Detroit Poetry Community Mourns Poet Laureate Naomi Long Madgett (1923–2020)

Detroit Poet Laureate Naomi Long Madgett has passed away at the age of 97, reports the Detroit Free Press. "Madgett was born Naomi Cornelia Long in Norfolk, Virginia, but came to Detroit in 1946," writes John Monaghan. She authored several collections of poems, including Octavia and Other Poems (1988, 2002), and, "[f]rustrated by the lack of publishers for black poets," started Lotus Press (now Broadside Lotus Press) in 1972. More:

Her poetry was influenced by Emily Dickinson, John Keats and especially Langston Hughes, whom she cited as a mentor. Her poems often mirror the blues-based lyricism of Hughes' work, casting a light on themes of African American spirituality and civil rights.

“What I have done with my life is only what I was supposed to do,” Madgett said during a reading at the Charles Wright Museum of African American History in 2017.

“I believe the purpose of my life is to serve, to make a positive difference in someone's life, to redirect someone who is heading in the wrong direction, to be a good role model, to inspire someone to lead a more meaningful life.”

While funeral arrangements are pending, Madgett is being memorialized by the area's arts community through social media. “We have lost one of Detroit's brightest lights,” said Rochelle Riley, the city's director of arts and culture, “someone whose genius spanned generations. She was indeed the godmother of African-American poetry.”

Read more—including a poem by Madgett, titled "Midway"—at Detroit Free Press. Our condolences to the poet's community, friends, and family.