密歇根新闻广播 值得一看的论文

Wayne State University Press has released a new compilation¹ of 23 essays by award-winning Michigan authors titled Elemental: A Collection of Michigan Creative Nonfiction.

As writer Kelly Fordon writes in her review below, we are lucky to have this many extraordinary writers living in our state.

As the anthology editor, Anne-Marie Oomen notes in the introduction, Michigan is a complex place, and if any book could come close to harnessing that complexity², this one does. The range of subject matter is staggering and, according to Oomen, organizing the material was no easy task. In the end, she decided³ to present these essays in four sections, through the lens of the elements we are shaped by: earth, wind, fire and water, in order to better reflect some of the intrinsic themes in Michigan literature: survival, transformation⁴, tenacity⁵, grit⁶, and a sometimes grueling independence.

In one chapter, the reader will learn about bending nails at a construction site in Glen Arbor⁷. In the next, moving up north as an Arab American woman. One minute the reader will be transported to the Shaman Drum Bookstore with the poet Keith Taylor as he happens upon a long-lost ancestor in an obscure bargain book. And in yet another essay by Mardi Jo Link, the reader will follow a crime writer whose own family member is being victimized by a teenaged derelict.

The opening essay, Earth by Teresa Scollon, brought me to tears with its vivid descriptions about growing up in The Thumb and her beautiful ruminations about grief and aging, including this one:

You remember the silence of your grandfather, whose silence was a field, a space around him. Nothing you see now is new; everything reminds you of something else, someone you knew who is now gone. Wendell Berry says that you become like a tree standing⁸ over a grave. Some days you wish for someone to hear and see and witness all the memories your carry. Some days you understand that speaking of it only goes so far, only blunts the sharp edges.

In Rhoda Janzen's essay Unforgettable Baby, she writes about becoming a middle-aged⁹, first-time step-parent with hilarious¹⁰ precision. Janzen explains that she had watched her graduate school cohort become parents for the first time reading Saussure and conversing¹¹ about sparkly ponies¹² at the same time, while Janzen herself continued to experience parenting as something to admire from afar, like Mount Rushmore.

As a fellow transplant, I was struck by Michael Steinberg's essay From Manhattan to Leelanau, about coming to terms with the fact that the temporary job he took forty years ago at Michigan State University turned out to be anything but. Steinberg's essay also includes an unlikely comparison between New York and Michigan I found quite charming. He writes, Situated¹³ right at the tip of Michigan's little finger, Northport often reminds me of 129th Street in Rockaway Beach, and even of certain small neighborhoods in the Greenwich Village of my college days.

The collection ends with moving essays by Airea D. Matthews and Ari L. Mokdad, about the burden of racism¹⁴. Mokdad, an Arab-American doctoral student at Wayne State University writes straightforward¹⁵, unadorned powerful prose about the impact of racism on her life:

I'm exhausted¹⁶. I don't want to explain my culture to someone who believes that all Arabs are terrorists. Or that I know how to stop ISIS; or that I am the one who caused 9/11; or that I knew where Osama was hiding. Seriously. These were all real questions.

In the introduction, Oomen says she hopes these essays reflect the spiritual weather here in Michigan, the interconnection between all of our residents. I believe she has succeeded in that endeavor. And, I agree with the assessment¹⁷ of fiction writer Jack¹⁸ Driscoll, who said of Elemental:

The magic of this collection is the way in which each of these distinct and individual voices coalesce¹⁹, montage-like, into a single defining declaration of what it means to fully²⁰ embrace and celebrate a place and its inhabitants in such a reckless and troubled time. The spirit of this book resonated days later, like pure song.

Kelly Fordon is a poet and fiction writer. Her collection of linked stories, Garden for the Blind, was a 2015 Michigan Notable Book. Her newest book of poetry "Goodbye Toothless House" is out now.

1 compilation   

n.编译，编辑

参考例句：

• One of the first steps taken was the compilation of a report.首先采取的步骤之一是写一份报告。
• The compilation of such diagrams,is of lasting value for astronomy.绘制这样的图对天文学有永恒的价值。

2 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

5 tenacity   

n.坚韧

参考例句：

• Tenacity is the bridge to success.坚韧是通向成功的桥。
• The athletes displayed great tenacity throughout the contest.运动员在比赛中表现出坚韧的斗志。

6 grit   

n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。
• I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。

7 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

10 hilarious   

adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed

参考例句：

• The party got quite hilarious after they brought more wine.在他们又拿来更多的酒之后，派对变得更加热闹起来。
• We stop laughing because the show was so hilarious.我们笑个不停，因为那个节目太搞笑了。

11 conversing   

v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I find that conversing with her is quite difficult. 和她交谈实在很困难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were conversing in the parlor. 他们正在客厅谈话。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 ponies   

矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑

参考例句：

• They drove the ponies into a corral. 他们把矮种马赶进了畜栏。
• She has a mania for ponies. 她特别喜欢小马。

13 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

14 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

15 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

16 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

17 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

18 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

19 coalesce   

v.联合，结合，合并

参考例句：

• And these rings of gas would then eventually coalesce and form the planets.这些气体环最后终于凝结形成行星。
• They will probably collide again and again until they coalesce.他们可能会一次又一次地发生碰撞，直到他们合并。

20 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。