An Evening with Mona Susan Power

Made possible through partnership with BSC’s Bringing Humanities to Life

About the event: Join us for an in-person book talk with acclaimed author Mona Susan Power, featuring her novel A Council of Dolls, longlisted for the 2023 National Book Award, along with her debut novel The Grass Dancer. Through the stories of three generations of Yanktonai Dakota women in A Council of Dolls, Power explores the lasting impact of Indian boarding schools and the enduring power of family, memory, and love. Drawing on themes that also appear in The Grass Dancer, as well as in her newest novel (not yet published), she will reflect on her inspiration, storytelling, and the role of literature in understanding history and healing.

Mona Susan Power is the author of four books of fiction: The Grass Dancer (awarded the PEN/Hemingway prize), Roofwalker, Sacred Wilderness, and A Council of Dolls (winner of the Minnesota Book Award, the High Plains Book Award, and longlisted for the National Book Award). Fellowships in support of her work include a James Michener Fellowship, Radcliffe Bunting Institute Fellowship, Princeton Hodder Fellowship, USA Artists Fellowship, Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Fellowship, and McKnight Fellowship. Power is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe (Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋna Dakhóta), born and raised in Chicago. During her childhood she was a member of the Chicago Indian Village movement, a group organized to protest the conditions of Native people lured to urban areas with promises of secure jobs and good housing, that seldom materialized. In 1979, a documentary following the experiences of this group was nominated for an Academy Award. Mona attended the Oscar ceremonies that year as a guest of the director, Jerry Aronson. She currently lives in Minnesota.