Literary calendar: Poems from a UMN professor and a Pulitzer winner

Mary Ann Grossmann, Pioneer Press
·2 min read

RAY GONZALEZ: Professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota celebrates release of “Suggest Paradise,” a collection of complex poems that embody the Southwest and the borderlands. He will be joined by Jose Felipe Ozuna, Merle Geode, Kathryn Savage and Michel Torres. Gonzalez, author of 16 books of poetry, has won three Minnesota Book Awards and received a 2017 Fellowship in Poetry from the Library of Congress. Free. 6 p.m. Saturday, June 3, Milkweed Books bookstore in the Open Book building, 1011 Washington Ave. S., Mpls. For reservation information go to: milkweed.org/event.

LYNETTE REINI-GRANDELL: Discusses “Wild Things: A Trans-Glam-Punk-Rock Love Story.” 7 p.m. Thursday, June 1, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

NASH JENKINS: Presents “Foster Dad Explores the Cosmos.” 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 31, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

LUIS ALBERTO URREA: Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for his nonfiction “The Devil’s Highway,” discusses his novel “Good Night, Irene,” based on the true story of heroic Red Cross women in World War II. 6 p.m. Friday, June 2, Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., Mpls.

What else is going on

Little Free Library, the organization that puts books into the hands of neighborhood kids, organizations and institutions all over the world, announced the fifth annual Todd H. Bol awards for Outstanding Achievement. Recipients are: Dynamic Book Club of Santa Ana, Calif.; Valerie Janis of Pine Ridge (S.D.) Reservation; John Manuel Newland, Athens Ga.; Mai Le, Daly City, Calif.; Tiffany Lester, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and San Diego County Library, Calif. The awards are named for LFL’s funder, the late Todd Bol, who created the first Little Free Library book-sharing box in 2009 in Hudson, Wis.

“Proud to Be Me,” a colorful board book designed to teach toddlers about children of all abilities, is the fourth published by Gillette Children’s Healthcare Press, founded by Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul, one of the few children’s hospitals in the world that publishes books for children, families and professionals. Written by the hospital’s pediatric hand surgeons, Ann Van Heest and Deborah Bohn, illustrated by Rick Korab, the book teaches toddlers about physical differences in multiple body parts, showcasing “that our differences make us unique and something to be proud of,” according to the authors. The book was funded by the James House MD, MS Fund for Hand and Upper Extremity Excellence at Gillette and all proceeds will go back to the fund.

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