“I always say that when I come to a Friends Forum event, I expect to leave knowing more than I did when I arrived.” —Amelious Whyte, board chair for the Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries.

Every year the Friends of the Libraries sponsor a vibrant events series, the Friends Forum: A Series for Curious Minds, which brings speakers and performers to campus. Events are open to everyone — on campus and in the community — and most of our events are free of charge. If you missed any of this season’s events, never fear; you can watch them all online.

Meet Ellen and Yalile: A Conversation About Universities and Power

Ellen Holt-Werle, Institutional Archivist in University Archives at the University Libraries, and Yalile Suriel, Assistant Professor of Universities and Power in the Department of History at the University of Minnesota, discussed their work on Oct. 26, 2022 at Elmer L. Andersen Library.

Mary Moore Easter: ‘Keeping the Past With Eliza Winston’

Poet and dancer Mary Moore Easter gave a live performance from her chapbook “Free Papers: poems inspired by the testimony of Eliza Winston, a Mississippi slave escaped to freedom in Minnesota in 1860.” Her co-presenters were Joan Hepburn, a retired Professor of English, with a concentration in West African theater, from St. Olaf College, and Siddeeqah Shabazz, actor at Pillsbury House Theater and the Guthrie Theater, as well as Executive Director of Kulture Klub Collaborative. The event took place on Dec. 6, 2022 at Elmer L. Andersen Library.

A Feast of Words featuring Mike Dockry | Tribal Environmental Knowledge and Partnerships Solving 21st-Century Challenges

Using historical documents from the University of Minnesota Archives, Mike Dockry demonstrated the positive and negative impacts wild rice research at the University of Minnesota has had on tribal communities and ecosystems.

Dockry is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, with traditional territories around Lake Michigan and a reservation in central Oklahoma. He is Assistant Professor for tribal natural resource management at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Forest Resources. His research and teaching relates to strengthening tribal sovereignty, addressing tribal environmental issues, and incorporating Indigenous knowledge into forestry. A Feast of Words is co-sponsored by the Campus Club. The event took place January 26, 2023.

Friends Appreciation Event | Musical Impressions: The Art of George Morrison featuring live jazz music by guitarist Briand Morrison

Guitarist Briand Morrison performed “Musical Impressions: The Art of George Morrison” at the Friends Appreciation event on March 19, 2023 at the University of Minnesota. Morrison is the son of nationally renowned Ojibwe artist George Morrison and artist Hazel Belvo. The 35-minute jazz performance was accompanied by a slideshow of George Morrison’s work.

The 14th Annual Pankake Poetry reading, featuring Sun Yung Shin

The 14th Annual Pankake Poetry reading, named for librarian Marcia Pankake, took place on April 4, 2023, at Elmer L. Andersen Library. Poet and cultural worker Sun Yung Shin read from her latest book of poetry, “The Wet Hex,” a finalist for the 2023 Minnesota Book Award for poetry. She described it as a book “about what our ancestors are asking of us.”

Support the Friends Forum

Thank you to the Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries for sponsoring events in the Friends Forum: A Series for Curious Minds. These thought-provoking and intellectually engaging programs enrich both the campus and community. Not a member? Please consider supporting the Friends of the Libraries!