Michelle R. Smith is a writer, poet, educator, cultural facilitator, and native Clevelander. She is the author of the poetry collections Ariel in Black (2015) and The Vagina Analogues (2020).
Michelle R. Smith is a writer, poet, educator, cultural facilitator, and native Clevelander. She is the Programming Director for Literary Cleveland, 2025-2026 Poet Laureate for Cleveland Heights & University Heights, and author of the poetry collections Ariel in Black (2015) and The Vagina Analogues (2020). Her poetry microzine, black, live matters: a collection of katauta for an activist husband (rinky dink press), was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2024. She has been published in The Normal School, The Gasconade Review, New Note Poetry, Merge Magazine, io Literary Magazine, and other places. She has been a featured reader, instructor, performer, and panelist at The Lakewood Public Library, The East Cleveland Public Library, The Cuyahoga County Public Library-South Euclid-Lyndhurst Branch, The Cleveland Museum of Arts, Case Western Reserve University’s Writers House, Imposters Theater, BorderLight Theatre Festival, and Maelstrom Collaborative Arts. She is also the creator, co-producer, director, and host of BLAX MUSEUM, an annual performance showcase for Northeast Ohio artists open to all forms and dedicated to honoring notable black figures in American history and culture.
