Know the Mother
Ambivalence about motherhood and America’s ongoing racism factor in to these often poetic stories. “I was tired of the double habitation of my body, the split duties of my... Read More
Books We've Reviewed from Wayne State University Press
Feathers, Paws, Fins, and Claws
Most folk and fairy tales, legends, and fables descend from an oral tradition of storytelling, with borrowed themes and characters reworked through the years. This collection of... Read More
The New Diaspora
These stories, all rich in both character and detail, don’t conform to a set genre or approach, letting their Jewish themes link narratives that have rich differences. "The... Read More
Images from the Arsenal of Democracy
This companion book to American involvement in WWII exhibits photos that depict manufacturing to create a fascinating historical record. As large as the attack on Pearl Harbor... Read More
The Way North
Selected poetry and short stories from native authors reflect on the heritage and landscape of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Michigan’s sparsely-populated Upper Peninsula is a... Read More
To Embroider the Ground With Prayer
In Teresa J. Scollon’s opening poem, “The Invitation,” she carries readers into a gentle night of watching stars as a young child with her parents: “When I awoke, I was... Read More
The World of a Few Minutes Ago
The punishing conditions in the lives of the characters in Jack Driscoll’s short story collection are matched by the harsh landscape of Michigan’s Northwest and Upper... Read More
An American Map
We often take our geography for granted, even when traveling. We look where the guidebook points and stick close to the hotels and clearly marked trails. But the line of a... Read More
As If We Were Prey
"As If We Were Prey" is part of Wayne State University’s “Made in Michigan” book series, of which Michael Delp is a co-editor. It’s a small book in stature, comprising... Read More
Pulling Down the Barn
In this memoir, when the author’s family pull down the barn in 1994, they find a board that dates the structure back a hundred years. The center of her family’s farm, inland... Read More
Art in Detroit
“There has always been art in public places. Long before it was made for private consumption and enjoyment, art functioned for societies in very basic and far-reaching... Read More
Appel is Forever
The holocaust did not end for Whiteley when Russian troops marched into Bergen-Belsen, saving what was left of her family from the daily nightmare of her childhood in the... Read More