The Michigan Poet publishes poems by Michigan poets on posters in their local communities as well as on our website: http: //themichiganpoet.com. This collection contains poetry from our first five years, including work by: Therese Becker Elinor Benedict Russell Brakefield Don Cellini Patricia Clark Michael Delp Chris Dungey Robert Fanning Kelly Fordon Linda Nemec Foster Joy Gaines Friedler Deborah Gang Judith Goren Leigh C Grant Robert Haight Chris Haven Diane Henningfeld Gordon Henry David Hornibrook Amorak Huey David James W. Todd Kaneko Elizabeth Kerlikowske L. S. Klatt Matthew Kolb Caroline Maun Kathleen McGookey Ken Meisel Ken Mikolowski Judith Minty Cindy Hunter Morgan Edward Morin Tracey Morris Lynn Pattison Miriam Pederson Rosalie Petrouske Susan Blackwell Ramsey Janeen Rastall Jack Ridl Linda Leedy Schnieder Carol Smallwood Holly Wren Spaulding Phillip Sterling Alison Swan Jonathan Jay Taylor Keith Taylor Jamie Thomas Eric Torgersen Catherine Turnbull Robert VanderMolen The Michigan Poet offers Michigan communities a chance to discover the great literary culture of a state largely known for industry. 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 affirms Michigan as a state of important art and unique culture. Here's what current Michigan poets say about this collection: "At a time when poems come at us on the internet-fast and furious and often carrying the same weight-we might wonder if there are any regional connections left. But in this collection there's a lot of snow, of deer, of water and sand. Then there are cars and roads and concrete. The combinations in our poems-of the wild and the post-industrial-mirror the troubled but fruitful contradictions of our state. These poems are the ways we understand ourselves." -Keith Taylor, author of 15 collections of poetry, coordinator of the undergraduate program in Creative Writing at the University of Michigan, Bear River Writers' Conference Director, and poetry editor for Michigan Quarterly Review. "A poem is a bridge of language, a gate to the nation of another heart. If by the making and reading of poetry, we allow for the crossing and communion of such foreign, such familiar light-so we deepen, brighten, nourish, define and open: self, home, community, state and world. If you need such crossings, if you seek such pleasant peninsulas, look in these pages, in these poems." -Robert Fanning, award-winning poet, professor at Central Michigan University, and facilitator of the Wellspring Literary Series. "There is a deep sense of place and personal history that resonates throughout this anthology. And even though the collection is titled The Michigan Poet, these poems have no borders: from a quiet memory of honey and lemons in Croatia to Detroit's concrete blossoming into vegetables in a parking lot. Michigan has nurtured some remarkable poets and that community is represented here-diverse voices that reflect the essence of lakes, woods, dunes, rivers, trees, and the human heart. A distinct song that embraces the world." -Linda Nemec Foster, author of nine poetry collections, first Poet Laureate of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and founder of the Contemporary Writers Series at Aquinas College.