Back to list

Joel Howard Thurtell

Born: 05/05/1945   Grand Rapids , MI
Parents: Howard Travis and Ruth Eleanor Thurtell
Spouse: Karen Rhea Fonde
Children: Adam and Abraham
Address(es):
Permanent :
11803 Priscilla Lane
Plymouth , MI 48170
Contact Information:
Fax : 734-453-8303
Phone : 734-453-8303
Website : www.joelontheroad.com
Website : www.uptherouge.com
Email : [email protected]
image of Joel Howard Thurtell

Writings

Image Title Genre Audience Publisher Date
Mouse code Fiction Adult , Children , Teen Plymouth, MI : Hardalee Press 2012
Cross purposes : or if newspapers had covered the crucifixion : a novel Fiction Adult Plymouth, MI : Hardalee Press 2011
Shoestring reporting : how I got to be a big city reporter without going to J school and how you can do it too! Non Fiction Adult Plymouth, Mich. : Hardalee Press 2010
Seydou's Christmas Tree Non Fiction Adult Plymouth, MI : Hardalee Press 2009
Up the Rouge! Paddling Detroit's Hidden River
- Audio Book 		Non Fiction , Michigan Adult Plymouth, MI : Hardalee Press 2009
Image of Up the Rouge! Paddling Detroit's Hidden River Up the Rouge! Paddling Detroit's Hidden River
- Co-author: Patricia Beck. 2010 Michigan Notable Book. 		Non Fiction , Michigan Adult Detroit, MI : Wayne State University Press 2009
Plug Nickel
- Collection of essays 		Non Fiction Adult Plymouth, MI : Hardalee Press 2009
Plug Nickel Shoestring Boat Restoration; How I Turned an Old Fiberglass Boat Mold into a Beautiful Wooden Sailboat, and What I Learned Along the Way Non Fiction Adult Plymouth, MI: Hardalee Press 2009
Big Abe : Indian, fighter
- Article from January 6, 1980, Detroit Magazine, about Albert Leblanc ("Big Abe"), who challenged the State of Michigan on Indian fishing rights and eventually won a Michigan Supreme Court case. Includes a separate section on the history of Indian fishing rights in Michigan 		Non Fiction , Michigan History Adult [Detroit] : Detroit Magazine 1980
http://joelontheroad.com
- Blog 		Non Fiction
What is the aim or goal of your writing: I grew up in Lowell, Michigan, listening to wonderful true stories told by my grandparents, my parents, my aunt and uncle and scores of people whose yarns I heard every Saturday morning as I collected for my Grand Rapids paper route. In church on Sundays, I heard sermons that were really stories wrapped around scripture. At an early age, I began concocting my own tales, either out of whole cloth, fantasies, or retellings in my head of events I'd seen. At some point very early, I learned that if I wrote down my stories, I could force discipline and structure on them. Discipline, direction, structure contributed to flow, which forced me to explore my thoughts, ideas and stories further than daydreaming would allow. Writing, I learned, is an extension, or rather, an integral part, of thinking. Writing enables me to explore my ideas by transposing them from by brain to paper, where others may review, critique and further enlarge them. When I am writing well, it is like being the conductor of an orchestra, waving my baton at this idea or that fact, making sure they come in on time at the proper pitch and rhythm. Writing, when I'm really cooking, is a glorious, transformative experience.

May inquiries be sent to you about doing workshops, readings: Yes

Donated books to the Authors & Illustrators database project: Yes

Skills:
Author

Education:

Degree Institution Location Date
Master of Science (M.S.) University of Michigan Ann Arbor , MI 1924 -1925

Career:

Position Organization Location Date
Reporter Detroit Free Press Detroit , MI 1984 -2007
Reporter South Bend Tribune South Bend 1981 -1984
Editor Berrien Springs Journal Era 1979 -1981
- Before newspapers, I was a farm worker, newspaper carrier, printer's helper, congressional intern, library assistant, taxicab driver/owner, foundry grinder, woodshop worker, Manhattan deli counterman, radio reporter and I was stringer before I became a fulltime newspaper staff writer. During the newspaper strike in the mid-1990s, I started a business, selling old ham radio equipment. I also love to sail, and I love wooden boats. For more than five years, I wrote a column about wooden sailboats for Flashes, a publication of the International Lightning Class Association. My book, Plug Nickel, is a collection of those essays.
- I am a retired newspaper reporter. I write and publish books, articles, and a blog. I was voted "best example of an independent blogger raising hell" by the staff of Metro Times in 2009

Other Resources:

MeLCat Links:
http://elibrary.mel.org/search/a?searchtype=X&searcharg=Joel+Howard+Thurtell+&SORT=D&searchscope=15&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

Last Modified On: 7/21/2016 12:00:00 AM