Denise Miller

Denise Miller, Kalamazoo Valley Community College professor, artist, poet and community activist received a B.F.A. from Bowling Green State University in Creative Writing in 1992 and an M.A. from Central Michigan University in 1995. Miller is the co-founder of Fire and its Public Arts Director. She designs, maintains and manages Fire’s website and graphic identity and directs its culinary arts program. As a scholar, Miller has worked to encourage student research and understanding of historical and cultural resources. Currently, Miller produces poetry, art, public readings and exhibitions, and classroom and academic lectures on the subjects of women, slavery and society. Through a grant funded by an Emerging Artists Grant from the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo and the Gilmore Foundation she served as the artistic director of So This is The Fire, a multi-media performance of stories of escape from slavery in Michigan. Her poetry publications include: “Afternoon”, “Shutter” and “Clean” - in