Embrace Your Community:
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The Michigan Poet, founded in 2010 by Foster Neill, aims to bring the work of local Michigan poets to the attention of their community, for, as their website states, “The Michigan Poet believes art enriches our lives, and fosters positive, creative, and unique identities that are essential to the success of any community.” The Michigan Poet believes in the literary value of our state, and through the release of broadsides displayed in local businesses, schools, and other organizations, brings this art culture to the attention of the community.
The Michigan Poetry Celebration honored this tradition of bringing great poetry to the community. Many community members and students came out on a stormy night for an evening of great poetry, music, and jokes about cell phones that truly celebrated the literary and art culture of Michigan.
Zachary Riddle, Editor-in Chief of Temenos, had the chance to correspond with The Michigan Poet founder and editor, Foster Neill.
The Michigan Poetry Celebration honored this tradition of bringing great poetry to the community. Many community members and students came out on a stormy night for an evening of great poetry, music, and jokes about cell phones that truly celebrated the literary and art culture of Michigan.
Zachary Riddle, Editor-in Chief of Temenos, had the chance to correspond with The Michigan Poet founder and editor, Foster Neill.
ZR: As you said at the start of the Michigan Poetry Celebration, and as it states on The Michigan Poet’s website, the goal of The Michigan Poet is to reach those who otherwise might not have pursued poetry. This is a wonderful goal, and I’m wondering: what was the inspiration for this—or, more generally, the inspiration of The Michigan Poet—and why is it important for Michigan communities?
FN: My biggest motivation was selfish. I wasn't writing or doing anything with poetry, and I felt like I needed to do something to keep my head in the game. I wanted to connect with the best “local” poets and I wanted to put some pressure on myself to do something with poetry. A lot of credit goes to Phillip Sterling, who helped mentor The Michigan Poet in the first years, and was the initial inspiration for the mode of publishing (as a means of keeping myself involved) and of the broadside format. I was especially attracted to the format of broadsides as a means of gaining the public's readership. I studied at a small school for my undergraduate degree and the community there was very tight-knit and supportive of each other. I saw that the place I live can be more than just my own home—what I, what we, make of our communities will change how we feel about ourselves, our lives. I wanted to bring that heart to my own community, and offer other communities in Michigan the same.
ZR: The Michigan Poet: Collected Poems 2010 – 2015, which yourself and Jonathan Taylor edited, is a fantastic anthology, both regarding content and layout. As most of our readers have little knowledge on the process of putting an anthology together, could you tell us briefly about that process? What was the inspiration for creating the anthology? When selecting poems for the anthology, did you look for specific themes, images, or forms?
FN: The anthology is actually just a straight forward collection of all the poems we've ever published. The Michigan Poet works not only to expand poetry's readership, but also to establish a literary identity for the state. So, when we got to 6 years of publication, we had enough to create a full-length book. I think of it as a sort of Audubon style book of Michigan poets. We’re especially proud of our ‘poet’s paragraphs,’ which aren’t the typical poet’s bios, and are aimed at lending a humanity to our poets beyond their literary accomplishments.
It's been especially important to me that we have a range of voices, and that those voices have names and faces so that our audience can look at our book and see just who the poetry community of Michigan is. There are people in the literary world that think the writer's life, their identity as a person beyond authorship, is unnecessary information for readers, but I'd argue that's a mistake; that seeing writers or artists as people, as neighbors, is vital to cultural development; that we need to see creative people in our communities. Culture creates art, but art also creates culture.
It's amazing how much information we share and how freely we can share it and how little we know about the people who live around us. I think we need visual reminders that the people next door are important, are amazing, and should be cherished.
ZR: There is a visual component to The Michigan Poet. The broadsides that are distributed throughout communities often have some stunning visuals that go alongside the poems. How is the visual art selected? Is it often selected to coincide with the content of the poem?
FN: I love that you ask this question, because we spend a lot of time selecting and honing the art. The art is always selected to coincide with the content of the poem. It's very important to us that the poem takes center stage, that the text is legible from a distance and for those who may have poor vision. We source our art from the public domain, often using images from the National Gallery of Art. Which means running lots of searches on their website and going through hundreds of art pieces until we find 3-5 that might work. From there, we'll mock up a few drafts and print them and see what works and what doesn't. Often, we end up cropping the image and adding semi-transparent layers to illuminate the poem.
ZR: If you could offer any advice to young Michiganian writers of poetry, fiction, or otherwise, what might you say to them?
FN: Probably the number one thing is to read a lot. Read the classics, and read contemporary. But I think there's another component that isn't emphasized, and that's doing something in the field. That might mean organizing events, or working for a publication, or even creating your own publication. It could be anything you can imagine, but whatever it is, when I say “do something,” I don't mean for yourself, I mean for the community. There's just no way to do anything in the field without getting to know others and learning what's possible. It might not make you a better writer, but it will make you a better connected one, and it will ground you, and it will open doors of opportunity that you won't get any other way.
FN: My biggest motivation was selfish. I wasn't writing or doing anything with poetry, and I felt like I needed to do something to keep my head in the game. I wanted to connect with the best “local” poets and I wanted to put some pressure on myself to do something with poetry. A lot of credit goes to Phillip Sterling, who helped mentor The Michigan Poet in the first years, and was the initial inspiration for the mode of publishing (as a means of keeping myself involved) and of the broadside format. I was especially attracted to the format of broadsides as a means of gaining the public's readership. I studied at a small school for my undergraduate degree and the community there was very tight-knit and supportive of each other. I saw that the place I live can be more than just my own home—what I, what we, make of our communities will change how we feel about ourselves, our lives. I wanted to bring that heart to my own community, and offer other communities in Michigan the same.
ZR: The Michigan Poet: Collected Poems 2010 – 2015, which yourself and Jonathan Taylor edited, is a fantastic anthology, both regarding content and layout. As most of our readers have little knowledge on the process of putting an anthology together, could you tell us briefly about that process? What was the inspiration for creating the anthology? When selecting poems for the anthology, did you look for specific themes, images, or forms?
FN: The anthology is actually just a straight forward collection of all the poems we've ever published. The Michigan Poet works not only to expand poetry's readership, but also to establish a literary identity for the state. So, when we got to 6 years of publication, we had enough to create a full-length book. I think of it as a sort of Audubon style book of Michigan poets. We’re especially proud of our ‘poet’s paragraphs,’ which aren’t the typical poet’s bios, and are aimed at lending a humanity to our poets beyond their literary accomplishments.
It's been especially important to me that we have a range of voices, and that those voices have names and faces so that our audience can look at our book and see just who the poetry community of Michigan is. There are people in the literary world that think the writer's life, their identity as a person beyond authorship, is unnecessary information for readers, but I'd argue that's a mistake; that seeing writers or artists as people, as neighbors, is vital to cultural development; that we need to see creative people in our communities. Culture creates art, but art also creates culture.
It's amazing how much information we share and how freely we can share it and how little we know about the people who live around us. I think we need visual reminders that the people next door are important, are amazing, and should be cherished.
ZR: There is a visual component to The Michigan Poet. The broadsides that are distributed throughout communities often have some stunning visuals that go alongside the poems. How is the visual art selected? Is it often selected to coincide with the content of the poem?
FN: I love that you ask this question, because we spend a lot of time selecting and honing the art. The art is always selected to coincide with the content of the poem. It's very important to us that the poem takes center stage, that the text is legible from a distance and for those who may have poor vision. We source our art from the public domain, often using images from the National Gallery of Art. Which means running lots of searches on their website and going through hundreds of art pieces until we find 3-5 that might work. From there, we'll mock up a few drafts and print them and see what works and what doesn't. Often, we end up cropping the image and adding semi-transparent layers to illuminate the poem.
ZR: If you could offer any advice to young Michiganian writers of poetry, fiction, or otherwise, what might you say to them?
FN: Probably the number one thing is to read a lot. Read the classics, and read contemporary. But I think there's another component that isn't emphasized, and that's doing something in the field. That might mean organizing events, or working for a publication, or even creating your own publication. It could be anything you can imagine, but whatever it is, when I say “do something,” I don't mean for yourself, I mean for the community. There's just no way to do anything in the field without getting to know others and learning what's possible. It might not make you a better writer, but it will make you a better connected one, and it will ground you, and it will open doors of opportunity that you won't get any other way.
More information about The Michigan Poet can be found on its website at https://themichiganpoet.com/
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