The East Grand Forks Campbell Library will host a National Poetry Month Celebration on April 25 at 6:30pm. The event will open with a “Poetry Potluck” - an opportunity for anyone in attendance to share a poem that they love and say a bit about what it means to them. Participation is not mandatory and individuals with no knowledge of poetry are encouraged to attend and listen.
The event will also feature a reading by a local poet, Brendan Stermer of East Grand Forks. Stermer is the author of Forgotten Frequencies, winner of the 2023 Poetry of the Plains and Prairie’s Award and published by North Dakota State University Press in December. He is also the host of Interesting People Reading Poetry - a podcast where well-known artists and cultural luminaries read a favorite poem and share what it means to them. In recent years, Interesting People Reading Poetry has been featured by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the Irish Independent, and named a "best poetry podcast" by the Los Angeles Review of Books Podcast Review.
According to Stermer, the poems in “Forgotten Frequencies” are in conversation with many voices from the literary history of the upper Midwest - from the journals of the 19th century French cartographer Joseph Nicollet to the 20th century prairie poets Tom Hennen and Robert Bly. Stermer’s reading will include information on local literary history and the influence of Midwestern writers on different aspects of the collection.
The Poetry of the Plains and Prairie’s Award is an annual nationwide contest hosted by North Dakota State University Press. Each year, publication is awarded to a chapbook - a short poetry collection of approximately 30 pages - which “deftly captures the feeling of, as well as the reality of, living on the plains and prairies.” The winning chapbook is letterpress printed at The Braddock News in Braddock, ND and assembled by hand by students in the publishing program at NDSU in Fargo.
This is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Northwest Minnesota Arts Council through funding from The McKnight Foundation.