Meet the new Grand Rapids poet laureate

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Grand Rapids has a new poet laureate.

Christine Stephens-Krieger will officially become the new Grand Rapids poet laureate in April. Her tenure will be marked with a commencement on April 28 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Main Library, where outgoing poet laureate Ericka “Kyd Kane” Thompson will share some remarks.

Stephens-Krieger, born and raised in Grand Rapids, has been writing since she was in third grade, spurred by a love of books. She began writing poetry in high school, starting with “cringe-worthy stuff,” she joked. Her interest and knowledge of poetry grew going into college.

She found that the writing form is good for mental health and creating connections with others, she told News 8.

“When I was young, I always thought that when I grew up, I would be smart enough to be able to say how I felt about things,” she said. “Because when I was young it was kind of incomprehensible how I was feeling, it was very big. There were no words for it. And I thought that, ‘One day I will be able to put this into words.'”

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She said she found poetry as the way to do that.

Stephens-Krieger, is working on a book and has been published in several magazines and journals. She has won places in GVSU’s Oldenberg Writing Contest, the Dyer-Ives Poetry Competition and the McGuffin Michigan Poet Hunt. She also served as the coordinator for the Dyer-Ives competition for 14 years.

The poet said she finds inspiration for her work in nature. Her work explores her connection to the world, leading to self-understanding, healing and communication.

She has several favorite poets, like Ada Limon, Seamus Heaney, Naomi Shihab Nye and Li-Young Lee. She also has several favorite local poets, like Miriam Pederson, Patricia Clark and Linda Nemec Foster.

“Grand Rapids poets inspire me every day,” she said. “I’m amazed at all of the open mics that are around town … the slam scene, the people who create these opportunities. I’m amazed by The Diatribe. I am amazed by even the poetry at Fountain Street and so many other pockets of poetry in Grand Rapids.”

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In 2021, she set out on a project called An Oral History of Poetry in Grand Rapids. Through the project, she interviewed 50 people, including all previous Grand Rapids poet laureates, creating 27 hours of footage.

“The oral history project is all about recognizing, celebrating and uplifting Grand Rapids poets,” she said. “I want to do more of that.”

As the city’s new poet laureate, Stephens-Krieger will continue that project, aiming to eventually turn it into a documentary. The project goes back 50 years, and through the interviews she learned that Grand Rapids isn’t just Furniture City or Beer City — it’s also a poetry city.

The city has had a poet laureate, a program now supported by the Grand Rapids Public Library Foundation, since 2003. It’s also had the Dyer-Ives poetry Competition since 1968.

“Grand Rapids has been encouraged to write poetry for the past 56 years,” she said. “That was part of the purpose of the competition, is to create. To show that poetry is valued, that it has value. … It does important things in a community and I think Grand Rapids is case in point for that.”

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In her new role, which she’ll serve in for three years, Stephens-Krieger said she’s most excited to continue to that work. She’s nervous about public speaking, as she’ll do things like read a poem for term-limited Mayor Rosalynn Bliss at a tribute event.

“That terrifies me. But it also excites me,” she said. “I think all of my fear is good fear, because it propels me to step up to the opportunity, and the possibilities and the good work.”

As she gets ready to take on the Grand Rapids poet laureate position, Stephens-Krieger shared her advice for new poets.

“One of the best things that you can do as a new poet is to, when you’re first going into a draft, write without criticizing yourself. Just allow yourself to be expressive, to say what comes to you,” she said. “(Don’t) worry about what other people think.”

Then let the poem sit, she said, and don’t read it for at least a day.

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“Otherwise you could be a little bit too critical, if you read it right away. But if, say, you read it tomorrow — like after a good night sleep — you’ll be able to see some merit in there, and something that is just sparkling, a little sparkling thing in there that you can (say), ‘Oh, I see what I did there. That’s a value, I want to bring that out.'”

Along with writing, new poets should also read poetry, local or national work, she shared, adding that the Grand Rapids Public Library has a great selection.

“I think everyone should write,” she said. “Everyone has the capacity to gain something from writing, whether it’s poetry or just a journal entry. There’s a famous quote, that’s: ‘How do I know what I think until I see what I say?’ And I think that’s really apparent in poetry, that we reveal inner selves in a way that can be really surprising and beautiful.”

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