Michigan Poet Laureate and the Marion Hayden Jazz Trio

Name: Michigan Poet Laureate and the Marion Hayden Jazz Trio
Start: 2026-06-17T19:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-06-17T20:00:00-04:00
Location: 360 West Western Avenue Muskegon, MI 49440

Schedule

Wed Jun 17 2026 at 07:00 pm to 08:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

360 West Western Avenue Muskegon, MI 49440 | Muskegon, MI

Sign up - it's FREE! https://muskegonadl.bibliocommons.com/v2/events/69e285fabd9a3c316a539779
MADL is thrilled to host Michigan Poet Laureate Dr. Melba Joyce Boyd in celebration of Juneteenth, in partnership with the West Michigan Symphony. Join Dr. Boyd and the acclaimed classical jazz Marion Hayden Trio for an evening of poetry, music, and history that is not to be missed.
Melba Joyce Boyd, the Poet Laureate of Michigan, and the Marion Hayden Trio, will present a program of poetry and jazz. Boyd and Hayden provide a unique collaborative experience that illuminates sonic and thematic parallels and patterns in communication in concert. Hayden’s keen perception of the poetic elements in Boyd’s poetry elevates and expands the creative experience with original musical compositions derived from Boyd’s poetry.
Hayden has had a more than 20-year collaboration with State of Michigan Poet Laureate Dr. Melba Joyce Boyd- creating original musical landscapes to accompany Boyd's rich tapestry of poetry. Featured with the Marion Hayden Legacy Trio is Pianist Ian Finkelstein and Drummer Tariq Gardner.
Melba Joyce Boyd
Detroit native, Melba Joyce Boyd, is the third Poet Laureate of the State of Michigan and the 2023 Kresge Eminent Artist. She is the award-winning writer of nine books of poetry, the biographies of two major African American writers, Dudley Randall (1914-200) and Frances E. W. Harper (1825-1911), editor of Roses and Revolutions: The Selected Writings of Dudley Randall, and co-editor with M.L. Liebler of Abandon Automobile: Detroit Poetry 2001. She has also over 100 published essays, as well as director of two documentary films about Detroit poets, Dudley Randall and Naomi Long Madgett. She is a Distinguished Professor Emerita of African American Studies at Wayne State University, and adjunct professor in Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan.
Boyd’s poem, “The Museum Was Once a Dream,” is engraved in bronze and appears on the dedication wall of the Wright Museum of African American History. Lines from her poem, “We Want Our City Back,” appears in the sculpture, “Michigan’s Tribute to Labor,” in Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit, and “Maple Red” appears in the Detroit Institute of Arts adjacent to the painting by Ed Clark.
Marion Hayden Legacy Trio
The Bass speaks in the hands of Marion Hayden. Named the 2025 Kresge Eminent Artist by the Kresge Foundation. Hayden was mentored by master trumpeter Marcus Belgrave; and began performing jazz at the age of 15. She has performed with such diverse luminaries as Bobby McFerrin, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Geri Allen, Regina Carter, Steve Turre, David Allen Grier, James Carter and Nancy Wilson.
Widely recognized as an advocate for the preservation of cultural and artistic legacy, Hayden was honored with the prestigious Kresge Artist Fellowship, the Spirit of Detroit Award and the Jazz Hero Award from the National Assoc. of Jazz Journalists.
Her creative practice centers around her ensemble Legacy which performs original, narrative driven compositional works within the framework of improvised music with an emphasis on African American and diasporic music.
She is a co-founder of the Grammy nominated ensemble Straight Ahead- the first all-woman jazz ensemble signed to a major record label.