on MSOE’s campus the other day and really liked the golden autumn glow of light reflecting from the locust tree outside my window. Especially appealing was the correspondence between the dead … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Creativity, Life, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Two apartment buildings

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

Just a quick photo today. I liked the lines and colors of these two apartment buildings, which I noticed while daydreaming during an extra long stop at the traffic light facing south at Farwell and Ogden thanks to Milwaukee’s train/shuttle, … Continue reading →

Posted in Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A post for Labor Day

Posted on September 5, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

Here’s a Smithsonian article about the Battle of Blair Mountain, a labor uprising from a hundred years ago by coal miners in the hills of West Virginia: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/battle-blair-mountain-largest-labor-uprising-american-history-180978520/ The Battle of Blair Mountain occurred about a year after the Battle … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

A September haiku

Posted on September 3, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

My slightly melancholy ode to the fleeting season . . . September Swallows gathering Morning fog on the water Summer has ended I was looking for a video of swallows gathering to illustrate and found this one. Yikes! Calling Alfred … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Nature | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments