Jeff Vande ZandeJeff Vande Zande is the author of three books of fiction. He was born and raised in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Rich in beauty, the Upper Peninsula is scarce in jobs, and in such an environment that Vande Zande's sensibilities about work took shape. ande Zande's father was a college professor, yet many of his cousins and uncles worked in the iron ore mines. Often the talk around Vande Zande's family table was of layoffs and strikes at the mines. As a young boy Vande Zande was haunted by the palpable knowledge that having and fighting for a good job is an important thing. He came to understand this even more in his teenage years when he found and then lost his first job working at a small fast food restaurant, until the owner decided suddenly to close it. At sixteen, Vande Zande felt the rug of employment pulled out from under him and the experience of losing it has stayed with him. After graduating from college with a degree in English (without a teaching certificate), Vande Zande began the search for work again. He found it as a maintenance engineer in a hotel. Though he knew little about tools, a supervisor took him Zande under his wing, and taught him how to fix things and to work hard and with pride. Vande Zande returned to lower Michigan with his wife, Jennifer, after grad school. After working part-time at a few colleges and universities, he became a full-time professor at Delta College. He has a son, Max, and a daughter, Emerson. Vande Zande's life has been a mix of both working-class and academia, and this latest novel, LANDSCAPE WITH FRAGMENTED FIGURES, is a study and tribute to both. Jeff Vande Zande has spent most of his life in Michigan, where the talk is always of jobs, loss of jobs, and the beauty of the landscape. His books include a novel, Into the Desperate Country (March Street Press), a collection, Poems New, Used, and Rebuilds (March Street Press) and, also a short story collection, Emergency Stopping and Other Stories (Bottom Dog Press). He lives in Midland with wife, son, and daughter and teaches English and writing at Delta College. Read More Read Less