Jesse Koenig, a senior success adviser at Northern Michigan University, was recently named the new U.P. Poet Laureate. His path to poetry began as a teenager looking for an outlet, sparked by a book whose raw, approachable style showed him that anyone with a pen and paper could begin writing.
Originally from southeastern Wisconsin, Koenig spent summers near the U.P. border, shaping his sense of place. He describes himself as a “not-nature poet,” drawn less to postcard landscapes and more to the mix of beauty and difficulty found in everyday life. His studies in philosophy and English further shaped his work, encouraging him to question assumptions about identity, beauty, and social norms — questions that often appear in his poetry and prose.
Koenig learned of his selection while commuting and was surprised by the news, viewing it as meaningful validation after years of creative uncertainty. As laureate, he plans to connect the region’s often-isolated writers. His project focuses on linking scattered writing groups across the U.P., inspired by his experience sustaining a community writing circle at a tribal college by partnering with existing networks.
Kurt Hauswirth spoke with Koenig in our studio:
He envisions a combination of virtual and in-person outreach to reach communities across the peninsula, and hopes to make poetry feel accessible to younger writers and those who may feel intimidated by traditional forms. His work frequently explores tensions between beauty and hardship, and he aims to present the U.P. without romanticizing it.
A key goal of his term is creating an interactive map or database of writing groups, venues, and resources — a structure future laureates can build on. For Koenig, poetry is as much about community as craft, and he hopes to help writers across the region feel connected rather than alone.
Visit the U.P. Poet Laureate Foundation website for more information, and find Koenig's book of flash fiction and prose poetry, "Brief Perversions" on Goodreads.
