Although she initially wanted to be a rapper like Missy Elliott, Kansas City’s first poet laureate, Melissa Ferrer Civil, discovered the magic of the written word through Maya Angelou’s poem, “I Will Rise.” Civil lost her older sister at 12, and it was in the wake of that heartbreak, when the world seemed especially dark and unforgiving, that she discovered poetry’s potential to heal.
Appointed by a government or institution, a poet laureate is an officially recognized poet tasked with performing poems for public events and acting as a community advocate for the arts.
Civil, a Brooklyn-born poet, writer, educator and organizer whose three-year term began on February 1, 2024, has been writing for more than two decades. She centers her life around community, making her the perfect person to spearhead this chapter of the city’s history.
Now that she’s nearing her second year in the role, Kansas City magazine spoke with Civil about her background, her experience being KC’s first-ever poet laureate and her take on what it means to be a poet.
What is it like being the first poet laureate of Kansas City? Honestly, it feels really badass. I’m not someone who tries to put stock in institutional status or values, but I can’t deny the feeling I got when I found out I was going to be the poet laureate, much less the first. To this day, there’s a feeling that comes inside my spirit of elation and also affirmation of my work. I still see myself as a regular, everyday poet, but in my role as poet laureate, I feel that I’m more of a servant to people and our collective higher good.
How did you get the role? It was a simple process. The mayor put out a call for self-nominations. I wasn’t going to do it because there are hella poets in Kansas City that have been here longer, doing amazing things, but enough people sent me the application for me to be like, “All right, fine. I’ll apply for this thing.” I found out I was selected while I was out of town.
Where are some of your favorite local spots to write? My unofficial office is Anchor Island on 41st and Troost. I love that place so much. It’s a community hub. I also really like to write at Cafe Corazón, specifically the Crossroads location, and I’m a Charlotte Street Studio Resident, so I try to write in my studio as much as I can.
What advice would you give to the next poet laureate? Keep your schedule flexible because the city likes to call on the poet laureate at the last minute. But also know that to be a poet laureate is to have your poetry live beyond the page. I think that being deeply connected to and tending to one’s community is of the utmost importance in this position.
What’s on the horizon? Melanated Measures, a community-funded visiting writers series in partnership with BLK + BRWN, is starting up in the new year. We will invite established writers of color to KC for intimate salons as a sort of inoculation into the collective local narrative in the flavor of liberation.
If you could only wear one color for the rest of your life, what would it be? A burnt or mustard yellow.
You can keep up with Melissa on Instagram @melissaferrerand