Bards of Northern Michigan: Live Poetry Reading
2026-04-21 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Detroit) | Charlevoix Public Library, 220 West Clinton St, Charlevoix, MI, 49720, United States
Charlevoix Public Library
For more information, please feel free to contact the Charlevoix Public Library at 231-237-7340 or email us at reference@charlevoixlibrary.org and visit our website at www.charlevoixlibrary.org.
Celebrate National Poetry Month April 1 – 30, 2026

Join us for one of our programs to celebrate National Poetry Month. Our afternoon workshop instructor and emcee for our evening event is author John Mauk. His stories have appeared in a range of publications. He has two full story collections, Field Notes for the Earthbound and Where All Things Flatten. He has also published several textbooks and essays. He hosts Prose from the Underground, a free YouTube video series for working writers.
Poetry Across Genres: Why Writers of All Stripes Should Keep Poets Close
Tuesday, April 21 • 2:00 pm • Registration Required
Community Room
In this workshop, author John Mauk will focus on a crucial poetic element: the unstated or what is sometimes called subtext. We’ll explore the power of ideas that lurk just below the linguistic surface and try some strategies for intensifying that delicate dimension of both prose and poetry. The first twenty people to register will receive a free copy of his latest book, Where All Things Flatten.
Bards of Northern Michigan: Live Poetry Reading
Tuesday, April 21 • 6:00 pm
Community Room (No Registration Required)
Join us for our third annual event celebrating the spoken word. Our emcee and keynote, author John Mauk, will be speaking on “The Poetry of Fiction, Memoir, Essay, and Everything Else.” He will share a few of his favorite poems and explain why all writers should make poems part of their daily study. Some of our talented regional poets will read from their published works. We will have light refreshments to enjoy. All poets will be available to chat, sell, and sign books.
