Summer is here, and I'm thrilled to be taking writing retreats at Tofte Lake Center and Mallard Island,  studying creative nonfiction with Paisley Rekdal at the Northwoods Writer's Conference, coaching manuscript revisions through the Loft Literary Center, performing with the Sonoglyph Collective, and doing poetry readings about town.

I just published a travel story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about my spring break hike in the Appalachian foothills to an eco-lodge.  I also recently wrote travel articles about my retreats at Tofte Lake Center and the Oberholtzer Foundation's Mallard Island.

Here's my summer events:

• Wednesday, May 23--The Sonoglyph Collective performs at the Underground Music Cafe in Falcon Heights. 7:00-9:00 p.m.
• Sunday, July 15--Poetry Happy Hour at the Troubadour Wine Bar, Minneapolis, 5:30-7:00 p.m. with visiting Nepali poet and translator Nabin Chitraker.

If you can't make it to any events, check out the video and audio links on this website and check back for a plethora of fall fun. Enjoy!

Summer and Fall 2016 Schedule and Announcements

Summer is here, and I'm thrilled to be taking writing retreats at Tofte Lake Center and Mallard Island, teaching workshops at the Ely Folk School and the NFSPS conference, coaching manuscript revisions through the Loft Literary Center, and writing poetry for fall readings and performances.

I've recently published travel stories in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about a writing retreat at the Anderson Center in Red Wing and a hiking trip in Stanley, Idaho. I've also got travel articles in progress about Tofte Lake Center and Mallard Island.

Here's my upcoming classes, readings, and events:

• Wednesday, May 18--7:00 p.m. Reading with Poets and Pints at Sisyphus Brewing in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Saturday, May 28--7:00 p.m. Performing for the Poetry Circus at the Wolf House, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Thursday, June 9--7:00 p.m. Performing for the Layers reading at the NFSPS Poetry Convention, Oak Ridge Hotel and Conference Center, Chaska, Minnesota 
• Friday June 10--10:30 a.m.  Building Your Brand presentation at the NFSPS Poetry Convention, Oak Ridge Hotel and Conference Center, Chaska, Minnesota 
• Sunday, June 17--1:00-4:30 p.m. Writing Your Nature Story, Ely Folk School, Ely, Minnesota
• Saturday, August 13--7:00 p.m. Sonoglyph performance, Riverview Cafe, Minneapolis
• Wednesday, September 21--7:00 p.m.--Reading with Poets and Pints at Sisyphus Brewing, Minneapolis 
• Saturday, October 1--7:00 p.m. Sonoglyph performance at the Underground Music Cafe, Falcon Heights, Minnesota
• Saturday, October 15  Book Signing at the Holy Cow! Press table at the Twin Cities Book Festival, Saint Paul, Minnesota
• Thursday, November 17--7:00 p.m. Landbridges reading at Barnes and Noble, Roseville, Minnesota 

If you can't make it to any events, check out the video and audio links on this website. Enjoy!

Kathryn's AWP 2015 Schedule

Here's my events, signings, readings, and appearances at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference in Minneapolis April 9-11.

Panels:

Thursday, April 9 9:00-10:45 a.m. Room M100, Mezzanine Level How to Write a Book While Teaching Five Classes Panel 120. A More Deliberate (and Desperate) Life: How to Write and Publish a Book While Teaching Five Classes. (Ryan Stone,  Katheryn Kysar,  Kris Bigalk,  Thomas Montgomery Fate,  John Reimringer) A likely teaching job for a newly-minted MFA is at a community college. But how does one teach five classes per term (more if an adjunct), serve on committees, engage in scholarship, and find time to write and publish a book of poems, a novel, or a memoir? This panel of Midwestern community college faculty will discuss how they negotiate a life of writing while adhering to academic 
responsibilities and reflect on how they were able to write and publish their recent books amid the chaos.

Saturday, April 11 3:00-4: 15 Room H and I level two S241. Byte by Byte: Teaching Creative Writing Online. (Cass Dalglish,  Wendy Call,   Athena Kildegaard,  Kate Kysar,  LouAnn Muhm) Five writers—who teach online in a public university, a community college AFA, an arts nonprofit, and in private BFA and MFA low-residency programs—offer a candid and guided tour of the online creative writing classroom. Stops on the circuit: cleaning out the correspondence course feel; using technology for web-based fine arts studios and readers’ salons; maintaining trust, establishing community, setting boundaries; and nourishing creativity and improvisation. Ample audience engagement.

Book Signing: Thursday 2:00-3:00 p.m. Signing Pretend the World books and CDs at Holy Cow! Press table 1625

Art Opening: Thursday 4:00-5:30 p.m. Unforeseen Art Opening, Gallery One TractorWorks, 800 Washington Avenue North, Minneapolis

Booth: Saturday 11:00-12:00 and 1:00-2:00 Twin Cities Two Year Colleges AFA Booth

Reading:  Saturday 4:00-7:00 Write On, Door County Cocktails (reading 5:30-6:00) Engine Room/Devil’s Advocate on the corner of 10th and Marquette (across from the Hilton, the main conference hotel).

Summer/ Fall 2014 News

Welcome! In the Look, Read, and Listen areas, you will find artwork, articles, reviews, and videos for my poetry books Pretend the World and Dark Lake and my anthology Riding Shotgun: Women Write About Their Mothers.

Recently, I’ve had two broadsides printed recently: “Returning to Lake Superior” from Pretend the World  was reprinted in a beautiful broadside published by Red Bird Press with art by Mary Klien, and a new poem “The Path” was printed with a photographic image by Jes Lee for a Minnesota Center for Book Arts exchange and show.  I’ve have poems published/forthcoming in The Mom Egg Review, Stone Coast Review, Mizna, Revolver, and Cairns. 

My Minnesota State Arts Board grant is winding up in early summer with a recording of the poems in Pretend the World. The CD features Stephanie Wilber Ash, KrisBigalk, April Gibson, David Lawrence Grant, Jim Heynen, Hawona Sullivan Janzen, Anna George Meek, Leslie Adrienne Miller, John Minzceski, Marie Olofsdotter, Susan Power, SunYung Shin, Joyce Sutphen, and KaVang as readers and musicians and singers Sean Egan, Glen Helgeson, and Maria Jette. After 200 copies are donated to libraries around the state of Minnesota, the CD will be available for purchase at the CD release party and at most independent bookstores in the Twin Cities. It's been a glamorous, moving, and exciting process, and I look forward to sharing the final results soon.

Summer and Fall Readings, Events, and Workshops:

• Tuesday, June 17. Kathryn appears on KFAI's Write On, Radio with host Lynette Reini-Grandell to talk about the Pretend the World CD.
• Saturday, June 28. 7:00 p.m. The Pretend the World CD Release Party. The Loft Literary Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Featuring readers Shane Blegen, Sarah Fox, April Gibson
  David Lawrence Grant, Jim Heynen, Hawona Sullivan Janzen, Andrea Jenkins, Ibe Kaba, Leslie Adrienne Miller, John Minzceski, Anna George Meek, Sheila O’Connor, Marie Olofsdotter, Joyce Sutphen, and Ka Vang with musical guests Sean Egan and Maria Jette.
• Tuesday, July 8. Rebecca Otto for State Auditor Fundraiser. Wilde Roast Cafe, Minneapolis, Minnesota. With Carol Connolly, Heid Erdrich, Marya Hornbacher, Brian Malloy, Jim Moore, Shaun Otto, Sarah Stonich, Faith Sullivan, and others.
• Wednesday, July 9. Reading at the Mosaic Cafe. Details TBA.
• Thursday, July 10. 7:00 p.m. Pretend the World CD release celebration at Subtext Books, Saint Paul, Minnesota. Readers include Kris Bigalk, Hawona Sullivan Janzen, John Minzceski, and Ka Vang with Sean Egan on bass clarinet.
• Sunday, August 10- Saturday, August 16. Arts and Science retreat. The Oberholtzer Foundataion's Mallard Island. Rainy Lake, Minnesota.
• Friday, September 12. Pretend the World CD release reading at Common Good Books in Saint Paul. With Hawona Sullivan Janzen, Sun Yung Shin, Ka Vang, and special musical guest clarinetist Sean Egan.
• Saturday, September 20. "Field Trip." Poetry in the Park at Silverwood Park, Saint Anthony, Minnesota. With Hawona Sullivan Janzen and others.
• Thursday, September 25. Time TBA. Scholars Corner. American Center for Mongolian Studies. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
• Saturday, October 11. Pretend the World CD signing. Holy Cow!  Press table.  Rain Taxi's Twin Cities Book Festival. Minnesota State Fair Ground, Saint Paul, Minnesota. 
• Saturday, October 18. Workshop in Harmony, Minnesota. Sponsored by the Harmony Arts Council. With poet Kris Bigalk.
• Saturday, November 15. 7:00 p.m. TIC reading at The Soap Factory, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Winter 2014

Welcome! In the Look, Read, and Listen areas, you will find artwork, articles, reviews, and videos for my poetry books Pretend the World and Dark Lake and my anthology Riding Shotgun: Women Write About Their Mothers.

Winter News:  I’ve had two broadsides printed recently: “Returning to Lake Superior” from Pretend the World  was reprinted in a beautiful broadside published by Red Bird Press with art by Mary Klien, and a new poem “The Path” was printed with a photographic image by Jes Lee for a Minnesota Center for Book Arts exchange and show.  I’ve had poems published or forthcoming in The Mom Egg Review, Stone Coast Review, Mizna, and Cairns. My Minnesota State Arts Board grant will wind up in late spring with a recording of poetry from Pretend the World featuring a plethora of popular writers reading the poems and hopefully a final performance. More news on that soon. In the meantime, here is my upcoming schedule.

Winter Readings, Events, and Workshops:

Thursday, January 2. Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55403. Social/Brief: Blank Slate. With William Alexander, Margaret Hasse, Steve Healey, Kathleen Jesme, Gretchen Marquette, Colin McDonald, Leslie Adrienne Miller, and Tim Nolan.

Friday, January 31. Common Good Books, 38 South Snelling, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 55105. Poems in Progress. With others TBA. 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, February 15. Unity Unitarian, 733 Portland Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55104. Environmental reading. With Nicole Lynskey, Anna Meek, Thomas R. Smith, Jim Lenfestey, and others. 

Wednesday, February 26. LUCID Seattle, 5241 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105. AWP Minneapolis Preview. 

Saturday, March 22.  Bloomington Center for the Arts, 1800 W Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington, Minnesota, 55431. Bloomington Writers Festival and Book Fair. Workshop “Getting Started: Writing Family Stories and Memoir” and book signing. (participation canceled for medical reasons)

Fall 2013

Welcome! In the Look, Read, and Listen areas, you will find artwork, articles, reviews, and videos for my poetry books Pretend the World and Dark Lake and my anthology Riding Shotgun: Women Write About Their Mothers.

Fall Readings and Events:

Friday, September 20. Nemeth Art Center, 301 Court Avenue, Park Rapids, Minnesota, 56470. With LouAnn Muhm. 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, September 28. Blue Moon Café, 3822 East Lake Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55406.  10,000 Poets for Change and Little Poetry Library project. With Carolyn Williams-Noren and others.

Wednesday, October 2. Hamline Midway Library, 1558 West Minnehaha Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 55104. A 2014 Saint Paul Almanac Literary Festival reading. With Ethna McKiernan, Gloria Burgess Levin, Carter Norman, David R. Weiss, and Patricia Van Ert. Hosted by Satish Jayaraj.

Saturday, October 12.  Minnesota State Fair Grounds, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 55108. Twin Cities Book Festival.  M.C. at the Rain Stage all day.

Saturday, October 26. Judson Church. 4101 Harriet Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Oberholtzer Foundation Annual Gathering Presentation. With Sarah Stonich, Glenn Helgeson, Prudence Johnson, and others. 3:00 p.m.

Tuesday, November 12. Macalester Plymouth Church. Vietnam: Then and Now. With Rob Ramer and others. 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, November 14. Inver Hills Community College, 2500 East 80^th Street, Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, 55076. Guest lecture in Ellen Lansky’s Introduction to Creative Writing Class. 12:30 p.m.

Tuesday, November 19. University Club. 420 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 55102. Carol Connelly’s Readings by Writers. With Sharon Chmielarz, Susan Deborah King, Ethna McKiernan, Shirley Pearl, Sarah Stonich, and Katrina Vandenberg.

Wednesday, November 20. Amsterdam Bar, 6 West 6th Street, St Paul, Minnesota, 55102. Literary Death Match Twin Cities Episode 10. With fellow judges Bill Corbett, Courtney McLean and readers Kyle “Guante” Myhre, Jacquie Fuller, Neil Hilborn, Andy Sturdevant. Doors open at 5:30; show starts at 7:35 p.m.

Saturday, November 30. Birch Bark Books, 2115 West 21^st Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55405. Selling and signing books with Heid E. Erdrich for Indie Saturday. 12:00-2:00 p.m.

Sunday, December 15. Boneshaker Books. 2002 23rd Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55404. With Ethna McKiernan, Carol Masters, Britt Fleming, and Patricia Barone. 4:30 p.m.