Jolene Brink and Nik Chang Hoon

A reading and conversation with two CSB/SJU 2009 alumni

Nik Chang Hoon 임창훈 (he/him) is a Korean transracial adoptee, memoirist and poet based in Minneapolis. His creative nonfiction won the 2024 Annie Dillard Prize (Bellingham Review) and was named a finalist for The Iowa Review Award in nonfiction. His poetry has appeared in The Plentitudes (Winter 2025) and the Blue Earth Review (2024 Minnesota BIPOC Emerging Writer Award Runner-Up), and was named a 2024 MAYDAY Micro-chapbook Contest finalist. His most recent essays are forthcoming in The Kenyon Review and The Texas Review, respectively.

Jolene Brink was born and raised in northern Minnesota. She received the Merriam-Frontier Award for her chapbook, Peregrine, and the Walt McDonald First-Book Series in Poetry award for her poetry collection, Overburden. Her poetry and essays have appeared in Orion, New England Review, Poetry Northwest, and elsewhere. She works for the University of Minnesota and lives with her family in a historic blue house near the St. Croix River.

This event is free and open to the public.

Jolene Brink, Krissy Kludt and Anna Zumbahlen

Celebrating three debut poetry collections.

All three of these collections address pressing questions of our time. What does it mean to love a place? How do we write honestly about connection with the land in our time of present and impending ecological disaster? Across multiple landscapes— Iowa, California, Minnesota, Wisconsin — these books, together, reveal the reality of ecological grief in deeply personal ways, offering such solace as comes from intimacy with the wild world.

Poet Krissy Kludt is the founder and executive director of Writing the Wild. Her debut poetry collection I Could Walk Forever and Know So Little released in March 2026 from Green Writers Press. Her work appears in anthologies The Nature of Our Times (Paloma Press 2025), Taking Liberties (Cutthroat 2025), and Stories from the Trail (Wayfarer Books 2024), and in other publications, including Terrain.org, The Wildness We Tend, and Humana Obscura. She lives in the Driftless region of southwestern Wisconsin.

Anna Zumbahlen is a poet living in Southern California. She holds a PhD in English & Literary Arts from the University of Denver and an MFA from the University of Montana, where she was the recipient of the Richard Hugo Memorial Scholarship. Read recent work at www.annazum.com.

Jolene Brink was born and raised in northern Minnesota. She received the Merriam-Frontier Award for her chapbook, Peregrine, and the Walt McDonald First-Book Series in Poetry award for her poetry collection, Overburden. Her poetry and essays have appeared in Orion, New England Review, Poetry Northwest, and elsewhere. She works for the University of Minnesota and lives with her family in a historic blue house near the St. Croix River.

This event is free and open to the public.

Jolene Brink and DyAnne Korda

A reading in conversation with DyAnne Korda.

DyAnne’s work has been published in several journals, including The Wisconsin Academy Review, ArtWord Quarterly, and Agates. Her poetry has also been broadcast on KAXE Radio's morning show and their literary programs Wordish and Stay Human. DyAnne's most recent poetry collection is Nighthawk Storyteller. Her previous books include The Shore's Absolute Edge and This Earth Woman. Along with offering frequent workshops for Ely Folk School, she's taught for the Center of Continuing Education at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

How to Join

Join us at The Meadows (15 E Sheridan St)

Event is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase.

Presentation: Tuesday Group

In this storytelling presentation, Jolene Brink shares the story and historic documents that inspired her new collection of poems, Overburden. She will talk about how the book was put together, the events that inspired it, and some of the poems that resulted. A short reading will follow the presentation, with time for Q&A from the audience.

Many of the places and themes in this book will be familiar to residents of Ely.

How to Join

Event is free and open to the public. In person (no cost) at the the Grand Ely Lodge. Attendees are encouraged to order lunch, but ordering lunch is not required. Or join for free over Zoom.

About the Tuesday Group

Tuesday Group is a Boundary Waters Connect sponsored community gathering that takes place weekly over the noon hour on Tuesdays at the Grand Ely Lodge.

Jolene Brink in conversation with Frieda Hall

Join us for a reading with Jolene from her new book, Overburden, followed by a conversation with Frieda (her former teacher!) about writing, history and creativity.

Frieda Atlas Hall is a retired teacher and long-time community leader in Grand Rapids.

How to Join

Event is free and open to the public.

Jolene Brink, Claire Lemp & Jen Detriech

Join us for a summer solstice & Father’s Day author talk with Jolene and Claire, followed by a conversation with Jen about writing, creativity and motherhood.

A community potluck (all are welcome!) in the hoop house will follow the event. Bring a dish to share!

Books available for sale at the event.

How to Join

This event is FREE and open to the public, but registration is kindly requested to help us plan for parking and seating.

Jolene Brink lived in Two Harbors from 2020 to 2025. Her work explores the history of landcapes, found text, and motherhood. Her new collection of poetry, Overburden, winner of the 2025 Walt McDonald First Book Award, was written during her time living on the North Shore.

Claire Sahara Lemp is an illustrator based in Duluth and has a Masters of Children’s Book Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art in Cambridge, England. Her recently illustrated book, My Dad Can, is available this summer.

Jen Detriech lives and works in Two Harbors, MN. Her paintings are rooted in the physical act of making — gesture, rhythm, and the muscle memory of a lifetime spent looking closely.

About Agate Acres

Agate Acres is a North Shore flower farm and wedding venue owned and operated by the very talented and generous Emily and Kyle.

Reading: Jolene Brink and Kathryn Kysar

The official book launch for Overburden will take place on the top floor of the Stillwater Public Library overlooking the St. Croix River. After reading together, Jolene and Kathryn will have a conversation about Overburden, followed by time for Q&A from the audience.

Valley Bookseller will be available for book sales.

About Kathryn Kysar

Kysar is the author of Dark Lake and Pretend the World, and creative writing program founder and English professor at Anoka-Ramsey Community College.

How to Join

Event is free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged, but not required.