MARQUETTE– Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate 2016-2017 George Elliott Clarke announced on WNMU-TV PBS “Media Meet” that the U.P. Poet Laureate 2021-2022 is M. Bartley Seigel of Houghton.

Top five finalists included Tyler Dettloff (Bay Mills/Marquette/Sault Ste. Marie), April Lindala (Marquette), Beverly Matherne (Ishpeming/Marquette), and Rosalie Sanara Petrouske (Marquette/Munising), according to a press release.

Unable to be announced on the show due to time constraints was the runner-up, Tyler Dettloff.

M. Bartley Seigel is a co-founder, with Roxane Gay, of the esteemed literary journal Pank, as well as teaches at Michigan Technological University and is considered to be one of the top poets from the Upper Peninsula.

Dettloff, the runner-up, teaches at Lake Superior State University and is known equally for his talents as a musician and a poet.

Both writers received a majority of the votes from those solicited both publicly and privately.

Seigel replaces previous four-year U.P. Poet Laureate Marty Achatz, who said of holding the position, “It has been one of the greatest privileges of my life to serve as Poet Laureate these last four years. I love the work of each and every one of the finalists, and choosing a laureate from them is like picking your favorite plume from a peacock’s tail. So much talent and beauty. Congratulations to our new Poet Laureate, Matt. I’m excited to see what he will do for poetry and the Upper Peninsula in the upcoming two years.”

Event organizer Ron Riekki said of Seigel: “When votes were cast, those who voted for Seigel often took the time to write a personal note about how much they love both his poetry and him as a person.

“Those notes were, of course, completely optional, but the voters wished to further their support of Seigel beyond simply their vote, but by also praising his commitments to community service and his passion for poetry. The same was true of the runner-up, Tyler Dettloff.”

The breakdown of U.P. Poet Laureate and runner-up recipients for the last decade includes the following renowned poets from the region:

U.P. Poet Laureate 2021-2022-M. Bartley Seigel

U.P. Poet Laureate 2021-2022 runner-up-Tyler Dettloff

U.P. Poet Laureate 2019-2020-Marty Achatz

U.P. Poet Laureate 2019-2020 runner-up-Sally Brunk

U.P. Poet Laureate 2017-2018-Marty Achatz

U.P. Poet Laureate 2017-2018 runner-up-Kathleen Heideman

U.P. Poet Laureate 2015-2016-Andrea Scarpino

U.P. Poet Laureate 2015-2016 runner-up-Beverly Matherne

U.P. Poet Laureate 2013-2014-Russell Thorburn

U.P. Poet Laureate 2013-2014 runner-up-Elinor Benedict