On Thursday, June 2, 2016, Janet Heller will be reading her poetry about families, discussing her children’s book The Passover Surprise (Fictive Press, 2015), and autographing her books at Writing the Midwest, the annual conference of the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature, in the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center at Michigan State University, 219 S. Harrison Rd. in East Lansing, MI 48823. Janet will discuss The Passover Surprise, a middle-grade chapter book, on Thursday, June 2 from 2:15 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. Her paper title is “The Portrayal of Jewish Culture and Family Structure in The Passover Surprise.” Also, she will read “‘Family Reunions,’ ‘Inheritance,’ ‘Mother-in-Law on the Phone,’ and Other Poems” on Thursday June 2 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Her books include the award-winning children’s book about bullying How the Moon Regained Her Shape (Arbordale, 2006; rpt. 2012), her poetry books Traffic Stop (Finishing Line Press, 2011), Folk Concert: Changing Times (Anaphora Literary Press, 2012), and Exodus (WordTech Editions, 2014); and her book of literary criticism Coleridge, Lamb, Hazlitt, and the Reader of Drama (University of Missouri Press, 1990). The conference website is www.ssml.org/symposium The phone number of the Kellogg Center is (517) 432-4000.
