Eng112 instructor John Palen is a 34-year resident of Midland and a retired professor of journalism at Central Michigan University. He publishes Midland Issues, a monthly newsletter that covers local government, and he also puts out a Web version, which is updated daily.

Before going into teaching in 1983, he was a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in the Midwest, including the Joplin (Mo.) Globe, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, the Southern Illinoisan, the Edwardsville (Ill.) Intelligencer, and the Midland Daily News, where he was the editor from 1975 to 1983.

Palen earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Washington University in St. Louis, a master’s in journalism from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. from MSU in American Studies, with a specialization in science and technology studies. His doctoral dissertation was on press coverage of the dioxin controversy.

At CMU Palen taught courses including reporting, editing, public affairs reporting and media law. He was chair of the Department of Journalism in 1993-96. His research interests included environmental and community journalism. He retired in May 2009.

Palen is also a poet, whose work has appeared in magazines and journals nationwide for 30 years. His seventh collection of poetry, “Drizzle and Plum Blossoms,” was published in 2009 by March Street Press. Written in collaboration with Midland writer Li C. Tien, it is a collection of translations of 11th and 12th century Chinese poetry.