Naomi Long Madgett

Detroit poet, publisher and educator Naomi Long Madgett has been chosen as the Kresge Foundation’s Eminent Artist for 2012.

Madgett is the author of 10 books of poetry, as well as a 2006 memoir, “Pilgrim Journey.”

In granting the award, the foundation cited her “decades of commitment to originating, illuminating and preserving poetry by African-Americans, and promoting the study and appreciation of African-American literature in schools and universities.”

“If Aretha is the ‘Queen of Soul,’ then Naomi is our internationally acclaimed ‘Queen of Poetry,’” said Detroit poet M.L. Liebler. “She has always been a major pillar in Detroit’s rich literary history for several decades, and she continues to be a significant source of energy for our literary arts scene today.

“Naomi brings to the table her many years of experience as a publisher of one of America’s first African-American presses (The Lotus Press), as a literary arts activist in starting the legendary Boone House collective in the early ’60s and her continued leadership and participation in our scene in the 21st century.”

The poet, who still lives in Detroit, said, “I am really on cloud nine. I had no idea I was being considered.”

Madgett came to Detroit in 1946 as a 22-year-old bride and has degrees from Wayne State University, among other institutions. She started the Lotus Press, one of the country’s most acclaimed black-owned publishers of poetry, in 1972.

The award comes with a prize of $50,000. Madgett is retired from her job as professor of English at Eastern Michigan University, but she continues to run the Lotus Press and has no plans to stop.

“I have never received a penny for all of the work I put into Lotus Press,” she said. “Poetry does not sell well, especially if it’s good poetry, so we could not exist if we could not get donations. I feel so good about the so many very good poets whom I have published, and money doesn’t play into it. So I haven’t thought about what I’ll do with the money.”

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