Full slate of events planned for visiting author Sena Jeter Naslund
Visiting author Sena Jeter Naslund
Various events October 17 – 20
Full details below and at plainsart.org
(Submitted by Plains Art Museum)
Sena Jeter Naslund, bestselling author of Ahab’s Wife and other novels, will appear in Fargo this week for an author’s visit hosted by Plains Art Museum and North Dakota State University (NDSU). Ahab’s Wife inspired artist T. L. Solien in Toward the Setting Sun, a collection of his newest works currently on exhibit at the museum.
A prominent surrealist who grew up in Fargo-Moorhead, Solien also created mixed media pieces and paintings based on the classic novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. Both novels are the focus of the 3.2.1 Project: Three Communities, Two Books, One Art Exhibit, a collaboration by the public libraries in Fargo, West Fargo, and Moorhead along with the museum and NDSU to encourage people throughout the region to the read the books and participate in related events.
“Sena Jeter Naslund takes a female character only mentioned twice in Moby-Dick and builds a tale of epic proportions about a woman whose passionate engagement with the world matches her husband’s, but with less disastrous consequences,” said Colleen Sheehy, museum director and CEO. “This fictional character was so captivating that T.L. Solien made Ahab’s wife the centerpiece of his new body of work.”
A Writing Workshop for Teachers on Oct. 19 at the museum will feature Jeter Naslund as a speaker. Kelly Sassi, NDSU assistant professor of English and Education, is coordinating the workshop, as well as the Red River Valley Writing Project’s National Day on Writing on Oct. 20, which follows the author’s visit.
“Both these writing events use literature and visual art as starting points for inspiring original written works,” Sassi said. “We are excited and honored to have an author of Sena’s stature lead the workshop and share insights on her craft.”
All events are free and open to the public; the writing workshop for teachers requires registration. The events include:
Thursday, Oct. 17
5:30 – 6:30 p.m., Author’s Reception at Plains Art Museum, 704 1st Ave. N., Fargo
7 – 9 p.m., Author’s Reading at NDSU Barry Hall, 811 2nd Ave. N., Fargo
Friday, Oct. 18
5 – 6:30 p.m., Book signing at Zandbroz, 420 Broadway, Fargo
Saturday, Oct. 19
9 a.m. – noon, Writing Workshop for Teachers, Plains Art Museum
(Registration required, contact Kelly Sassi at kelly.sassi@ndsu.edu)
Sunday, Oct. 20
2 – 4 p.m., National Day on Writing, Plains Art Museum
The visit is supported in part through a grant from the North Dakota Humanities Council.
Images via Harper Collins Publishing.
