Poet and Singer-Songwriter Diane Jarvenpa to Perform at The Blue Heron

On Tuesday, September 6th at 7pm, poet and singer-songwriter Diane Jarvenpa will perform at the Blue Heron Coffee House, 162 W.2nd St., Winona, as part of the Laureate Writers Series. The performance will be followed by an open mic. The event is free and open to the public.

Diane Jarvenpa is the author of three books of poetry: Divining the Landscape (New Rivers Press), Ancient Wonders, the Modern World (Red Dragonfly Press) and The Tender Wild Things (New Rivers Press) which received the Midwest Independent Publishers Association book award in poetry. Her most recent chapbook, swift, bright, drift, was published by Red Dragonfly Press in 2016. She has received artist initiative and fellowship grants in writing from the Minnesota State Arts Board. She is also a singer/songwriter who records under the name Diane Jarvi. She is known for her intimate interpretations of folk and world music as well as ballads, jazz standards and cabaret songs from around the world.

Jarvi’s recordings Foreign Winds, Revontuli, Flying Into Blue, Paper Heart, Wild Gardens and bittersweet are heard on radio throughout Europe, Canada, Australia as well as around the United States. She has been the subject of two film documentaries and is known in Finland as Minnesotan Satakieli — The Minnesota Nightingale. Diane has been the recipient of artistic grants and awards including a McKnight MacPhail performing fellowship and awarded Finlandia Foundation Performer of the Year. She was the recipient of a grant from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage fund and in 2016 she was awarded a grant to make a film of her music set to her poetry. All of her recordings blend the artistry of her songwriting with her love of world music and poetry. She will read from her new chapbook and perform several of her songs. 

The Laureate Writer’s Series is sponsored by the City of Winona’s Fine Arts Commission. The City of Winona is a partner of River Arts Alliance.