Kailyn Dekker-Black

Kailyn was born in Holland, Michigan and spent her childhood pretending to be a mermaid in Lake Michigan, stealing blueberries from her neighbor’s farm, and exploring the Terabithian woods around her Obaasan’s house. She studied chemical technology at Kalamazoo Valley Community College and biomedical sciences at Western Michigan University  before finding a home in the English field. In 2015, Kailyn earned a BS in Biomedical Science and BA in English. She completed the MFA program in 2019, where she studied poetry and worked with poets Nancy Eimers, Bill Olsen, Daneen Wardrop, Dennis Hinrichsen, and Richard Katrovas on her MFA project, Road Trips through God Land. When Kailyn is not at school, she enjoys a rather hermit lifestyle with her husband, cute baby, two dogs, and snake. Kailyn currently teaches English composition and literature and enjoys napping.