Events › Michigan Poet Laureate: Dr. Melba Joyce Boyd Poetry Reading

Please join us as we welcome Michigan Poet Laureate Melba Joyce Boyd to mid-Michigan! 

Dr. Boyd's reading at the East Lansing Public Library serves as a keynote address to the Lansing Poetry Club's Poets' Roundtable Conference, being held the following day at the Library of Michigan in Lansing, where she will offer a workshop.

A reception and book signing will follow the reading. Books will be available for purchase. 

This event will be livestreamed on the East Lansing Public Library's Facebook page. 

"Dr. Boyd’s reading and workshop are a major cultural event in the tri-county area—an opportunity for local writers and community members to connect with and learn from an iconic Michigan artist.

Dr. Boyd is a renowned poet, scholar, and community maker with deep roots in Michigan creative communities. Her life and work is rooted in Detroit. She began her career as an assistant editor to Dudley Randall, founder of the legendary Broadside Press. She has gone on to publish thirteen books, including nine books of poetry, and a series of scholarly monographs which illuminate Black creative history. She is Distinguished Professor in African American Studies at Wayne State University, and a recipient of Kresge Arts Detroit’s 2023 Eminent Artist Award. She was named Michigan’s third Poet Laureate in February 2025."

Presented in partnership with the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities.