People: Susan Ager

Who's the top writer in Detroit? Professionals surveyed by Detroit Monthly chose Susan Ager, '75, which probably came as no surprise to readers of her thrice-weekly lifestyle column in the Detroit Free Press.

In her first year as columnist, Ager has provided some of the most refreshing insights one will ever find in a newspaper, told in a writing style that conveys volumes with quiet economy. 'I focus more on details,' says Susan, 39, who previously honed her skills at the Associated Press, the Chicago Tribune, and the San Jose Mercury News. 'I try to write simply, you know, write less and tell stories more.'

For example, in one column bashing air-conditioning, she describes childhood summer sensations so vividly one could feel the ice cubes running down her arms and hear the night sound of 'a hundred condensers humming a new age mantra.' By the end, the reader feels guilty about moving 'like chilled slabs of salmon along the conveyor belt of our lives: home, car, office, all of them icy.' Susan explains, 'A good writer tries to move readers to anger, to tears, to laughter. Readers today are numbed by everything happening. You have to penetrate that inner shield they've built up.'

Susan is proud of being the writing coach for her newspaper the past two years, and as well as for the Knight-Ridder chain. She credits MSU professors like Mary Gardner and George Hough with inspiring her. A 4.0 student and native of Dearborn Heights, Susan received a four-year, all- expenses-paid Ford Foundation scholarship to attend any college in the country. She chose MSU 'because at that time the student newspaper was reputed to be one of the best in the country and I thought that would be a great experience.'

It was- -until she became State News editor-in-chief in her senior year. 'That year was a blur,' she recalls with laughter. 'All I remember was being late to every class and being exhausted all the time.'