Poetry could be coming to billboards in Michigan this fall.
The project’s part of an effort by Michigan’s poet laureate to showcase other poets from the state. It’s supported with a fellowship award from the Academy of American Poets.
Michigan poet laureate Nandi Comer spoke with WDET’s The Metro on Tuesday about her project.
“I wanted to showcase Michigan poets in their own communities so we as a city, as a town, as a municipality can see our poets physically and know who they are and really celebrate them,” Comer said.
She added Michigan has a long legacy in the poetry space to be proud of.
“I think because poets oftentimes have trouble celebrating themselves, we sometimes forget how rich our history is in poetics. We’ve never really had a drought in talent,” Comer said.
The Michigan Department of Education, which helps oversee Michigan’s poet laureate program, said the billboards will feature works from poets Brittany Rogers, Jonah Mixon-Webster, and M. Bartley Seigel.
The displays will be going up in areas with high foot traffic around their hometowns of Detroit, Flint, and Houghton.
