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   Award-winning author, poet, playwright and community arts activist Marcie Rendon will be touring Kitchigami Regional Libraries April 20th to 29th.  Her work has earned numerous honors, including the McKnight Foundation’s Distinguished Artist Award, the Pinckley Prize for Debut Crime Fiction, WLA Children’s Book Award, and the Minnesota Book Awards.

   As a member of the White Earth Nation, Rendon has dedicated much of her work to amplifying Native voices and stories. She is widely known for her award-winning Cash Blackbear mystery series, which features a young Ojibwe woman as the protagonist.  The series has received national recognition for its compelling storytelling and rich cultural perspective.

   “As Native people, we have known that in order to survive we had to create, re-create, produce, re-produce. The effect of the denial of our existence is that many of us have become invisible…However, not (everyone) can still that desire, that up-welling inside that says sing, write, draw, move, be… we can sing our hearts out, tell our stories, paint our visions…we are in a position to create a more human reality…”, Rendon states on her website marcierendon.com.

   The tour will be visiting libraries in Wadena, Park Rapids, Cass Lake, Walker, Blackduck, Bemidji, Pequot Lakes, Crosslake, Longville, Pine River, and Brainerd over the nine day tour.  Visit krls.org or contact your local Kitchigami Regional Library to find out more.

   This Legacy Program is funded in part or in whole with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008, which dedicated funding to preserve Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage.

   Tour Locations:

   Monday, April 20th - 1pm – Wadena City Library

   Monday, April 20th - 4:30pm – Park Rapids Area Library

   Tuesday, April 21st - 3:30pm – Cass Lake Community Library

   Tuesday, April 21st - 5:30pm – Walker Public Library

   Wednesday, April 22nd - 10:30am – Blackduck Community Library

   Wednesday, April 22nd - 5pm – Bemidji Public Library

   Monday, April 27th - 10:30am – Pequot Lakes Community Library

   Monday, April 27th - 2pm – Crosslake Area Library

   Tuesday, April 28th - 11am – Margaret Welch Memorial Library (Longville)

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