Otnipenop is an Ojibwe word, which roughly translated means “man attempting to reach the top of a mountain despite many obstacles and ordeals.”
or . . .
It could be my last name spelled backwards.
Seriously, though: Joe Ponepinto is a graduate of the MFA program at the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts, where he studied under award-winning authors including David Wagoner, Bruce Holland Rogers, and Kathleen Alcalá. He was a journalist, political speechwriter and business owner before turning to writing full time. He’s founder and president of the board of the Suburban Detroit Reading Series. His work has been published in many print journals, including Vestal Review, Los Angeles Review, Fifth Wednesday Journal, The Summerset Review’s annual anthology, Raven Chronicles and others. He lives in Michigan with his wife, Dona, and Henry the coffee-drinking dog.
