ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Thursday, a poet from Michigan came back home to the U.P. to speak at Bay College.
John LaPine is a graduate of Ishpeming High School and Northern Michigan University. He earned a master’s degree in poetry from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and currently teaches at Century College in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
LaPine read from his own works to an enthusiastic crowd in the Bay College library. He began with an essay about alcohol use during the pandemic, which will appear in a book he plans to release in 2025.
LaPine also read several poems. Subjects ranged from the effects of wildfires in California to social and political issues.
“America, can’t you hear them?” one of LaPine’s poems reads in part. “Their barking approaches like wild dogs. Should I buy a house or should I emigrate? Perhaps I’ll drink a bottle of wine and start again somewhere else. America, my head’s making that funny noise again.”
The reading was presented by Bay College’s Diversity Committee and Creative Writing class. The creative writing instructor says hearing from published writers like LaPine gives students unique insights they can use to improve their work.
