Feb. 6: Minnesota State Mankato's Good Thunder Reading Series Continues with Visit from Poet Willie Perdomo

Thursday, February 6, 2025
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Morning Workshop Opens Day's Events

Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato’s 2024-2025 Good Thunder Reading Series will host poet Willie Perdomo on Thursday, Feb. 6 in the series’ third event of the 2024-2025 academic year.

All of the events are free and open to the public.

Feb. 6 schedule:

• 10-11 a.m. – Workshop, Memorial Library, first floor, SW corner.
• 3-3:50 p.m. – Craft Talk, Centennial Student Union, Room 253/4/5.
• 7:30-8:15 p.m. – Reading, Carnegie Art Center, 120 S. Broad St., Mankato

The following information about the writer was provided by the Good Thunder Reading Series:

Willie Perdomo is the author of “Smoking Lovely: The Remix,” “The Crazy Bunch,” “Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon” and “Where a Nickel Costs a Dime.” Winner of the Cy Twombly Award for Poetry, the PEN Open Book Award, the New York City Book Award in Poetry and the Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship, Perdomo was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Poetry Society of America Norma Farber First Book Award. He co-edited the anthology, “LatiNext,” and his work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Poetry, Washington Post, Best American Poetry 2019 and African Voices. He teaches at Phillips Exeter Academy and was appointed State Poet of New York (2021-2023).

Founded in 1981, the Good Thunder Reading Series brings nationally and internationally acclaimed writers from diverse backgrounds and literary traditions to Mankato, Minnesota, with the goal of promoting access to great literature, inspiring creativity, and connections in our communities, and fostering lively conversations about how writers work and why writing matters.

The Good Thunder Reading Series is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

The 2024-25 Good Thunder Reading Series also receives support from Minnesota State Mankato’s Department of Creative Arts; College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; the Nadine B. Andreas Endowment; the Eddice B. Barber Visiting Writer Endowment; the Robert C. Wright Endowment; the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council; Friends of the Library; and individual donors.

For more information or to get involved, contact Robin Becker, a creative writing faculty member at Minnesota State Mankato, at robin.becker@mnsu.edu, or visit gt.mnsu.edu.

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 15,251 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 26 colleges and seven universities.