Literary calendar for week of June 26

Mary Ann Grossmann, Pioneer Press
·3 min read

LYNN COX: Celebrates “Tales of Al: The Water Rescue Dog.” In-store. 7 p.m. Thursday, June 30, SubText Books, 6 W. Fifth St., St. Paul.

POETRY WORKSHOPS: Cracked Walnut, a chapter of the League of MN Poets, presents free summer poetry workshops. The first is 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 2, in Highland Park Library and Community Center, 1974 Ford Pkwy., St. Paul. Attendees are asked to bring 10 copies of an original poem to be critiqued. The programs end Aug. 6. RSVP to donna@donnaisaacpoet.com.

NANCY POLAND: Signs copies of “Dancing with Lewy.” 10-11:30 a.m. Friday, July 1, Lake Country Booksellers, 4766 Washington Square, White Bear Lake.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

Little Free Library, based in Hudson, Wis., celebrated opening of the 150,000th Little Free Library at the Mid-Cumberland Community Action Agency Head Start in Lebanon, Tenn. Little Free Library, whose motto is “Take a Book; Share a Book,” began in Hudson in 2009 when the late Todd Bol created a little structure to house books that could be taken free by readers. Now, Little Free Libraries in a variety of shapes and sizes are seen in yards everywhere n the United States as well as 115 countries on seven continents. More than 250 million books have been shared since 2009. The organization grants Little Free Libraries full of books to underserved areas through its Impact Library program and champions diverse books through its Read in Color initiative. More information at LittleFreeLibrary.org.

Three Minnesota organizations received 2022-23 NEA Big Read grant awards from National Endowment for the Arts and Arts Midwest. Each grantee receives support to encourage the collective reading of a selected book that inspires meaningful conversations. Recipients are: American Composers Forum for the book “The Best We Could Do,” $20,000; ArtReach St. Croix, Stillwater, for “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant,” $20,000; and White Bear Center for the Arts, White Bear Lake, for “The Bear,” $17,900. The trio are among 62 grantees nationwide to receive matching grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 to support events and programming inspired by one of 15 contemporary books. The NEA Big Read will award a total of more than $1 million in 2022-23.

University of Minnesota associate professor of English Douglas Kearney won the 2022 Griffin International Poetry Prize for his 2021 collection “Sho.” He will receive $65,000 in Canadian money. The prize is presented by the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry to raise the profile of poets and poetry in Canada and internationally for works written or translated into English. Kearney writes poetry, nonfiction and libretto, and is a McKnight Presidential Fellow. “Sho” received the 2022 Minnesota Rook Award for poetry and was a finalist for the 2022 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Kearney was honored in 2021 as the inaugural recipient of the Campbell Opera Librettist Prize for OPERA America, the first award in American opera specifically recognizing the work of the opera librettist. Kearney co-wrote the libretto of “Sweet Land.” In 2021 he released “Fodder,” a live album collaboration with composer, drummer and turntablist Val Jeanty.