POSTPONED: Feb. 23 Good Thunder Reading Series Event Rescheduled to April 27

Thursday, February 23, 2023
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Opening event now on April 27

NOTE: The Good Thunder Reading Series event featuring Gwen Nell Westerman has been postponed to Thursday, April 27 because of severe winter weather forecast for Feb. 23.

Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Good Thunder Reading Series will host writer Gwen Nell Westerman on Thursday, April 27 in the series’ fifth event of the 2022-2023 academic year. (The event was rescheduled from its original Feb. 23 date because of severe winter weather.)

All the events are free and open to the public.

April 27 schedule:

• 10-11 a.m. – Workshop at Performing Arts Center, Room 203A, 320 Maywood Ave., Mankato
• 3-4 p.m. – “Talk on Craft,” Centennial Student Union, Rooms 253/4/5. Books will be available for purchase.
• 7:30-8:30 p.m. – Gwen Nell Westerman will read from her work; Carnegie Art Center, 120 S. Broad St., Mankato

The following information about Westerman was provided by the Good Thunder Reading Series:

Gwen Nell Westerman is some days a scholar, some days a visual artist, but she is a writer every day. She is the author of two poetry collections, “Follow the Blackbirds” (2013) and “Songs, Blood Deep,” (2023). Her work has appeared in “New Poets of Native Nations: 21 Poets for the 21^st Century”; “When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry” (2020). She is the poet laureate of Minnesota.

Founded in 1981, the Good Thunder Reading Series brings nationally and internationally acclaimed writers from diverse backgrounds and literary traditions to Mankato, Minnesota, with the goal of promoting access to great literature, inspiring creativity and connections in our communities, and fostering lively conversations about how writers work and why writing matters.

The Good Thunder Reading Series is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

The 2022-23 Good Thunder Reading Series also receives support from Minnesota State Mankato’s Department of English, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Women’s Center, the Nadine B. Andreas Endowment, the Eddice B. Barber Visiting Writer Endowment, the Robert C. Wright Endowment and individual donors. Barnes & Noble Bookstore at Minnesota State Mankato provides additional assistance.

For more information or to get involved, contact Robin Becker at robin.becker@mnsu.edu or visit gt.mnsu.edu.

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,482 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 26 colleges and seven universities.