Celebrate National Poetry Month this April with the Poet Laureate of Northfield, Russ Paladin, and the Minnesota Poet Laureate, Gwen Nell Westerman! Russ and Gwen will come together for an interactive event that includes poetry readings, a conversation on craft and inspiration, and writing – with a focus on the poetic form of tanka.

As part of the event, participants will have the chance to dive deeper into the art of tanka with a short, guided writing activity—an opportunity to create your own verse, no matter your level of experience. We’ll have also have light refreshments and each participant will receive a complimentary copy of “Songs, Blood Deep” to take home.

Whether you’re a seasoned poetry lover or simply curious about exploring this unique art form, come celebrate the power of words with the laureates!

About the Poets
Under his pen name Russ Paladin, Russel Boyington has published work in The Brasilia Review, DISTURBED Digest, and Medusa’s Laugh Press. His novel SOUND OF DARKNESS was runner-up for the Joanna Catherine Scott Novel Excerpt Prize. When not slaving over one pencil sketch or another, practicing piano, or directing middle school or community theater, he supervises the Before/After School Care program at Prairie Creek Community School. Northfield, Minnesota, located in the Upper Mississppi River Valley, has been his home for 10 years. Russel is the current Northfield Poet Laureate.

Gwen Nell Westerman is a poet, visual artist, and scholar. Her roots are deep in the landscape of the tallgrass prairie and reveal themselves in her art and writing. She is an enrolled citizen of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, and her father’s family is from the Heipa District. Her mother’s family is from the Flint District of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Neither of her parents spoke English when they were sent as small children to boarding schools in Oklahoma and South Dakota. Singing and writing for as long as she can remember, Gwen understands from experience the important ways language and the land shape who we are. She was appointed as the Poet Laureate of Minnesota by Governor Tim Walz in 2021.

Register At This Link

This event is free to attend, however registration is required. Light refreshments will be provided. Space is limited so register soon!

Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org

https://www.mnhum.org/event/northfield-threads-of-tanka-a-reading-and-poetry-writing-event/