Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature (SSML)

Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature (SSML) The organization publishes the peer-reviewed scholarly journal MidAmerica along with Midwestern Miscellany. More information can be found at https://ssml.org/

Founded in 1971, SSML encourages the study of Midwestern literature and culture in whatever directions the insight, imagination and curiosity of its members may lead. SSML holds an annual conference in East Lansing, Michigan, with presentations of scholarly research and creative writing, and also sponsors panels at the conferences of MLA and MMLA. SSML members also produced the two-volume Dictiona

ry of Midwestern Literature. SSML's annual awards include the Mark Twain Award, presented to a living writer for distinguished contributions to Midwestern literature; the MidAmerica Award, presented to a living scholar for outstanding contributions to the study of Midwestern literature; and the David D. Anderson Award for Outstanding Essay in Midwestern Literary Studies, presented to the author of a scholarly essay published in a journal or edited volume during the previous year.

Singer-songwriter Jack White of Detroit speaks about lyrics as poetry, in this feature from Poetry (Chicago).
06/23/2026

Singer-songwriter Jack White of Detroit speaks about lyrics as poetry, in this feature from Poetry (Chicago).

Poems, readings, poetry news and the entire 110-year archive of POETRY magazine.

06/13/2026

Bob Dylan talks about the “magic” involved in the composition of his early songs.

05/13/2026

Inspired by an artist residency at Whiterock Conservancy in Western Iowa, You Were Never Lost: Poems From the Tallgrass Prairie emerged from daily walks through its protected prairie, woodland, and river valley, deepening into reflections on the enduring ties between people, place, and memory.

Suzanna de Baca is a writer, poet, and artist whose work explores themes of transformation. A proud Latina and native Iowan, she is a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, and her poetry has appeared in a range of literary journals and anthologies. She is a recipient of the Derick Burleson Poetry Award and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Join us on Wednesday, May 13 for Suzanna C. de Baca's Book Launch at Franklin Event Center - Room 148. Refreshments are at 6:00 p.m. and the program will begin at 6:30 p.m.

04/27/2026
Join us Tuesday nights in May, on Zoom at 7 p.m. EST, for the Friends of Roethke 2026 Virtual Speaker Series. Register i...
04/27/2026

Join us Tuesday nights in May, on Zoom at 7 p.m. EST, for the Friends of Roethke 2026 Virtual Speaker Series. Register in advance for each talk. The first is on May 5, when William Barillas speaks about the last poem in Roethke's last book. On May 12: Paul Nelson speaks on "Theodore Roethke and the Birth of Cascadian Poetry." On May 19, Jan Worth speaks on "Elegies from the Last Days of the Empire: Roethke and a New Book of Poetry." Finally, on May 26, Andrew David King speaks about Roethke's great love poem ‘Words for the Wind.”

Please join us for an online talk from William Barillas, “Once More, The Round”: Roethke’s Last Word. This is the first of four talks as part of our 2026 Virtual Speaker Series.

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East Lansing, MI
48824

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