Michigan, My Michigan

Why I write about her

In my banner heading, I quote Michigan classics professor Charles Gayley’s paean to our state, written in 1878. Gayley exhorts us to “Sing no more the fair Aegean where the floating Cyclades shine.” It’s far better, Gayley says, to sing the praises of Michigan.

I’ve always loved this description of our state as the “land beyond adorning.” Indeed, Michigan needs no adornment—no impassable mountain ranges, no crumbling medieval castles, no great whales spouting. Here, 3,288 linear miles of freshwater shoreline encompass two peninsulas rich in history, art, and nature.

This is what I write about in Michiganography: our state’s history (often troubled, still waiting for reconciliation), our literature, our art (both folk and fine), and our incomparable wild places (the most beautiful in the world).

What you won’t find here are lists of top-ten beaches and tastiest micro-brews, or recommendations for shopping or resorts. I like those things well enough; I don’t write about them.

The last stanza of Galey’s “Goddess of the Inland Seas” is worth quoting:

Now the eyes that are anointed
see the blossom-tide of spring;
ours the blissful age appointed,
ours the clime the poets sing.
Hark, O Maid of Western Morning
wave and woodland, brook and breeze,
hail thee, Queen beyond adorning
girdled with thy inland seas.

I’m not sure if ours is a “blissful age” (actually, I’m quite sure it is not), but singing Michigan is still a great privilege, and that’s what I intend to do here. I heartily welcome your comments, suggestions for posts, etc.

---