The Lilacs of Ishpeming

With these poems, Jane Piirto braids the connections among her Upper Peninsula roots, her Finnish heritage, and the Finnish epic poem, Kalevala. 'The connection to the ancient Kalevala adds a dimension to the mystery, wonder, awe (or maybe historical DNA) ... engages all senses-vibrant colors, the smell of fall apples cooking, swimming in cold Lake Superior, drinking strawberry pop after sauna, and hearing the call of northland wildlife.' -- Diane Salo Montgomery, Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology, Emerita, Oklahoma State University'Ishpeming is framed by craggy bluffs, small lakes, and towering elevator shafts from decommissioned iron ore mines. This is Jane Piirto’s hometown. Like veins of jasper and hematite, generations of women stripe through these poems. Piirto’s words prove that Ishpeming can captivate a person for a lifetime. I understand, because it’s my hometown too.' -- Rev. Jonathan Rundman, author of Lost Songs of the Suomi Synod'Jane Piirto’s poems pulsate with the remnant beauties of Michigan’s hardscrabble Upper Peninsula. ’Tired old mining towns’ offer glimpses of ’amethyst cones’ of lilacs, where ’gardens of iron’ are the heartbreaking, despoiled blossoms of this uniquely remote and magnificent land, derelict open pit mines, ancestral Finns, boreal forests, and nearly uncountable lakes and rivers.' -- Joel Lipman, Emeritus Professor of English, University of ToledoJANE PIIRTO, an award-winning writer of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, grew up in Ishpeming, Michigan. She taught at her alma mater, Northern Michigan University, where she was awarded an honorary doctorate.From the Yooper Poetry Series, Ed. by Raymond LuczakModern History Press 6