Christine Stephens-Krieger (she/her) is the 8th Poet Laureate of Grand Rapids, Michigan (2024-2027). She has been active in the local poetry scene since the 1990s and has contributed many years of community work to celebrate local poets, including longtime coordination of the Dyer-Ives Poetry Competition and the creation of a project she fund-raised and produced called An Oral History of Poetry in Grand Rapids, which was delivered to the Grand Rapids Public Library Archives in 2024 (also on YouTube #OHPGR). Her current projects include The Grand River Poetry Collective (.com), which is concerned with publishing and creating a network where local poets can share skills and opportunities, as well as a poetry documentary called Poetry is Magic: The Power of Poetry in Grand Rapids. Christine graduated with a BA in English from GVSU and an MFA from WMU in Creative Writing with an emphasis in poetry. She’s currently creating curriculum and teaching in the Frederik Meijer Honors College at GVSU and also teaches at Aquinas College. Christine is widely published in magazines and journals; she’s won first place in the Dyer-Ives Poetry Competition and the MacGuffin Michigan Poet Hunt and was featured in the anthology, PrePress Awards 2: Emerging Michigan Voices. She currently lives in Grand Rapids with husband, author and poet Scott Krieger, and several fabulous cats.