Literary calendar for the week of Sept. 11

Mary Ann Grossmann, Pioneer Press
·5 min read

INGRID ANDERSSON: Discusses “Jordemoder: Poems of a Midwife,” published by Holy Cow Press in Duluth. Andersson, a board-certified nurse midwife for more than 20 years, has helped birth more than a thousand babies at home. “Jordemoder” is an old Swedish word for midwife that means earth/land/world/mother. Free. 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, American Swedish Institute, 2600 Park Ave., Minneapolis

GRETHEN ANTHONY: Minnesota author of “Evergreen Tidings From the Baumgartners” reads from “The Book Haters’ Book Club,” an homage to strife and love in complex families, and to independent bookstores and the people who love and patronize them. In conversation with Joshua Moehling. 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 12, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis

ANTONIA ANGRESS: Minneapolis resident and University of Minnesota MFA graduate introduces her debut novel, “Sirens & Muses,” about four artists drawn into a web of rivalry and desire at an elite art school in 2011. When one of them concocts an explosive hoax, they must struggle to find new identities in art, in society and among each other. 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul.

CHRISTMAN/HOPPER: Jill Christman presents “If This Were Fiction: A Love Story in Essays” in conversation with editor/writing coach Kate Hopper, author of the award-winning “Ready for Air: A Journey through Premature Motherhood.” 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis.

HUGH EAKIN: Presents “Picasso’s War: How Modern Art Came to America.” 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis.

KYLE MILLS: Introduces “Oath of Loyalty,” the new thriller featuring agent Mitch Rapp in the series begun by the late Vince Flynn. Rapp agrees to hide in plain sight when the president of the United States deems him a threat. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, Once Upon a Crime, 604 W. 26th St., Minneapolis.

DAN MUNSON: Reads from “Malice Toward None,” his survival story about four Kochendorfer siblings orphaned by the Dakota War of 1862. The family was among founders of what is known as Old Salem Shrine, a small, one-room church on the shores of Schmidt Lake in Inver Grove Heights. The author tells of how the four children reestablished their lives through the help of members of the Old Salem congregation. 2-3 p.m. open house, 3 p.m. author presentation, Sunday, Sept. 18, Old Salem Shrine, Upper 55th Street and Annette Avenue, Inver Grove Heights.

OLDER LGBTQ+: Readings of original works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction by writers who participated in a creative writing class sponsored by Quatrefoil Library, taught by teaching artist and author Brian Malloy. Free. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, Quatrefoil Library, 1220 E. Lake St., Minneapolis.

THOMAS R. SMITH: Poet and Loft instructor, long-time assistant to the late poet Robert Bly, hosts the Twin Cities launch of his new collection, “Medicine Year,” about 2020 when he and his wife went through personal crises that coincided with the coronavirus pandemic, in a medical “perfect storm.” But the poems are not fundamentally about illness or pandemic, but about healing and being alive in times that deplete our physical and emotional resources. 7:10 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, Unity Church-Unitarian, 733 Portland Ave., St. Paul.

MELISSA STEUSSY: Signs copies of “Let Your Privates Breathe.” 10-11:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 16, Lake Country Booksellers, 4766 Washington Square, White Bear Lake.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

Opus & Olives, Oct. 9: Four high-profile authors will be guest readers at Friends of the St. Paul Public Library’s Oct. 9 Opus & Olives fundraiser.

Emcee will be White House correspondent April Ryan, CNN political analyst and author of the new book “Black Women will Save the World.”

Joining her will be:

  • Buzz Bissinger, Pulitzer Prize winner (“Friday Night Lights”) and former Pioneer Press reporter, introducing his nonfiction book set in World War II, “The Mosquito Bowl”

  • Ann Hood, whose memoir “Fly Girl” is about working as a flight attendant in the late 1970s

  • And Weike Wang, born in China and a “5 Under 35” honoree whose new novel is “Joan is OK.”

5 p.m. cocktail reception, 6:15 p.m. dinner, St. Paul River Centre. Tickets are $50 per person. Go to thefriends.org.

Talking Volumes and Club Book reading series begin their fall/winter season this week.

Talking Volumes, presented by Minnesota Public Radio and Star Tribune at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, opens the series with bestselling historian Karen Armstrong discussing her new book “Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond With the Natural World.” Armstrong is the author of numerous books on religious affairs. In 2008 she was awarded the TED prize and began working with TED on the Charter for Compassion, created online by the general public and crafted by leading thinkers in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

Armstrong is on at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14. Other guest authors are Celeste Ng, Oct. 26; Dani Shapiro, Oct. 28; and Ross Gay, Nov. 2. Tickets are $28. For information, go to mprevents.org.

Club Book, which brings authors to local libraries for free readings, launches with a virtual appearance by Somalia-born Boyan J. Farah at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13.

He is the author of “America Made Me A Black Man,” one of the first full-length examinations of American racism from an African outsider’s perspective. Other Club Book authors, appearing either virtually or in person, are Peng Shepherd, Jamie Ford, Mohsin Hamid, Kristin Harmel, Leila Mottley, Marie Myung-Ok Lee and Nick Hornby. Go to clubbook.org.

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