The Book Shelf

Winona Poet Laureate Ken McCullough celebrates Spanish translation of "Sycamore Oriole". Ken will be accompanied by Professor John Reed for a bilingual presentation of the poems.

Ken's poetry and short fiction are some of my favorite to hand sell in the store, and he is a great reader. The events we have hosted for his previous book releases have been among my favorites.

This will be the first work in translation that we have worked with from a local author or poet. Ken's collection has been translated into Spanish by Colombian publisher Artes y Letras. You really do need to hear Ken's story about how this translation came to be.

So mark your calendars:

Friday, December 9th 7:00pm
A bilingual presentation of Sycamore Oriole 
by Ken McCullough, accompanied by John Reed. 
Complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres.

Ken McCullough, Winona's current Poet Laureate, has a new book of poetry. The book is titled Sicomoro.Orpéndola, published by Artes y Letras, Medellín, Colombia. The book is a Spanish translation by Rafael Patiño Góez of McCullough's volume Sycamore.Oriole. McCullough was a presenter at the 20th International Poetry Festival in Medellín, in the summer of 2010, where he met Góez. McCullough's other recent books of poetry are Obsidian Point and Walking Backwards, as well as a book of stories, Left Hand. He has also collaborated with U Sam Oeur, survivor of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia, to produce Sacred Vows, a bilingual edition of U's poetry, and U's memoir, Crossing Three Wildernesses. Ken McCullough works at Saint Mary's University as an administrator and teacher.

There will be a book signing at The Book Shelf/Blue Heron Coffee House, at which McCullough will read selections in English followed by Prof. John Reed, Chair of Modern Languages at Saint Mary's University, reading the Spanish translations.

About Ken McCullough
Ken McCullough's most recent books of poetry are Obsidian Point and Walking Backwards, as well as a book of stories, Left Hand. He has received numerous awards for his poetry including the Academy of American Poets Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, a Pablo Neruda Award, a Galway Kinnell Poetry Prize, the New Millennium Poetry Award, the Blue Light Book Award and the Capricorn Book Award. He has also received grants from the Witter Bynner Foundation for Poetry, the Iowa Arts Council, and the Jerome Foundation to translate the work of U Sam Oeur, survivor of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia. Sacred Vows, a bilingual edition of U's poetry with McCullough's translations, was published, as well as U's memoir, Crossing Three Wildernesses, co-written with McCullough. McCullough and U Sam Oeur were presenters at the XX International Poetry Festival in Medellin.

McCullough lives in Winona, Minnesota with his wife Lynn Nankivil and younger son Orion, and works at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. His older son, Galway, is an actor and fight choreographer in NYC. McCullough was born in Staten Island, New York, but spent his formative years in St. John's, Newfoundland. Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota continue to be places of inspiration for him, as do the backwaters of the Mississippi and the bluffs along the river.