About Karen
Pushcart Prize Nominee, 2009 Poets and Writers Magazine Debut poet, writer and creative writing workshop facilitator, Karen S. Williams, a native of Inkster, Michigan, writes poetry and creative prose, much of it anchored in topics exploring the Christian spiritual quest; autobiography/memoir; science and nature; American medicine; history; American arts & culture; the woman's life journey; and personal transformation & growth.

Featured on American public radio's "Weekend America" program, and also an avid journal keeper, Karen is a Cave Canem African-American Poetry Fellow and author of, Elegy For A Scarred Shoulder, (Willow Books, 2008), Marine Life: A World in Poems, Willow Books, 2010), the forthcoming poetry chapbook, Peninsula: Poems of Michigan (Willow Books, 2014), and Inkster's Daughter: Poems (Willow Books, 2015).

Elegy..., in particular, focuses on African-America's health and medical experience spanning from the slavery era until contemporary times. The book was a finalist for the 2004 Naomi Long Madgett/Lotus Press Poetry Award. Elegy... has also been nominated for the State of Michigan 20 Most Notable Books for the Year 2009 Award

Karen is also the writer/researcher for The Color of Health, a television documentary in development that is produced and directed by award-winning Jay Fedigan Video of Boston, Massuchussetts,. The Color of Health addresses modern-day African-American health status and historical health disparities that has affected it. Click here to read the Color of Health treatment.

Karen's poetry, fiction and essays have been published in numerous journals, magazines, newspapers, and anthologies including Tavis Smiley's  Keeping the Faith (Doubleday), Bum Rush the Page (Three Rivers Press), Spirit and Flame (Syracuse University Press), Abandon Automobile (Wayne State University Press), The Nubian Gallery (Blackfax Publications), Gathering Ground (University of Michigan Press), Beyond the Frontier (Black Classics Press), Black Hair: Art, Style and Culture (Universe Books), Bahiyah Woman Magazine, It's Worth the Struggle: Inspiration for Contemporary Writers, Paradise Valley Days, Inner Visions, Day's Dawn, Reverie Journal, Poetry Motel, Midwest Poetry Review, Poetic Resonance Imaging, Sunday Suitor, Point Judith Light, Canto, Contraband, Bouilliabase, Poetry Motel, Luna Negra, Cave Canem Anthologies 1999, 2000, and 2001, Food for the Spirit, The Iconoclast, Silver Wings, Broadside Press Broadside Series, United Nations Poetry Anthology, and Open City, among others. 

A Cave Canem Workshop for African-American Poets fellow, a Broadside Press Poet, a Hurston-Wright Poet, and a Squaw Valley Poet, she is the former Senior Poetry Editor, and Chair of the Board of the award-winning Detroit Writer's Guild.




Karen S. Williams has Read, Spoke or Taught
at the Following Venues (Partial List):

WDET-FM Radio - The Ralph Valdez Show
WCHB-AM Radio - The Mikal Featchurs Show
WOUB-AM Radio - New Black Directions
Mount Saint Alphonsus Retreat House, Esopus, New York
Downriver Arts Council, Taylor, MI
Inkster High School, Inkster, MI
Cranbrook Educational Community,
Bloomfield Hills,MI
Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, MI
University of Michigan-Dearborn, MI
University of Detroit-Mercy, Detroit, MI
The Ohio University, Athens, OH
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Wayne County Community College District,
Taylor, MI Campus
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Broadside Press Poets Theater, Detroit, MI
Grande Cafe, Farmington, MI
Midwest Poets and Writers Conference, Detroit, MI
The Book Cellar Bookstore, Plymouth, MI
The Scarab Club, Detroit, MI
Hipology Poetry Series, Detroit, MI
Coffee and Cream, Detroit, MI
Cass Cafe, Detroit, MI
Caroline Kennedy Library, Dearborn Heights, MI
Highland Park Public Library, Highland Park, Mi
Barnes and Noble Books, Allen Park
Barnes and Noble Books, Detroit, MI
Borders Books, Utica, MI
Hillberry Theater, Detroit, M
Southfield Civic Center, Southfield, MI
City of Inkster Public Library, Inkster, MI
Wayne County General Hospital, Westland, MI
Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center, MI
Detroit Opera House, MI
Detroit Unity Temple, Detroit, MI
Cass United Methodist Church, Detroit, MI
Conant Memorial United Methodist Church, MI
Womack Temple CME Church, Inkster, MI
Amity Baptist Church, MI
Good News Christian Center, Inkster, MI
St. James United Methodist Church, Westland, MI
Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, Westland, MI
Detroit Public Library, Detroit, MI
Greystone International Jazz Museum, Detroit, MI
Charles Wright Museum of African-American History, Detroit, MI


Meet Karen S. Williams