Southeast: Region Six
Wainess, Flint
1972—
Place of Birth: Ann Arbor, MI
Place of Principal Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Biography
Flint Wainess was born to a pair of graduate students in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1972. After spending part of his childhood being totted to U of M football games, Wainess’ family eventually moved to Birmingham, Michigan, where Flint lived through high school. Early in his life, Wainess’ future in writing looked bleak as he received bad grades in English and his mother told him his essay for his college application was dark and poorly written. Many of Wainess’ teachers told him to focus on math instead of English. Wainess graduated from the University of Michigan, where he worked as an editor for The Michigan Daily, and then attended graduate school for political science. He never finished graduate school, instead moving to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in writing. Wainess’ earliest professional writing experience was an assistant position at the television station, The Disney Channel. During his free time, he would practice writing spec scripts, knowing someday he would like to write for television or film. He sold numerous shows to large television studios, including CBS and 20th Century Fox, but they never were produced. One of these shows was a teenage crime detective show, which he sold to MTV. As a lover of comedy, Wainess created Breakup News, a website humorously dealing with broken romances. In 2006 Wainess’ co-authored a book in this vein entitled It’s Not Me, It’s You. He currently lives in Los Angles, California.
Selected Works
- Founder and writer: Breakup News – comedic website;
- It’s Not Me, It’s You (2006)
- Monday, Monday (2007)
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work
Flint’s latest script, Monday Monday, tells the story of a high school student who becomes trapped in the same day over and over again. Flint says that many of his characters are a lot like him and he has used his own high school experiences of growing up in Michigan in his writing.
Wakoski, Diane
August 3, 1937 –
Place of Birth: Whittier, CA
Place of Principle Residence: East Lansing, MI
Biography:
Diane Wakoski was born to Marie and John Wakoski in Whittier, California. She attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she received her B.A. in 1960. During this time Wakoski became associated with the “deep image” movement that included other authors like Jerome Rothenberg and Robert Kelly. Her later writing has followed more along the lines of William Carlos Williams whom she has claimed to draw inspiration from. Wakoski has published forty books of poetry, but is best known for her series of poems called The Leather Jacket Diaries. During the 1980s Wakoski received attention from her controversial comments linking New Formalism with Reagonism. She currently teaches creative writing at Michigan State University as a Distinguished Professor.
Selected Works:
- Argonaut Rose (1998)
- The Emerald City of Las Vegas (1995)
- Medea the Sorceress (1991)
- Variations on a Theme (1976)
Awards:
- Poetry Society of America’s William Carlos Williams Award
- 1989 Michigan Arts Foundation Distinguished Artist Award
- 1989 Michigan State University Distinguished Faculty Award
- 1988 Michigan Arts Council Grant
- 1984 Writer’s Fulbright Award, Yugoslavia
- 1974 CAPS Grant, New York State
- 1973 National Endowment for the Arts Grant
- 1972 Guggenheim Foundation Grant
- 1970 Cassandra Foundation Grant
- 1996 Best Poems of 1996 for The Butcher’s Apron by Scribner Press
- 2003 Michigan Author Award
Critical Reception:
Wakoski has been marked as a talented writer from both her critics and supporters alike. Paul Zweig in the New York Times Book Review called her an “important and moving poet.” Wakoski’s dark themes have concerned some critics, one being called a recurring “anti-male rage” theme by Peter Schjeldahl in the New York Times Book Review. Schjeldahl wrote Wakoski’s poems “are professionally supple and clear…but their pervasive unpleasantness makes her popularity rather surprising. One can only conclude that a number of people are angry enough at life to enjoy the sentimental and desolating resentment with which she writes about it.” However critic James F. Mersmann in Margins argued that her poetry “gives us a moving vision of the terrible last stages of a disintegrating personality and a disintegrating society, and it painfully embodies the schizophrenia, alienation, and lovelessness of our time.” Douglas Blazek of Poetry agreed by noting Wakoski’s poems have the “substance necessary to qualify them notches above the works of creative ‘geniuses,’ ‘stylists,’ and ‘cultural avatars’ who have little to say.”
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work:
Wakoski is a noted Michigan author and professor, winning a number of awards and grants for her teaching and writing.
Wolverton, Terry
August 3, 1954 -
Place of Birth: Cocoa Beach, FL
Place of Principle Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Biography:
Terry Wolverton was born in Cocoa Beach, Florida in 1954. One year later, she moved with her mother to Detroit, MI. During her childhood, she listened to her grandmother recite poems, and now Wolverton attributes this to her love for language. From an early age Wolverton showed interest in the arts, especially in writing, music, and drama. She graduated from CASS Technical High School’s Performing Arts Program in 1972 and spent her first year of college at the University of Detroit’s BFA Theatre Program. The next year she transferred to the University of Toronto majoring in theatre and women’s studies. In the summer of 1975 Wolverton attended the Independent Institute for the Study of Feminist Political Theory and subsequently enrolled in Thomas Jefferson College, an experimental school based in Western Michigan, and joined the Women, World, and Wonder program. In 1976, Wolverton moved to LA and participated in the Feminist Studio Workshop at the Woman’s Building, an organization that she stayed in for thirteen years. While producing performance and literary art, Wolverton was involved in several projects including the Lesbian Art Project and the Incest Awareness Project. In 1982, she began a consulting business, Consult’Her, dealing with topics like vision and marketing. Between 1986 and 1988, Wovlerton started two writing programs at different centers, and in 1997 started Writers at Work, a creative writing center, where she continues to teach workshops on fiction, creative writing, and poetry, as well as providing creative consultations to writers. Wolverton has written six books, a novel of poems, a memoir about the Woman’s Building, a novel, two collections of poetry, and has edited fourteen compilations of literary work.
Selected Works:
- Embers, novel-in-poems (2003)
- Mystery Bruise (1999)
- Black Slip (1992)
- Blue Moon (1977)
Awards:
- 2003 Judy Grahn Award from the Publishing Triangle
- 2000 California Arts Council Artist Fellowship in Poetry
- 1998, 1999 Finalist, Lambda Book Award, Fiction Anthology
- 1997 LACE Award for Arts & Entertainment
- 1996 Finalist, American Library Association Stonewall Award in Fiction
- 1995 Movers and Shakers Award for Women Writers, Southern California Library for Social Research
- 1994 First Place Winner, Sheila-Na-Gig Second Annual Poetry Contest
- 1993 Finalist Lambda Book Award, Poetry
- 1992 Finalist, Lambda Book Award, Fiction anthology
- 1991 Vesta Award in Literature, The Women’s Building
- 1986 Lesbian Rights Award, Southern California Women for Understanding
- 1984 “Me and My Shadow,” JVC Tokyo Video Festival, Merit Award
- 1981 Gay and Lesbian Academic Union Award for Contributions to the Fine Arts
- 1973 University of Detroit New Poets Award
Critical Reception:
For Mystery Bruise:
“This book is exactly what the title promises—mysterious, moving, and even at times painful and haunting. Wolverton’s poems are carefully crafted, but more than that, they are thoughtful and filled with insight, compassion, and beauty. …if a friend of mine could buy only one book of poetry this year, I would recommend that she buy Mystery Bruise.”
- The Lesbian Review of Books
For Black Slip:
“Wolverton’s recent book explores the treacherous territory of memory, relationships, and desire. Her voice is passionate yet controlled, confessional without being tiresome or self-indulgent.”
- The Texas Triangle
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work:
Wolverton spent her childhood in Detroit, MI where she developed a love for the creative arts, including writing and drama. She attended CASS Technical High School in their Performing Arts Program and spent a year at the University of Detroit in their BFA Theatre Program.
Zadoorian, Michael
February 26, 1957 -
Place of Birth: Detroit, MI
Biography:
Michael Zadoorian was born to Rosemary and Normon (a photographer for an electric company) and grew up in the northwest side of Detroit, MI. He attended Wayne State University and achieved both a B.A. and a M.A. in English. He has worked as a copywriter for Michael Floral & Associates, Doner Advertising, and Campbell-Ewald Advertising, where he remains today. Zadoorian has published short stories in a number of literary magazines (both at home and abroad) and released his first, much-praised book, Second Hand, A Novel in 2000.
Selected Works:
- Second Hand, A Novel (2000)
- To Sleep (American Short Fiction, 1997)
- Mystery Spot (Panurge, 1996)
- Traffic Reports (Staple, 1995)
- The Underground (Wisconsin Review, 1991)
Awards:
- 2000 Second Hand, Official Selection, “Discover Great New Writers” Program, by Borders.com Finalist for 2000 Discover Award
- 2000 Second Hand, Official Selection, Book Sense 76 List for March/April 2000; American Booksellers Association
- 2000 Second Hand, selected as one of the “Best of 2000, Fiction and Literature” by Borders
- One of “The Best” of 2000 by the Detroit Free Press
- 2000 One of the “Favorite Books of 2000” by the Chi. Tr.
- 1995 Recipient, Pre-Press Award, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs/ Pre-Press Publishing of Michigan
- 1991-92 Recipient, Loughead-Eldredge Creative Writing Scholarship; Wayne State University, Detroit
- 1991 Recipient, Tompkins Award; Wayne State University, Detroit, 1st place for Fiction; 1st place for Essay; 3rd place for Fiction
Critical Reception:
Zadoorian’s novel Second Hand has been hailed as an extraordinary work. Judi Clark of Mostly Fiction wrote, “Zadoorian is a crisp and humorous writer. It’s one of those novels where every line in quotable and often profound. The characters are fallible, yet likable, in a human kind of way … in writing this review, I’ve nearly reread the entire novel and will probably do so again. What can I say? Every writer writes their first novel, but not every writer gets it right.” Critic Deborah Straw of Sun Oasis playfully commented “reading Second Hand made me jealous. Jealous of its author…for having such a great idea.”
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work:
Zadoorian demonstrates his knowledge and affection for his hometown by making the setting of his highly acclaimed first book, Second Hand, A Novel, Detroit, MI.