Michael J. Rosen (born September 20, 1954), is an American writer, ranging from children's picture books to adult poetry and to novels, and editor of anthologies ranging almost as broadly. He has acted as editor for Mirth of a Nation and 101 Damnations: The Humorists' Tour of Personal Hells, and his poetry has been featured in The Best American Poetry 1995.
Early life
Rosen was born in Columbus, Ohio, the eldest of Marvin and Nona Rosen's three children. He spent his childhood exploring the wilderness around the former pasture in which his parents had built their house and taking drives through the country with his family. His childhood, and part of his adulthood, were also filled with summer camp, an institution which he attended as a camper from age four to thirteen and as a counselor from fourteen to twenty-six. Rosen was never the type to play well in team activities; he states that the more solitary activities at camp "spared me the uneasiness I felt when playing team sports like Little League or spending phys ed class time waiting to be chosen, wishing to be elsewhere. That dread of being singled out lingered through middle school. I never realized that almost everyone there harbored some reason to feel uncomfortable." Perhaps a contributing factor was the bullies who harassed him through his school years. His favorite place at school was the art room, where he spent all his free time during school hours; after school Rosen would continue with his artistic inclinations through drawing, collecting comics, and spending parts of his weekend at the advertising agency operated by his best friend's father. His parents, a loving couple, were very supportive in all his pursuits, as were several of his teachers and neighbors.
After he graduated from high school, Rosen chose to go to Kent State University for a year before transferring into the pre-med program at Ohio State University. He finished up as an animal behavior major in 1976 and attended St. George's University School of Medicine in Grenada for a short time before going on to work as an instructor for Ohio State University through 1985. During that time, he also attended Columbia University, earning his Masters in poetry in 1981.
Career
After getting his MFA in poetry, Rosen started work as a design consultant for the Jefferson Center for Learning and the Arts in 1982. In 1983, he became the literary director of the Thurber House in Columbus, Ohio. During his near-twenty-year stay as literary director, Rosen was the editor for several compilations of James Thurber's writings; he also was involved in the creation of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. Rosen has also "taught in the Ohio Art Council Poetry-in-the-Schools Program and Greater Columbus Arts Council Artist-in-the-Schools Program, and has conducted over 500 young authors' conferences, in-service days, writing workshops, guest author days, and residencies (for elementary, middle school, and high school students and teachers)."
Notable works
Michael J. Rosen is a very prolific author who has been involved in the creation of over 150 books. He first began his career as an author in 1984 with the publication of a book of poetry called A Drink at the Mirage. Rosen has written on a wide variety of topics, ranging from children’s books on religion (Our Eight Nights of Hanukkah; The Blessing of the Animals) to books about dogs (With a Dog like That, a Kid like Me... ; The Company of Dogs: Twenty-one Stories by Contemporary Masters) to humorous fact books on various subjects (No Dribbling the Squid: Octopush, Skin Kicking, Elephant Polo and Other Oddball Sports; Balls!; The 60-Second Encyclopedia). Some of his most popular works include his most recent book Any Body's Guess!: Quirky Quizzes About What Makes You Tick, Mirth of a Nation: The Best Contemporary Humor, 101 Damnations: The Humorists' Tour of Personal Hells, The Cuckoo's Haiku, and Elijah's Angel: A Story for Chanukah and Christmas. Rosen says of his ideas on writing, "A story must be a real enough house so that you can walk around, get comfortable, grab something from the fridge, and then be surprised by the ideas that haunt the place."
Rosen has also acted as an illustrator for several works, among them The Blessing of the Animals, Food Fight: Poets Join the Fight Against Hunger with Poems to Favorite Foods, and a variety for Gourmet (magazine) and The New Yorker.