MN Poet Laureate reading in Winona Tuesday

(KWNO)-Minnesota’s Poet Laureate Gwen Westerman will read from her work Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at the Blue Heron Coffeehouse. The event is part of the First Tuesday Laureate Writers Series co-sponsored by the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest and the Blue Heron Coffeehouse.

Westerman is a Dakota educator, writer and artist and professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She won the Minnesota Book Award for “Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakotas” and “Follow the Blackbirds,” her first work of poetry.  Westerman was appointed Poet Laureate of Minnesota in 2021, the first indigenous woman to earn the honor.

Westerman’s reading is free and open to the public and will be followed by a book signing and open mic.