Michelle R. Smith is a writer, poet, educator, cultural facilitator, and native Clevelander. She is the 2025-2027 Heights Poet Laureate, Programming Director for Literary Cleveland, and author of the poetry collections Ariel in Black (2015) and The Vagina Analogues (2020). Her work has appeared in The Normal School, The Gasconade Review, New Note Poetry, Merge Magazine, and io Literary Magazine, among other publications. She is also the creator, co-producer, and director of BLAX MUSEUM, an annual February performance showcase for Northeast Ohio artists open to all forms and dedicated to honoring notable Black figures in American history and culture.