Cleland, Charles E.
February 2 1936—
Place of Birth: Kane, PA
Place of Principal Residence: Charlevoix, MI
Biography
Charles E. Cleland was born to Margaret and Charles Cleland in Kane, PA on February 2, 1936. Cleland has degrees from Denison University, Arkansas University, and earned his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 1965. Starting in 1964, Cleland served as a professor of anthropology at Michigan State University, retiring in 2000. For all his education in community studies, anthropology, and Great Lakes history, Cleland remains devoted to letting the Ojiibwa Indians speak for themselves in his book published in 2000 The Place of the Pike (Gnoozhekaaning): a History of the Bay Mills Indian Community, relating the history, social conditions, and governmental relations of the Ojibwa Indians. The same work was selected for the 2001 “Read Michigan” List by the state of Michigan. Using oral accounts from tribal elders and photographs from the tribe’s archives, Cleland communicates the identity of the Bay Mills community using their own stories and heroes rather than the framework of federal Indian policy or academic and economic theories. Cleland has also contributed to the world of scholarship in the field of archaeology, a contribution acknowledged by the collection An Upper Great Lakes Archaeological Odyssey: Essays in Honor of Charles E. Cleland. Included essays cover both the geography and subject matter Cleland himself did, traversing from Illinois to Ontario and the Great Lakes inland shore fishery to the fur trade archeology of Fort Michilimakinac. Cleland aims, in his own words, to “make the details of the historic past interesting and accessible to the sophisticated lay public,” and his scholarly works coupled with the striking photograph collections and tribal stories have hooked both colleagues and Michigan citizens into realizing the stories and realities of their land’s people and past. Cleland lives in Charlevoix, MI and has four children: Elizabeth, Joshua, Elena, and Katherine.
Selected Works
- Rites of Conquest: The Culture and History of Michigan’s Native People (1992)
- The Place of the Pike (Gnoozhekaaning): a History of the Bay Mills Indian Community (2000)
Critical Reception
Fellow scholars such as John Robert Halsey of the Michigan Historical Society write, “Cleland is arguably one of the most important figures in American archaeology in the latter third of the twentieth century…his testimony as an expert witness in Native American land claims and fishing rights have made him a lightning rod for controversy inside and outside archaeology. The results of his activities have affected the practice of archaeology, the working lives of natural resource managers, and the activities of sport fishermen.”
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work
Cleland is an author who not only lives in Michigan but also is deeply aware of the past and people of the land itself. With thirty-five years of research and his current work in anthropology at Michigan State University, he brings a wealth of knowledge to his works about the Native Americans in Michigan and offers careful and complete analyses of the culture and history Michigan’s native people.
Eshleman, Clayton
June 1, 1935 -
Place of Birth: Indianapolis, IN
Place of Principle Residence: Ypsilanti, MI
Biography:
Clayton Eshleman was born to Gladys and Clayton Eshleman in 1935 in Indianapolis, IN. He attended Indiana University and received his BA in philosophy in 1958 and M.A.T. in Creative Writing in 1961. He was an instructor in English for a year before moving to Kobe, Japan as an English language and writing instructor for Matsushita Electric Corporation. In 1966 he moved to New York City as an instructor at the American Language Institute and as a publisher and editor for Caterpillar books and Caterpillar magazine. Eshleman became founder and editor of Sulfur magazine in 1981. Starting in the 1970s Eshleman traveled around the country as a visiting professor and poet in residence. In 1986 he moved to Eastern Michigan University as a Professor of English. Eshleman is a known translator, winning the National Book Award in 1979 for his co-translaton of Cesar Vallejo’s Complete Posthumous Poem. In addition to being the main American tranlator of Cesar Vallejo, Eshleman has also translated books by Antonin Arlaudi and Bernard Bador, among others. Eshleman has made frequent trips with his wife, Caryl, to France to study Ice Age Cave Art and finished his research in the 1990s with publishing his findings in his book, Juniper Fuse. He has one son, Matthew, by his first wife Barbara Novak.
Selected Works:
Poetry:
- Cantaloups and Splendour (1968)
- Under World Arrest (1994)
- Archaic Design (2007)
Prose:
- Companion Spider (2002)
Translation:
- The Collected Poetry by Aimé Césaire (1984)
- The Complete Poetry of César Vallejo (2007)
Awards:
- 1968 Poetry Magazine Award for “Five Poems”
- 1977 Carnegie Author’s Fund Award
- 1978 Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry for research on Upper Paleolitic Cave Art
- 1989 Distinguished Faculty Research/Creativity Award, Eastern Michigan University
- 1992 Michigan Artists Award, Arts Foundation of Michigan
- 2002 Landon Translation Prize, Academy of American Poets, for “Trilce”
- 2002 Sabio Award for Excellent in Literary Translation, San Diego State University
Critical Reception:
“This [The Complete Poetry, César Vallejo] is a crucially important translation of one of the poetic geniuses of the twentieth century.”
- William Rowe, author of Poets of Contemporary Latin America: History and the Inner Life.
“Sulfur must be the most important literary magazine which has explored and extended the boundaries of poetry. Clayton Eshleman has had a nose for smelling out what was going to happen next in the ceaseless evolution of the art.”
- James Laughlin, New Directions Books.
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work:
Eshleman is a Professor of English at Eastern Michigan University.
Frazier, Neta
April 18, 1890 – June 2, 1990
Place of Birth: Owosso, MI
Place of Principle Residence: Spokane, Washington
Biography:
Neta Lohnes Frazier was born to Jennie and Emory in Owosso, MI in 1890. She moved with her family to Spokane in 1905 and attended Whitman College, receiving her B.A as a Phi Beta Kappa member. She taught at Waitsburg High School where she met and married another teacher, Earl Frazier. The two moved to Spokane in 1920. Frazier published fourteen books between 1947 and 1973, four of which received Junior Literary Guild Awards. Most of her work was based on Pacific Northwest History. In 1978 Women in Communications gave Frazier their first “Award of Excellence” for her fifty years as an author. She died in 1990, and was survived by her three children Lesley, Philip, and Richard, and her five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Selected Works:
- By-Line Dennie (1947)
- My Love Is a Gypsy (1952)
- Secret Friend (1956)
- One Long Picnic (1962)
- Sacajawea, the Girl Nobody Knows (1967)
Awards:
- Foremost Women in Communications
- Junior Literary Guild Selections
- 1960 One of the outstanding Kappa Kappa Gamma alumnae
- 1968 Fort Wright College Award
- 1968 Governor’s Award
- 1978 Women in Communications Award for Excellence
- Spokane Pen Women
Critical Reception:
Frazier’s writing has enjoyed many awards, including four Junior Literary Guild awards for four of her fourteen books.
Freisinger, Randall R.
February 6, 1942—
Place of Birth: Kansas City, Missouri
Place of Principal Residence: Houghton, MI
Biography
Randall Freisinger was born to Winifred and Earl Freisinger in Kansas City, Missouri on February 6, 1942. He attended the University of Missouri-Columbia between 1959-1975, earning his BJ, MA, and PhD in English Literature. Ever since 1972, Freisinger has taught at Michigan Tech University, and today serves as a Professor of Rhetoric, Literature, and Creative Writing. In addition to teaching, he is the Associate Editor for Laurel Review. His poems have been and continue to be published in many literary magazines, and in 1997 published a book-length manuscript of poems, Plato’s Breath, which won the 1996 May Swenson Poetry Award. Freisinger lives with his wife, Jill, and his two stepsons, Ian and Quentin, in Houghton, Michigan.
Selected Works
Plato’s Breath (1997)
Awards
1975 Flume Press National Chapbook Award
1996 May Swenson Poetry Prize for Plato’s Breath
n/a Nominated for Pushcart Prize (four times)
Critical Reception
For Plato’s Breath:
[Freisinger’s] poems are funny, sad, light, dark, hopeful, grim, and quite often all of these at once. Don’t overlook this book.
The Missouri Review
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work
Freisinger teaches Humanities at Michigan Tech University, where he helps students develop a deeper appreciation for literature and creativity.
Gauch, Patricia
January 3, 1934 –
Place of Birth: Detroit, MI
Place of Principle Residence: Hyde Park, NY
Biography:
Patricia Lee Gauch was born to Muriel and William Melbourne (an investor) on January 3, 1954 in Detroit, MI. As a child she ran barefoot on the beaches of Michigan during the summer, racing turtles and swimming, and sipping milkshakes. She attributes this experience to the sense of freedom and spontaneity captured in her children’s books. Gauch received her B.A. in English Literature in 1956 at Miami University and subsequently worked as a reporter for the Louisville Courier Journal and a freelanced for the Detroit Free Press. She married Ronald Gauch, a scientist and administrator, and had three children, Sarah, Christine, and John. After the birth of her first child, Gauch turned from journalism to children’s literature. She took a writing class from a well-known children’s author, Jean Fritz, who Gauch attributes the sale of her first book. In 1970 Gauch received her M.A.T. and PhD at Manhattanville College and worked at Coward-McCann as a Publisher and Writer. Between 1972 and 1983 Gauch was a teacher for Gill – St. Berhards School and then went on to teach children’s literature at Drew University and Rutgers University. In 1985 she became the edititor-in-chief for Philomel Books and served as chairman of Rutgers University Advisory Council on Children’s Literature from 1984 t0 1986. Gauch has published almost forty picture books and novels, several of which have been inspired by her children. Her free-form verse book Thunder at Gettysburg is still used as a classroom resource thirty years after its publication date. In the 1970s Gauch was one of the first authors to present strong female characters in her books, which are now considered a requirement. Gauch currently lives with her husband in Hyde Park, New York.
Selected Works:
- Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys (2004)
- Tanya and the Red Shoes (2002)
- Presenting Tanya The Ugly Duckling (1999)
- Tanya and Emily in a Dance for Two, Philomel (1994)
- Dance Tanya (1989)
- Thunder at Gettysburg (1975)
Awards:
- 1976 Mark Twain Award Nominee
- 1978 Boston Globe – Horn book award
Critical Reception:
For Christina Katrina and the Box:
“You won’t believe how much fun a cardboard box can be! A gleeful little story of imaginative play enlivened by the delightful illustrations.”
—School Library Journal
“The idea of imaginative play is convincingly and elaborately pursued. The illustrations augment the story with visual detail.”
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work:
As a child Gauch spent her summers on the beaches of Michigan. She later incorporated her memories of the spontaneity and freedom of these summers in her children’s books.