ALLENDALE, Mich. - What does the Upper Peninsula of Michigan have in commonwith Saudi Arabia? Ask Ander Monson. Or better yet, read his books, "Other Electricities" and "Vacationland," in which he makes other unusual links, such as math and physics to poetry and fiction. Both books have been receiving wide acclaim since their simultaneous publication in May. National Public Radio recommended his books during today's "Morning Edition" broadcast of summer reading picks. A review in the June 26 issue of The New York Times called "Other Electricities" a "poetic, startling, even funny collection of linked stories."
Monson, an assistant professor of writing at Grand Valley State University, is the first to admit that his writing is a bit strange and experimental, but says it also has enough regular elements to hook a large readership.
"'Other Electricities' is a somewhat autobiographical novel told in stories by the same narrator, which is me, though fictionalized," said Monson. "It is about a place, a murder, and a love story, too."
The place is Michigan's Upper Peninsula; Monson lived in Houghton throughout his childhood. The murder happened to his baby-sitter, and the love story, well, read the book. "Vacationland," his book of poetry also set in the U.P., won the Tupelo Press Editors Prize.
When he started the ninth grade, Monson's family moved with his father's career to Saudi Arabia, an area he considers the opposite of Michigan in weather, yet similar to the U.P. because of the remoteness.
"We lived in an American compound very isolated from the local culture," said Monson. "Yet there was no English-speaking high school, so I moved back alone, to attend boarding school at Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan."
From there he attended Knox College in Illinois, where he at first majored in physics, then switched to English, and won the Nick Adams Short Story Award. He then completed master's degrees at Iowa State University and the University of Alabama. He came to Grand Valley as a visiting professor in 2003 and became an assistant professor last year.
While at Alabama, Monson studied the culture of Southern literature and began to ponder how the North might be able to claim a similar status. He would like to create the kind of writing community he wishes he had when first starting out.
"There is a lot of creative energy here at Grand Valley with the Michigan Novelists collection in the Seidman Library, the new Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors, and the recent acquisition of Jim Harrison's papers," said Monson. "We're the natural place to start some kind of Great Lakes Literature Coalition, perhaps develop an anthology of Michigan writers. There are some great possibilities and I'm hoping that I may be able to contribute in some way. It would be my love song to Michigan. I want to honor the state and Grand Valley as much as I can, because they took a chance on me."
Grand Valley State University, established in 1960, is a four-year public university in Michigan. It attracts more than 22,000 students with its high quality programs and state-of-the-art facilities. Grand Valley provides a fully accredited liberal arts undergraduate and graduate education and has campuses in Allendale, Grand Rapids, and Holland and centers in Muskegon and Traverse City. Grand Valley is the comprehensive regional university for the state's second largest metropolitan area and offers 68 undergraduate and 25 graduate degree programs.
Contact Ander Monson at (616) 331-3411 or [email protected]
