JEAN E. VERTHEIN

Growing up in a Midwestern college town led Jean to work at many jobs and explore outward along the Mississippi River and much further encouraged by her parents who thrived on words, reading and crafts. Bussing across Afghanistan and Iran stirred her to write about her theme of survival. Counseling and teaching as an Adjunct Professor in Social Work and Public Health, at Columbia University resulted in 9/11 authorities appointing her first as a supervisor during recovery. Her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College and MSW from Smith College helped inform her belief that experience best informs literary efforts.
BOTTLED CRIES AT SEA (Austin: AtmospherePress, 2021) collects stories of individuals confronting evils, such as weapons of mass destruction and poverty.
THESE BOOKS SEEK TO EXPLORE EVIL AND SURVIVAL.
LAST GENTLEMAN IN THE MIDDLE DISTANCE (New York and Lisbon: Adelaide Books, 2019) ,a timely literary historical novel, tells of Meta’s coming of age after World War ! in the 1920s. Running away from her estranged family in rural Lower Saxony, she arrives with her friends in flamboyant Berlin. By choice or fate, the politics of the day and the struggle for food and home absorbs each one. To duck out of rural turmoil, the must confront their upbringing and the urban scene od jazz club-going, expressive art, free sex, and street fights, making decisions that affect their entire lives. They are little prepared for the looming takeover. Meta seeks to plot her way to America. But her closet friend Greta cannot risk fleeing.
Blurring the Lines Between Architecture and Nature
Stories of Persistence