Sinkhole by Juliet Patterson
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Join Juliet Patterson in conversation about her book Sinkhole at Moon Palace Books on Tuesday, October 13th at 6:00pm. Juliet will be joined in conversation by Chris Stedman.
A haunting and sublimely elegant memoir that reckons with the violence we inflict on the land and ourselves.
When Juliet Patterson’s father dies by suicide, she is left with a grief shaped not only by loss, but by legacy. His death repeats a disturbing pattern in her family: Her father’s father had taken his own life, and so had her mother’s. Over the weeks and months that follow, Patterson is haunted by questions: Why had her family lost so many fathers? What kind of despair echoes across generations?
In three graceful movements, Sinkhole travels from the raw intimacy of mourning to the abandoned coal mines of southeastern Kansas, where the land itself bears scars of collapse. Sinkholes become a powerful metaphor for what is kept buried—family history, masculinity, violence, and the unspoken forces that shape both people and place. In her parents’ hometown, Patterson carefully gathers evidence and radically imagines the final days of the grandfathers she never knew. And ultimately, she returns to her father, confronting regret, memory, and the tender work of saying goodbye.
Juliet Patterson is the author of Sinkhole, as well as two collections of poems, Threnody and The Truant Lover, a finalist for the Lambda Award. Her poems and essays have appeared widely. She has received fellowships from the Jerome Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, and the Minneapolis-based Institute for Community Cultural Development. Her other awards include the Arts & Letters Susan Atefat Prize in nonfiction and the Lynda Hull Memorial Poetry Prize. She lives in Minneapolis.
Chris Stedman is a writer, podcaster, and professor who teaches in the department of religion and philosophy at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, MN. He is the author of the books IRL, Faitheist, and the forthcoming Nothing in Particular. Chris is also the creator, writer, and host of Unread, and is the founder of Good Judy Productions, a podcast studio based in Minneapolis. The studio's first series, which has received funding support from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Minnesota Humanities Center, and Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, is currently in production. As a part of his work on this series, Chris has spearheaded the We Help Us project to document and archive stories of queer and trans mutual aid in Minnesota; visit wehelpusmn.com to learn more.
A haunting and sublimely elegant memoir that reckons with the violence we inflict on the land and ourselves.
When Juliet Patterson’s father dies by suicide, she is left with a grief shaped not only by loss, but by legacy. His death repeats a disturbing pattern in her family: Her father’s father had taken his own life, and so had her mother’s. Over the weeks and months that follow, Patterson is haunted by questions: Why had her family lost so many fathers? What kind of despair echoes across generations?
In three graceful movements, Sinkhole travels from the raw intimacy of mourning to the abandoned coal mines of southeastern Kansas, where the land itself bears scars of collapse. Sinkholes become a powerful metaphor for what is kept buried—family history, masculinity, violence, and the unspoken forces that shape both people and place. In her parents’ hometown, Patterson carefully gathers evidence and radically imagines the final days of the grandfathers she never knew. And ultimately, she returns to her father, confronting regret, memory, and the tender work of saying goodbye.
Juliet Patterson is the author of Sinkhole, as well as two collections of poems, Threnody and The Truant Lover, a finalist for the Lambda Award. Her poems and essays have appeared widely. She has received fellowships from the Jerome Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, and the Minneapolis-based Institute for Community Cultural Development. Her other awards include the Arts & Letters Susan Atefat Prize in nonfiction and the Lynda Hull Memorial Poetry Prize. She lives in Minneapolis.
Chris Stedman is a writer, podcaster, and professor who teaches in the department of religion and philosophy at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, MN. He is the author of the books IRL, Faitheist, and the forthcoming Nothing in Particular. Chris is also the creator, writer, and host of Unread, and is the founder of Good Judy Productions, a podcast studio based in Minneapolis. The studio's first series, which has received funding support from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Minnesota Humanities Center, and Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, is currently in production. As a part of his work on this series, Chris has spearheaded the We Help Us project to document and archive stories of queer and trans mutual aid in Minnesota; visit wehelpusmn.com to learn more.
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Where is it happening?
3032 Minnehaha Ave, Minneapolis, MN, United States, Minnesota 55406
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherMoon Palace Books
