Yooper Poetry

Book excerpt: Sometimes the best way to learn about a unique region is to listen to the stories told by those who've actually lived there. You learn things that no guidebook would ever tell you. You meet unforgettable characters who've strayed far off the beaten path. And you see clearly again how the power of memory is so strong that they can still recall incidents decades later. Michigan's Upper Peninsula has always been filled with remarkable sensations and indelible stories. With this anthology, the editor Raymond Luczak sought to include poets who not only live in the U.P., but also who used to live there. What did it mean to be a Yooper then? What about now? Even for those who no longer abide there, the U.P. is indeed a special place, and it isn't just thanks to Mother Nature. The Yooper mindset requires a particular kind of faith in resilience against persistent odds. The poets in this collection have never forgotten what it means to be a Yooper. Come partake in our celebration! Featuring Martin Achatz Jennifer Elen Bríd B. Harlan Deemer Chad Faries Deborah K. Frontiera Kathleen M. Heideman John Hilden Jonathan Johnson Kathleen Carlton Johnson Ellen Lord Raymond Luczak Gala Malherbe Beverly Matherne R. H. Miller Jane Piirto Dana Richter T. Kilgore Splake Suzanne Sunshower Russell Thorburn The editor Raymond Luczak, who spent nine years each in Ironwood and Houghton, Michigan, has never forgotten what it means to be a Yooper. It still runs deep in his veins, and it continues to inform his every step. When he began to wonder whether he was the only one who’d felt this way, he decided to find out by calling out to others who were of the U.P. diaspora as well as those who still resided there. He found a community who wanted to be part of the larger Yooper (and poetic) conversation about identity and connection. What he discovered in the poems submitted for his consideration was just how powerful some childhood memories can be. Many of the poems illustrated yet again the truth of that rephrased maxim—You can take a person out of the U.P., but you can’t take the U.P. out of them. Many poems throughout the anthology seem to call out to each other, as if they are having a deep conversation and nodding in agreement. Yooper Poetry: On Experiencing Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has assembled a community of some 19 poets who wanted to be part of the larger Yooper conversation about identity and connection that is still ongoing today, and the anthology remains very relevant to America’s future history. Who are we, and who are we to each other? The anthology offers many possible answers. RAYMOND LUCZAK is the author and editor of over 30 books, including U.P.-centric titles such as Far from Atlantis: Poems (Gallaudet University Press), Chlorophyll: Poems about Michigan's Upper Peninsula (Modern History Press), and Compassion, Michigan: The Ironwood Stories (Modern History Press). His poetry collection once upon a twin: poems (Gallaudet University Press) was a top ten U.P. Notable Book of the Year for 2021. His work has appeared in Poetry, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere. A proud Yooper, he lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.