Books in the Barn 2022
a wide-ranging look at the work of contemporary writers
Books in the Barn 2022 is a two-part reading series that offers a wide-ranging look at the work of contemporary Minnesota writers. Celebrating culture and nurturing community each reading is followed by a Q&A session with the author. Books will also be available for purchase and signing. Featured authors are participating in engagement activities in the Red Wing community, providing further opportunities to share their work with a broader audience.
Featured Authors
Based in St. Paul, Michael's debut poetry collection, Worldly Things, won the Max Ritvo Poetry Prize and is a finalist for the 2022 Minnesota Book Award.
His poems and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. Michael is a past Fellow with the Givens Foundation for African American Literature, a past-winner of the Loft Mentor Series in Poetry, and the former Poet Laureate of Anoka County libraries. He is also currently the Board President for the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop.
Born in Korea and based in Minneapolis, Sun Yung's newest book, The Wet Hex (Coffee House Press, 2022), examines questions of grievability, violence, and responsibility.
Her three previous Coffee House Press poetry collections have each garnered praise & awards for their exploration of identity and their deft, questioning nature. She is also the editor two best-selling anthologies: What We Hunger For: Refugee and Immigrant Stories on Food & Family (MHS Press, 2021) & A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota (MHS Press, 2016). Sun Yung co-directs Poetry Asylum, an organization that brings poetry into marginalized spaces.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.