From Moosehead to Misery Bay or . . . The Moose in the VW Bug

After writing seven books of short fiction, a novel, and a book of poetry, all with Finnish themes and characters, Lauri Anderson has finally written his memoir. In it, he tells stories of growing up in rural Maine, life in the Peace Corps in Nigeria, Truk Lagoon, and Turkey, and teaching at Finlandia University in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. With his typical humor and common-sense approach to life, Lauri expertly weaves together the stories that have brought him thus far.

Lauri Anderson Lauri Anderson is chair of Language and Literature at Finlandia University. His books have been positively reviewed nationally and have been studied and taught at a number of universities. They have been topics at conferences and of dissertations by doctoral candidates here and in Europe. His work has also been anthologized multiple times. Professor Anderson and his books have appeared on Finnish National Television, and he has received nine study grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grants have allowed him to study Slavic literature at Cornell, twelfth-century French literature at Mt. Holyoke, Commonwealth literature at Indiana University, the Mexican novel in Guadalajara, American humor at the University of New Mexico, Polynesian literature at the University of Hawaii, Islamic issues at Colorado College, and Appalachian literature at Ferrum College. He drinks Moxie and eats tripe, kidney, and heart. He has lived and taught in Nigeria, Truk Lagoon, and Turkey and has lived in France, Mexico, and England. He survived the Biafran genocide and has been threatened at gunpoint twice. He has raised his daughters alone and loves Flannery O’Connor, Faulkner, Melville, and hundreds of other authors.