Copper Chimney Lounge Poetry Series: Laura Apol and Toby Altman

Poets Laura Apol and Toby Altman will serve as the featured readers at the Lansing Poetry Club’s Copper Chimney Lounge Poetry Series event on Sunday, with an open mic to follow. Donations are welcome but not required, and free parking will be available behind the church.

Apol and Altman work with compassion to shine a light on human relationships and minds. The terms “revelation,” “laser-focused” and “curiously healing” will put a listener in the right headspace for their lyrical realms.

Apol has authored six full-length collections of poetry, including “A Fine Yellow Dust” and, most recently, “Cauterized.” Her accolades include the Midwest Book Award for poetry, the Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) Silver Medal and two Oklahoma Book Awards. She was also a finalist for the Housatonic Book Award and shortlisted for the Julie Suk Poetry Award. She is an associate professor at Michigan State University and was the Lansing poet laureate from 2019 to 2021.

Altman is the author of “Jewel Box” (Essay Press, 2026), “Discipline Park” (Wendy’s Subway, 2023) and “Arcadia, Indiana” (Plays Inverse, 2017). He has held fellowships with the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in Fine Arts, MacDowell and the National Endowment for the Arts. He is an assistant professor at Michigan State University, where he also serves as director of the RCAH Center for Poetry.