Minneapolis is celebrating books and those who produce them this fall. In partnership with the Hennepin County Library and the Minneapolis public schools, the city is launching a “One Minneapolis, One Read” community reading initiative, and The Friends of the Hennepin County Library is sponsoring a series of events spotlighting three local presses.
According to Central Connecticut State University, which compiles an annual list of the country’s most literate cities, Minneapolis has been knocked out of the top ranking by both Seattle and Washington, D.C. It looks like the Minneapolis literati are trying to win back the title of “America’s Most Literate City.”
First off, Tuesday, the city of Minneapolis, in partnership with the Hennepin County Library and the Minneapolis public schools system, announced the launch of the “One Minneapolis, One Read” community-wide program. According to a press release issued by the city, the inspiration for the “One Minneapolis, One Read” program came from a local organization whose mission is to understand how race and racism impacts local communities. The organizations involved hope the program will “promote literary and respectful public dialogue,” explained Cheyenne Erickson, a city spokesperson.
The first “One Minneapolis, One Read” selection is The Grace of Silence (Pantheon Books, 2010) by Minneapolis native and National Public Radio journalist Michele Norris. The Grace of Silence is a memoir of Norris’s years growing up African-American in a predominantly white neighborhood during the ‘60s and ‘70s. The Grace of Silence was just released in paper, and local bookseller Magers & Quinn is offering it for sale at a 25% discount.
While not a lot of formal events have been scheduled surrounding The Grace of Silence, Norris will speak with Minnesota Public Radio’s Kerri Miller at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis on October 3.
Not to be outdone, The Friends of the Hennepin County Library – which, until Monday was known as the Library Foundation of Hennepin County – added a new series this year to their programming. “Spotlight on Local Presses at the Library” will feature the people behind the authors and the books at Coffee House Press, Graywolf Press, and Milkweed Editions. Each event, curated and produced by each featured publisher, will be held at the Minneapolis Central Library in downtown Minneapolis. A selection of books from the featured publisher will be available for sale at each event by Magers & Quinn.
The series kicks off September 24 with a joint book launch for two collections by local performance poets: Whorled by Ed Bok Lee and Sông I Sing by Bao Phi, both released by Coffee House. The evening will include a conversation about their work by the two poets, plus music. The evening is one of the coordinated poetry events scheduled to be held all over the world on that day organized by 100,000 Poets for Change.
On November 3, Graywolf publisher Fiona McCrae and editor Jeffrey Shotts will present their fall 2011/spring 2012 list. Graywolf authors, poet Jeffrey Yang (Vanishing Line) and novelist Mary Rockcastle (In Caddis Wood), will join McCrae and Shotts in conversation.
Finally, on December 8, Milkweed author Christopher Merrill will present his latest work, The Tree of the Doves: Ceremony, Expedition, War. He will be joined on stage by Milkweed publisher Daniel Slager, and the discussion will be moderated by Minnesota Public Radio’s Marianne Combs.
“We allowed the presses carte blanche;” explained Rachel Fulkerson, communications director for the Friends of the Hennepin County Library, “What they wanted to do was to highlight their organizations, not just their authors. A lot of times the authors get all the attention. It’s good to have an opportunity to share the spotlight with the publishers and editors.”
The Friends of the Hennepin County Library also sponsors the annual “Talk of the Stacks” series, which brings in both regional and national authors, as well as other notables in the book world, to talk about books. Its seventh season kicks off September 20 with a presentation by Somali-American author Nuruddin Farah.
