Jack McMichael Martin

Photo by Leslie Brice Bustamante

Poet and visual artist Michael (“Mike”) Martin (1936-2023) spent his most productive years living and writing on a southwest Virginia mountaintop in a cabin he built by hand.  His poems grant equal respect and love to his rural Appalachian neighbors and to the natural world. His work begs us to remember the forgotten and notice the hidden.  A trained historian, Martin drew arresting connections between nature, history, philosophy, and the tragedies and triumphs within his own family. With words, images, and spoken verse, he resurrected the fallen chestnuts, the ancestors, all of Creation. His timeless work compels us to pause and pay attention in an era of paralyzing distraction and speed. His poems have appeared in journals including Shenandoah, a special section of Pembroke Magazine, and a special issue of Iron Mountain Review devoted to his work. His visual art has been featured in galleries around the Southeast.