Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is blessed with a treasure trove of storytellers, poets, and historians, all seeking to capture a sense of Yooper Life from settler’s days to the far-flung future. Since 2017, the U.P. Reader offers a rich collection of their voices that embraces the U.P.’s natural beauty and way of life, along with a few surprises.
The forty-one short works in this fifth annual volume take readers on U.P. road and boat trips from the Keweenaw to the Soo. Every page is rich with descriptions of the characters and culture that make the Upper Peninsula worth living in and writing about. U.P. writers span genres from humor to history and from science fiction to poetry. This issue also includes imaginative fiction from the Dandelion Cottage Short Story Award winners, honoring the amazing young writers enrolled in all of the U.P.’s schools.
Featuring the words of Karen Dionne, Barbara Bartel, T. Marie Bertineau, Don Bodey, Craig A. Brockman, Stephanie Brule, Larry Buege, Tricia Carr, Deborah K. Frontiera, Elizabeth Fust, Robert Grede, Charles Hand, Kathy Johnson, Sharon Kennedy, Chris Kent, Tamara Lauder, Teresa Locknane, Ellen Lord, Becky Ross Michael, Hilton Moore, Gretchen Preston, Donna Searight Simons, Frank Searight, T. Kilgore Splake, Ninie G. Syarikin, Tyler Tichelaar, Brandy Thomas, Donna Winters, Annabell Danker, Kyra Holmgren, Nicholas Painer, and Walter Dennis.
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"Funny, wise, or speculative, the essays, memoirs, and poems found in the pages of these profusely illustrated annuals are windows to the history, soul, and spirit of both the exceptional land and people found in Michigan’s remarkable U.P. If you seek some great writing about the northernmost of the state’s two peninsulas look around for copies of the U.P. Reader. --Tom Powers, Michigan in Books
"U.P. Reader offers a wonderful mix of storytelling, poetry, and Yooper culture. Here’s to many future volumes!" --Sonny Longtine, author of Murder in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
"As readers embark upon this storied landscape, they learn that the people of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula offer a unique voice, a tribute to a timeless place too long silent." --Sue Harrison, international bestselling author of Mother Earth Father Sky
"I was amazed by the variety of voices in this volume. U.P. Reader offers a little of everything, from short stories to nature poetry, fantasy to reality, Yooper lore to humor. I look forward to the next issue." --Jackie Stark, editor, Marquette Monthly
The U.P. Reader is sponsored by the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association (UPPAA) a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation. A portion of proceeds from each copy sold will be donated to the UPPAA for its educational programming.
Learn more at www.UPReader.org
Mikel B. Classen has been writing about northern Michigan in newspapers and magazines for over 35 years, creating feature articles about the life and culture of Michigan's north country. He's written about travel, outdoors, the environment, Upper Peninsula history, and many other subjects. A journalist, historian, photographer, and author with a fascination about the world around him, he enjoys researching and writing about lost stories from the past. Currently, he is managing editor of the "U.P. Reader" and is a member of the board of directors for the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association. Classen makes his home in the oldest city in Michigan, historic Sault Ste. Marie. He collects out-of-print history books and historical photographs and prints of Upper Michigan. At Northern Michigan University, he studied English, history, journalism, and photography. He lives with his wife, Mary L. Underwood, and his Labrador retriever, Gidget. His book "Au Sable Point Lighthouse: Beacon on Lake Superior's Shipwreck Coast" was published in 2014, and his book "Teddy Roosevelt and the Marquette Libel Trial" was published in 2015. The History Press published both. He has a book of fiction called Lake Superior Tales, published by Modern History Press. To learn more about Mikel B. Classen and to see more of his work, go to his website at www.mikelclassen.com
