Elemental: A Collection of Michigan Creative Nonfiction

by Anne-Marie Oomen (Contributor), Teresa J. Scollon (Contributor), Alison Swan (Contributor)

A Collection of Michigan Creative Nonfiction comes to us from twenty-three of Michigan's most well-known essayists. A celebration of the elements, this collection is both the storm and the shelter. In her introduction, editor Anne-Marie Oomen recalls the "ritual dousing" of her storytelling group's "wind, earth, fire, water―all of it simultaneous in that one gesture. . . . In that moment we are bound together with these elements and with this place, the circle around the fire on the shores of a Great Lake closes, complete."

The essays approach Michigan at the atomic level. This is a place where weather patterns and ecology matter. Farmers, miners, shippers, and loggers have built (or lost) their livelihood on Michigan's nature―what could and could not be made out of our elements. From freshwater lakes that have shaped the ground beneath our feet to the industrial ebb and flow of iron ore and wind power―ours is a state of survival and transformation. In the first section of the book, "Earth," Jerry Dennis remembers working construction in northern Michigan. "Water" includes a piece from Jessica Mesman, who writes of the appearance of snow in different iterations throughout her life. The section "Wind" houses essays about the ungraspable nature of death from Toi Dericotte and Keith Taylor. "Fire" includes a piece by Mardi Jo Link, who recollects the unfortunate series of circumstances surrounding one of her family members.

Elemental 's strength lies in its ability to learn from the past in the hope of defining a wiser future. A lot of literature can make this claim, but not all of it comes together so organically. Fans of nonfiction that reads as beautifully as fiction will love this collection.

Genres: Nonfiction

221 pages, Paperback

Published November 5, 2018

Reviews

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the memoir like pieces more than the non-fiction essays. It is always fun to read about places you know.

[Sean Kottke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a terrific collection of essays with strong Michigan roots. The organization by elements (earth, water, air, fire) is fascinating, and frontloads the volume with meditations on nature across the peninsulas. As soon as I started wondering whether every essay was going to be a naturalist manifesto, the elements changed and urban-focused tales emerged. The awesomeness of Michigan's natural beauty in early portions is bookended by devastating takes on the ugliness of Michigan's social landscape in specific quarters. There's not a disappointing essay in the bunch.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some excellent essays by Michigan creative nonfiction writers! I enjoyed these pieces on two levels: as a fellow Michigander, many of the essays connected with my love for the state, and nostalgia for the lakes, farms and woodland. But I also found the writing to be precise, descriptive, and at times, even poetic. My favorite pieces in the collection: "Earth," by Teresa Scollon; "Bending Nails," by Jerry Dennis; "August at Gun Lake," by Kathleen McGookey; "From Manhattan to Leelanau," by Michael Steinberg; and "Small-Town Monsters" by Mardi Jo Link.

[Nan Pokerwinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb collection.In these pages I found stunning, sometimes surprising work from some of my favorite Michigan authors--Fleda Brown, Jerry Dennis, Mardi Jo Link, Anne-Marie Oomen, Keith Taylor--and became acquainted with new-to-me others. (How have I not read Rhoda Janzen's books? Beats me, but now I will!)

There's much here about life in Michigan and much more about, well, life.

[Meghan]

I didn't read all the pieces, since it didn't work for the program I was reading it for - but some of the pieces I did read were quite moving. A current Michigan work.

[Sarah Grossbauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the collection. Reading these stories evoked intense emotional memories for me. I felt more connected to my home than I have in recent memory. This is a book I will re-read many times.

[Joe Reed · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Fire section of this book was banger after banger. However Water was a bit of a slough. Why is there a chapter about the chicago cubs in a book about michigan non fiction?

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of creative non-fiction essays by a variety of Michigan authors. They are loosely organized into 4 sections, earth, water, wind, & fire, although some of the essays don't seem to belong under their section heading. There's a wide enough variety in the essays that the reader probably will have different favorites and essays that they didn't really like than my choices:

Hits:
Jerry Dennis, "Bending Nails", about his time spent working on home construction crews.
W.S. Penn, "A Harvest Moon", about an indigenous American giving a presentation to his granddaughter's class.
Robert Root, "Crossing the Cuesta", about the Niagran Escarpment and the cuesta it borders.
Ari L. Mokdad, "Body Studies: Arabets", an Arab American's experiences in Michigan.