Literary calendar: Mick Sterling does 'Stories and Songs' reading and concert at the Dakota

Mary Ann Grossmann, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
·3 min read

Mar. 20—MICK STERLING — Rock singer and leader of many bands, a key player in the Bayfront Blues Fest, presents "Stories and Songs," a live, in-person book reading and concert livestreamed from the Dakota in Minneapolis to introduce his book "AND ELSE (A Version of Life According to Mick Sterling)," in which he becomes a observer who, through 24 new essays, ruminates on toast, coffee, card tables and other things. The performance will feature chapters read by Sterling as well as his original songs that coordinate with the particular narrative of the chapters. He will be joined by his long-time collaborator and friend, pianist Peter Guertin. 7 p.m. March 24. Tickets are $15, available at 612-332-1010 or online at dakotacooks.com. Proceeds benefit Sterling's The 30-Days Foundation and The Masterpiece Foundation that honors his son, Tucker Sterling Jensen, who passed away from lymphoma in March of 2019.

LAYLA ALAMMAR: Writer and academic from Kuwait presents "Silence is a Sense: A Novel," about a young woman, traumatized into muteness after a devastating trip from war-torn Syria, who sits in her apartment in an unnamed English city and watches the small dramas of her neighbors through their windows across the way. At the same time she begins writing for a magazine under the pseudonym "the Voiceless," trying to explain the refugee experience without sensationalizing it. Free. 5 p.m. Monday, March 22, presented by Magers & Quinn. Live-streamed on the store's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

H.W. BRANDS: One of the foremost American Studies scholars writing today, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist with 40 books to his credit, discusses his most recent, "The Zealot and the Emancipator: John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, and the Struggle for American Freedom" 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, presented by Metropolitan Library Service Agency's Club Book series. No registration required. Live-streamed on facebook.com/ClubBook.

ROBERT KOLKER: Investigative reporter known for his exposes in New York Magazine and Bloomberg News discusses his bestseller "Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family," about the 12-child Galvin family in post-World War II Colorado, six of whom had hereditary schizophrenia. 7 p.m. Thursday, March 25, presented by Metropolitan Library Service Agency's Club Book series. No registration required. Live-streamed on facebook.com/ClubBook.

VIET THAN NGUYEN: One of America's most highly regarded contemporary writers presents "The Committed," sequel to "The Sympathizer," which won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize and went on to sell a million copies worldwide. "The Committed" tells the story of "the man of two minds" as he comes as a refugee to France and turns his hand to capitalism. $5. 7 p.m. Thursday, March 25, presented by Magers & Quinn via Eventbrite. Registration required. Go to: magersandquinn.com.

HELEN OYEYEMI: British fiction writer based in Prague reads from and discusses her new novel, "Peaces," named Most Anticipated Book of 2021 by five magazines and newspapers. Described by Publishers Weekly as "delightfully bonkers," it includes curious characters, strange events, and mysteries. 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 24, presented via Zoom by the Esther Freier Lectures in Literature and the University of Minnesota English department. Free and open to the public. Registration information: umn.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_O_iJINu0Q3Oar47PzFg0xA.

LARRY OLMSTEAD: Bestselling author of "Real Food/Fake Food" discusses "FANS: How Watching Sports Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Understanding," in conversation with Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter Reid Forgrave. 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, presented by Magers & Quinn. Free; live-streamed on the Magers & Quinn Facebook page and YouTube channel.