Essayists
Penn, William S.
March 21, 1949 -
Place of Birth: Los Angles, CA
Place of Principle Residence: East Lansing, MI
Biography:
William S. Penn was born in Los Angles, CA in 1949. Throughout his life he has lived in many regions of the U.S., as well as in England. In 1971 he graduated from the University of California with an A.B. and an M.A., and in 1979 graduated with his Doctorate of the Arts from Syracuse University. He has taught the State University of New York, Pace University, and Hostos Community College before becoming a professor at Michigan State University, giving courses in oral tradition, comedy and cultural survival, literature of the Americas, and creative writing. Penn has published fiction, essays, and reviws, drawing inspiration from his urban mixed blood Nez Perce heritage. He has received numerous awards, including the New York Foundation for the Arts Prize, and the Distinguished Faculty Award from Michigan State University. Penn lives in East Lansing, MI with his wife Jennifer and has two children: Rachel Antonia and William Anthony.
Selected Works:
- The Absence of Angels (1994)
- All My Sins Are Relatives (1995)
- Killing Time with Strangers (2000)
Awards:
- 1970 Departmental Citation for the Outstanding Undergraduate in English
- 1977, 1979 Stephan Crane Prize in Fiction
- 1979 Michael Alssid Prize
- 1979 University Research Fellowship
- 1979 Departmental Citation for Distinguished Work
- 1982 Honorable Mention, James B. Phelan Awards
- 1983 Montalvo Center for the Arts Fellowship
- 1983 Yaddo Fellowship
- 1984 Finalist, Iowa School of Letters Award for Short Fiction
- 1985 Supporting Grant, Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation
- 1987 Finalist, P.E.N. Nelson Algren Awards
- 1988 New York Foundation for the Arts Prize
- 1988 All University Research Initiation Grant, Michigan State University
- 1990 Michigan Council for the Arts Grant
- 1991 Nominated for Pushcart Prize
- 1994 North American Indian Prose Award, University of Nebraska Press, All My Sins are Relatives
- All University Research Completion Grant, Michigan State University
- 1996 Critic’s Choice Award for the Most Acclaimed Books of 1995-96, All My Sins are Relatives
- 1997 Native American Writer of the Year in Non-fiction, Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers
- 1998 Native American Editor of the Year, Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers
- 2000 American Book Award for Literary Merit, Killing Time with Strangers
- 2003 Writer of the Year in Creative Prose, Wordcraft Circle, Feathering Custer
- Distinguished Faculty Award by Michigan State University
Critical Reception:
For All My Sins Are Relatives:
“All My Sins Are Relatives is both a beautifully wrought memoir and an important addition to the body of critical writing on Native American literature. The book is demanding in its sometimes dense prose and complexly developed images and ideas, but it yields rich rewards. “All good stories contain in themselves something about the act of storytelling or storywriting ... and usually a discoverable awareness of this aesthetic.” By Penn’s own definition, All My Sins are Relatives is a good story, and one of the pleasures of reading it is the depth and clarity with which he expresses this aesthetic.”
- Jeanne Rosier Smith, Professor of American Literature at Seton Hall University
“What more can be said about a book that has to be read to the end in order to get to the beginning? That Killing Time with Strangers is unlike any novel you have read before? Or perhaps that it is agonizingly familiar, giving us glimpses of a young man finding his precarious way in life? But when the power of dreaming is unleashed, time becomes negotiable and life’s joys and sorrows go up for grabs. And as sure as yellow butterflies will morph into Post-It notes, you will know you have experienced a new and utterly captivating way of looking at the world.”
- The University of Arizona Press
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work:
Penn draws on his ethnic heritage to serve as a professor at Michigan State University. He has taught courses in oral tradition, comedy and cultural survival, Literature of the Americas, and creative writing, all of which play a role in his writing.
Perkins, Barbara
July 9, 1933 -
Place of Birth: St. Benedict, PA
Place of Principle Residence: Ann Arbor, MI
Biography:
Barbara M. Perkins was born to Gladys Patterson and George Miller in St. Benedict, PA. She earned her AB in 1956 at Baldwin-Wallace College, her MA at Kent State University in 1959, and her PhD in 1972 at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1964 she married her husband, George, and the two moved to Edinburgh in 1966 where she worked on her dissertation at the National Library of Scotland under a Danforth Fellowship with her newborn baby, Laura, in tow. Perkins has taught or lectured at Cleveland Public Schools, Baldwin-Wallace College, the University of Pennsylvania, Fairleigh Dickinson University, the University of Newcastle, Perkins University, and the University of Toledo. In addition she has served as the director of writing improvement at Eastern Michigan University and as managing editor for the Journal of Narrative Technique. While she has co-authored books with her husband, Perkins also has penned essays and reviews in publications including the Western Humanities Review, American Literature, The Journal of Narrative Technique, The World Book Encyclopedia, and Choice. Perkins is actively involved in the Ann Arbor Community, including managing political campaigns, and having chaired the Program Committee for the Board of HelpSource, a Washtenaw County service organization. She currently lives in Ann Arbor, MI with her husband and has three children: Laura, Suzanne, and Alison.
Selected Works:
- American Tradition in Literature (with George Perkins) (1999)
- Kaleidoscope: Stories of the American Experience (with George Perkins) (1993)
- “History of Harper’s Monthly Magazine,” in American Literary Magazines: the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (1986)
Awards:
- 1994 Award established in her and her husband’s name by the Society for the Study of Narrative Literature
- 1966-67 Danforth Faculty Fellowship (for study at the U. of Edinburgh and National Library of Scotland)
- 1963-64 U of Pennsylvania Teaching Fellowship
Critical Reception:
Perkins is a respected author and writer, and has won several awards and academic honors like the Danforth Faculty Fellowship and the University of Pennsylvania Teaching Fellowship. She has lectured widely, including at Peking University.
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work:
Perkins is actively involved in the Ann Arbor Community, including managing political campaigns. Currently she lives and writes at her home in Ann Arbor, MI.
Perkins, George
August 16, 1930 -
Place of Birth: Lowell, MA
Place of Principle Residence: Ann Arbor, MI
Biography:
George B. Perkins was born to Gladys and George Perkins in Lowell, MA. He earned his AB at Tufts College in 1953, his MA at Duke University in 1954, and his PhD at Cornell University in 1960. In 1964 George married his wife, Barbara, and the two moved to Edinburgh, Scotland where he worked as a lecturer. Between 1957 and 2001, Perkins has taught or lectured at Washington University, Baldwin-Wallace College, Fairleigh Dickinson University, the University of Edinburgh, Peking University, and Eastern Michigan University. He has co-authored several books with his wife and in addition has written essays, reviews, and fiction in Nineteenth-Century Fiction, The Journal of American Folklore, The Explicator, The Dickensian, Choice, Descant, The New England Quarterly, The Journal of Narrative Technique, Contemporary Novelists, and Great Writers of the English Language. In addition, Perkins was the founding editor of the Journal of Narrative Technique, and after editing twenty-two years switched to the board of Narrative as associate editor. He is a member of the Author’s Guild and the National Books Circle. Today Perkins lives in Ann Arbor, MI with his wife, and has three children: Laura, Suzanne, and Alison.
Selected Works:
- American Tradition in Literature(with Barbara Perkins) (1999)
- Season in South Wales (1998)
- Practical Imagination: Poetry(with Northrop Frye and Sheridan Baker) (1983)
Awards:
- 1994 The annual Barbara Perkins and George Perkins Award for the Best book in Narrative Studies established in his and his wife’s honor by the Society for the Study of Narrative Literature
- Duke University Fellowship, Cornell University Fellowship, Eastern Michigan Univ. Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching, Research and Service; Eastern Michigan Univ. Board of Regents Commendation for Outstanding Contributions and Achievements; Fellow, Inst. for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, U of Edinburgh, Senior Fulbright Scholar, Univ. of Newcastle, Australia
Critical Reception:
Perkins is a respected writer and lecturer, and has won several awards and honors like the Duke University Fellowship and having the Society for the Study of Narrative Literature establish an award for the Best Book in Narrative Studies to honor him and his wife.
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work:
Perkins taught at Eastern Michigan University for thirty-four years, where he helped found the Journal of Narrative Technique, and wrote non-fiction both singularly and as a co-author.
Pitcher, Emma Bickham
September 20, 1915 -
Place of Birth: Chicago, IL
Place of Principle Residence: Kalamazoo, MI
Biography:
Emma Bickham Pitcher was born to Edith and Martin Bickham in Chicago, IL. Despite her later career as a naturalist and writer, Pitcher was not much interested in nature as a child. She graduated with a BA from the University of Chicago in 1937, and married, moving with her husband to Buffalo. Five years later they returned and attended the University of Chicago, and had four children: Hugh, Elizabeth, Charles, and Catherine. During the summer the family traveled to the Indiana Dunes, and it was during this time that Pitcher’s love for nature was born. She has published three books, all geared towards the power of observing the outdoors. In addition, she has written poetry and essays, most of which deal with her hobby as a naturalist. Pitcher served as the Dean of Students for the Graduate School of Business, retiring in 1980. She currently lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan and is an active volunteer at the Kalamazoo Nature Center.
Selected Works:
- Of Woods and Other Things (1996)
- Up and Down the Dunes (1987)
- Ramblings (2001)
Awards
- 1990 Public Media Award, Michigan Audubon Society
- Several National Park Volunteer Commendations
- “Sagamore of the Wabash” Award from the Governor of Indiana -the highest honor possible for service to the state
Critical Reception:
Pitcher has received several honors for her work, including the Public Media Award from the Michigan Audubon Society.
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work:
An adamant enthusiast of nature, Pitcher volunteers at The Kalamazoo Nature Center and for thirteen years has written essays on nature for the Kalamazoo Gazette.
Plano, Jack C.
November 25, 1921 - November 21, 2002
Place of Birth: Merrill, WI
Place of Principle Residence: Kalamazoo, MI
Biography:
Jack C. Plano was born to Minna and Victor Plano in Merrill, WI. He received business training at Merrill Community College in 1940, and joined the US Army in the Corps of Engineers. Plano left the army in 1945 and earned his BA at Ripon College in 1949. In 1950 and 1954 he earned his MA and PhD consecutively in international relations. From 1953 to 1987 he served as a professor in the Political Science department at Western Michigan University, teaching courses in international relations, international organization, and American foreign policy on both undergraduate and graduate levels. In 1962 he co-authored a new type of encyclopedia-dictionary, The American Political Dictionary that has been widely adopted as a supplemental text for basic courses in American government. By the time of Plano’s death, the book had gone through eleven editions. Due to the success of his first dictionary, Plano co-authored a series of political dictionaries with his colleagues and in 1980 was chosen as the series editor for ABC-Clio Dictionaries in Political Science. Plano covered topics relating to international relations, political science, political analysis, Latin America, and Soviet and East European governments and politics. In 1971, Plano was invited to the University of Sussex to lecture and do research, and in addition he presented papers on sea pollution and seabed problems for the Institute for the Study of International Organization. He has published a number of monographs, and in 1974 founded the New Issues Press of Western Michigan University and served as its press-managing editor until his retirement. Plano received several awards, including the first ever recipient of the Outstanding Emeritus Scholar Award at Western Michigan University. During his retirement ,Plano published a series of memoirs relating to his life experience. He died in 2007 and was survived by his wife, Ellen, and his children Jay, Gregory, and Vicki.
Selected Works:
- American Political Dictionary (1962)
- Latin America Political Dictionary (1980)
- United Nations (1988)
Awards:
- 1997 Outstanding emeritus Scholar Award-Western Michigan University
- 1981 Phi Beta Kappa - Ripon College
- 1981 Hubert Herring Award for Best Reference Book on Latin America
- 1997 Outstanding Emeritus Scholar Award at Western Michigan University
Critical Reception:
Plano’s first book, The American Political Dictionary, is still used in classrooms across the U.S. as a basic supplemental text in American Government. He has received several awards for his work, including the Hubert Herring Award for Best Reference Book on Latin America.
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work:
Plano taught at Western Michigan University for thirty-five years where he taught and pursued his research on political science. He co-authored several dictionaries/encyclopedias on a variety of topics with his colleagues. During his retirement he published several memoirs on his experience as an educator.