Michigan Literary Luminaries

by Anna Clark

From Ernest Hemingway's rural adventures to the gritty fiction of Joyce Carol Oates, the landscape of the "Third Coast" has inspired generations of the nation's greatest storytellers. Michigan Literary Luminaries shines a spotlight on this rich heritage of the Great Lakes State. Discover how Saginaw greenhouses shaped the life of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Theodore Roethke. Compare the common traits of Detroit crime writers like Elmore Leonard and Donald Goines. Learn how Dudley Randall revolutionized American literature by doing for poets what Motown Records did for musicians. Join author Anna Clark as she unveils Michigan's extraordinary written culture with a mixture of history, literary criticism and original reporting.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Literary Criticism

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Anna Clark is a journalist in Detroit and the author of "The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy." It is the winner of the Hillman Prize for Book Journalism, a Michigan Notable Book, and named one of the year's best books by the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, the New York Public Library, Kirkus, Amazon, Audible, and others. Her writing has appeared in Elle, the New York Times, Politico, the Columbia Journalism Review, and Next City, among other publications. She has been a Knight-Wallace journalism fellow at the University of Michigan and a Fulbright fellow in Nairobi, Kenya.

Anna has been a writer-in-residence in Detroit high schools through InsideOut Literary Arts. She's also been a longtime co-leader of an improv theater workshop at a Michigan prison. Anna edited "A Detroit Anthology," a Michigan Notable Book, and authored "Michigan Literary Luminaries: From Elmore Leonard to Robert Hayden." She graduated from the University of Michigan and from Warren Wilson College's MFA Program for Writers.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clark's critical summaries of writers remind me of the essay-reviews Virginia Woolf wrote: lucid, personable, insightful, inspiring, and best of all, minus all the jargon that plagues so much literary criticism these days. Even though I was already familiar with most of these writers, Clark's admiring but balanced essays made me want to reread these authors. Good gosh, she even provides a fresh take on Hemingway, a feat I would not have thought possible given all that's been written about him.

I suppose being a native Michigander (though now retired in hills of Virginny) enhances the reading, but Clark's voice is so inviting that it would appeal to readers of all backgrounds. Reading about Donald Goines -- one of few writers I did not know -- and Phillip Levine brought back memories of driving through downtown Detroit late at night for the graveyard shift at the old Scott Paper mill downriver.

I've read a number of essays by Clark as well over the years, and she makes any story a compelling one. She's coming out with a book on the Flint water fiasco next spring; can't wait to read it.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anna Clark honors the state of Michigan with her writing and her devotion to building its literary culture. This book is not just a dispassionate survey of regional literature, it's a working writer sharing her inspirations, with enthusiasm and style. Ernest Hemingway, Joyce Carol Oates, Theodore Roethke, Elmore Leonard and Jim Harrison all built national reputations, even as their lives and work were rooted in Michigan. Clark, who's obviously the kind of old school bookworm who won't leave the library until she hears "the building will be closing in fifteen minutes," shifts deftly between biography, journalism and literary criticism, which makes the book accessible to casual readers and deep enough for English classes. My only complaint about this book is that it will mainly be of interest to Michiganders, and won't introduce the author to the national audience she deserves.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shameless.

[Maximilian Nightingale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the best book on this topic! I did not think there was much to say about literature from Michigan and the unfamiliarity of most of the names in the Table of Contents made suspect that there was not much to see, but Clark does an excellent job telling the stories of authors who lived in Michigan and were inspired by its forests and cities. My favorite chapter was on Robert Hayden and Dudley Randall, where she sampled their works and explained the drama behind their poetry. Though not all of the authors are well-known now, they all achieved some fame in their time, many winning or being finalists for the National Book Award. It is not all “high-brow” literature either: the chapter on Elmore Leonard and Donald Goines tells the reader how much goes into popular crime fiction.

I remain unconvinced by the initial and final chapters which see Michigan as a center of literary achievement: I would love for this to be true, but do not yet see it. Anna Clark is certainly doing her part in gathering the stories behind the literature we now have. Her prose is clear and concise; she keeps things moving but gives the sort of detail that builds a story. I would be interested to read more of her writing.

[Public Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book! I learned so much about my home state and the huge literary heavyweights who also called it home. I'm a little embarrassed to say I had no idea about Hemingway's enduring connection to the Petosky area. Joyce Carol Oates? Also news to me. Since reading this book I have added a lot of titles to my "must-read" list. I especially enjoyed the section on Elmore Leonard because he's a personal favorite of mine - getting some in depth background on his Detroit roots was a real treat. A very enjoyable book indeed.

[Chris Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, ... I enjoyed reading how living in Michigan helped inspire some of the US’s best prose and poetry writers, like Joyce Carol Oats, Theodore Roetke, Jim Harrison, and others. I definitely recommend if you would be interested in a collection of short writers’ bios that have a mixture of historical information and literary criticism.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too brief, but entertaining. Covers Hemingway, Elmore Leonard, Joyce Carol Oates, the great poets Robert Hayden, Theodore Roethke, Philip Levine, and Dudley Randall, novelist/essayist Jim Harrison, and Harriet Simpson Arnow, (whom I had never heard about before.) Michigan did not have a literary renaissance nor did it host a colony of writers. These folks were either born here or arrived for work or play (Hemingway). I live in Petoskey, where Hemingway came of age so this book is of interest to me. I went to Michigan, where Hayden taught. So I recommend for any Michigander with literary interests.

[Sean Eddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easily 4-5 stars in terms of reference material; reduced only because the chapters/passages read as essays.

[Catherine Yezak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprise In Store

This book provided many surprises of well known authors with a Michigan connection. Joyce Carol Oates used to call Detroit home. The rich history that no longer exists in this struggling city. And yet, the gem is still the Northern part of Michigan. Quite a collection if real life characters have proudly called our state home.

[Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these essays. Michigan truly is a rich, diverse literary state. I appreciate that this volume had a mixture of vignettes about “well known” writers, as well as writers that I was, ashamedly, introduced to within these pages. I finished this book with a list of many books to add to my to-read pile.