Entertainment

BookEnds features poet Ross Gay August 14 – Wadena Pioneer Journal

Ross Gay is a nationally known poet and essayist whose roots include family in Wadena County.

Gay’s mother grew up in Verndale, and as a boy he vacationed every summer at his grandparents house. As an adult, Gay spent a year writing an essay every day about something that delighted him. More than 100 of them, including ones that mention Verndale, ended up in “The Book of Delights” and was released by Algonquin Books in 2019, according to a Wadena County Historical Society news release. His new poem, “Be Holding,” was released in September 2020 from the University of Pittsburgh Press.

Come meet Ross Gay on BookEnds Online Edition via Zoom, at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 14. The Zoom meeting ID is 867 0338 5655.

Check their website www.WadenaCountyHistory.org for more information about BookEnds and to access recordings of previous programs. This year’s programs included Debra Eckerman Pitton, Peter Geye, Mary Logue, David LaRochelle, Julie Jo Severson, Carrie Mesrobian and Naomi Kritzer.

BookEnds Online Edition is produced by the Wadena County Historical Society and Travelin’ Storyseller in collaboration with the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center. BookEnds is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Five Wings Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

For more information, email 603wchs@arvig.net or call 218-631-9079.