He is the first to admit that he is a flawed person. We all are, says Marcel Fable Price. Price has made his flaws into a badge of honor, overcoming many obstacles in his life and now encouraging and inspiring others to do the same. Former poet laureate of Grand Rapids, community advocate, and a nationally touring storyteller, Price reads from his new book, New American Monarch (New Michigan Press, 2024).
“This is a book of short stories, poems, prose, spoken word pieces that all exist in my first full-length collection,” Price says. “When you are fanning through, you will notice there are QR codes on the corner of every page. When you scan the QR codes, it brings you to an audio version of that piece…. It’s a book that is designed for people who like to read and dive in and also for people who like to be read to.”
Price says he has spent half his life in Kalamazoo. He lived in Kalamazoo during his early school years, moved to Grand Rapids, returned in his mid-20s, “and that’s when I took it from the poetry I was introduced to in high school to performing in night life and events in Grand Rapids and also at Fire in Kalamazoo back in the day.”
It is an important part of Price’s mission in life to do his part to heal the inequities in society, especially those affecting Black men and boys, he says. As a community advocate, he visits the incarcerated and often speaks about overcoming trauma and addiction.
“If I am somebody who can fall, who can fail, who can scuff their knees and get up, then I believe other people can do that,” he says. “I really want my journey to be an example to people who think that they can but maybe doubt themselves, because I am somebody who is so wildly flawed. I’m somebody who had no reason to succeed and to get where I am. If you want to, if you can dream big enough, if you can dedicate yourself to doing it—people are worthy of redemption.”
Price’s work has previously been featured by PBS, The Frey Foundation, Mental Health America, and Habitat for Humanity. He is the recipient of a Community Advocate Award, 2017 40 Under 40 Honoree, 2020 Grand Rapids area Black Businesses “Black Bottom Community Builder” award winner, 2021 Michigan Humanities Impact Partner of the Year, 2022 Newsmaker of the Year, and recipient of the Imagination Award by the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology in 2023.
Price will be reading at this is a bookstore-Bookbug, 3019 Oakland Drive, at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are requested.
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