Grace Schutte
When asked about the staples of fall and autumn’s most iconic characteristics, the general population resorts to the usual: the changing leaves, the shorter days, the air’s crisp stinging of toes (and biting of noses); however, folks in the Chippewa Valley know that list is incomplete without the Chippewa Valley Book Festival.
That’s right, folks, the Book Festival is back for their 23rd year with events slated to start up Oct. 20. Get your pumpkin spice lattes ready and sit back for five days of literary goodness.
The festival will host several authors—both regional and from across the nation—to read their works, chat about their craft and the importance of their works, all in the autumnal glory of Eau Claire and Chippewa Valley.
A Mini-Interview with Madison Poet Laureate Angie Trudell Vasquez
Angie Trudell Vasquez, the City of Madison Poet Laureate, is one of those authors who will be presenting at the festival, alongside Dorothy Chan, a fellow poet and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Trudell Vasquez has been writing poetry since she was seven years old and has since then earned an MFA in poetry at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Her works have gone on to be published in several journals and a number of them are even listed on the Poetry Foundation’s website.
“Poetry helped me define myself on the page when I was a young person growing up...”
“Poetry helped me define myself on the page when I was a young person growing up in Iowa,” Trudell Vasquez said. “As an adult it has made my life so rich and full. I am fortunate to have had these experiences I have had as a writer and to make connections across the United States.”
Her latest poetry collection, My People Redux, came out earlier this year and covers topics she has yet to share with the world. As a proud activist and long-time environmentalist, Trudell Vasquez discusses our human connection with nature, and how she is concerned about the earth and all its inhabitants.
“There’s a line in the poem, ‘My People Redux,’ ‘My people, forgot they rose from the earth,’” Trudell Vasquez said. “I am not just talking about my family, I am trying to say something about those of us who live in the world right now and do not realize we too are nature.”
She hopes audience members will leave the event feeling lighter, connected, and more aware of how precious their life and time on earth is, that they should do the best they can with the time they have left.
Through conversations like these and events like the Book Festival, Trudell Vasquez believes we can become better connected with not only each other, but with the world, too. Reading, writing, and conversations about them help close the distances between people and aid us in understanding the world around us.
“I am most happy when discussing poetry with poets,” Trudell Vasquez said.
The same goes for us! Join in on Chan and Trudell Vasquez’s poetry exchange and conversation from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21 at the Unitarian Universalist. No pre-registration required.
Grace’s Top Three Book Fest Events Picks
While all the events are going to be a most wonderful and educational time, there are a few that have piqued my interest, ones where you’ll be able to find me scribbling down notes madly in my notebook.
Should you come to any of these, find me after and we can discuss—that’s what these things are all about, after all.
Reclaiming Our Stories with Nadia Owusu
The virtual event will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20 and audience members must register before the event to attend.
Owusu will be presenting on her memoir Aftershocks, a genre-bending piece that explores identity and trauma through cultural history, according to the omnipotent Goodreads.
Those in attendance can expect to learn we harbor more stories in ourselves than we thought, and that power can be claimed when we acknowledge and tell them. Register here for the event.
America’s Narrative Breakdown with Barrett Swanson
Join us in the new Riverview Room at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, for a journey on how the last ten years have affected communities around the United States in their hunt for life’s meaning in the rumerroll that was—and is—the 2010s.
Swanson is no stranger to the literary escapades happening in and around Eau Claire, having served as one of our Writers in Residence at the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild’s very own Priory Retreat.
There I met the Lost in Summerland essayist and heard all his wisdom and swanky jargon on the obligation we, as writers, have to readers, and how we are not so different as these titles may lead us to believe.
A writer wise beyond his years, get ready for sage wisdom and a breakdown of the political, emotional, and psychological state of our nation.
Better than Paradise with Kawai Strong Washburn
From 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24, Kawai Strong Washburn will take us into the topsy turvy realm that can be magical realism and the world of fiction.
Sharks in the Time of Saviors is a national favorite (if The New York Times and former President Barack Obama liked it, it’s got to be good, right?), having risen to national stardom since its release in 2020.
I am particularly excited for this event because of both the craft element—exploring this next level of fiction writing—but also to hear Washburn transform history, the history of Hawaii, in a way that shapes the way we understand it.
I would be remiss to say fall in Eau Claire is my favorite season solely because of the chai tea lattes, sweaters, and good views—the Chippewa Valley Book Festival is a must. Bring your notebooks, a pen, an open mind, and get ready for a wonderful bookish time.