Winona Poets Laureate:
James Armstrong, Emilio DeGrazia, Ken McCullough, and Nichole Ramsey

Every city, town, and village should be as fortunate (and deserving) as Winona, Minnesota, where her poets laureate took it upon themselves to record the events, faces and stories that make their fair city an especially beloved place. Crossings, An Anthology of Poets Laureate of Winona, Minnesota brings history into poetry and poetry to history; from Ken McCullough’s lively introduction to the last sepia-tinted photograph, the poems fairly ring with a shared desire for community and creativity, doing so in unique ways. From Jim Armstrong’s exquisite “Five Minnesota Postcards for Misato” (Winona’s Japanese sister city), to Ken McCullough’s moving remembrances of local heroes, to Emilio DeGrazia’s lean and lyric meditations, right up to Nicholle Ramsey’s truth-telling and powerful spoken words, this anthology is a tribute to the power of poetry to remember and to make happen, and it’s as beautiful as it is substantial.

—Joyce Sutphen, Minnesota Poet Laureate from 2011-2021, and the author most recently of Carrying Water to the Field

“Crossings” is available at the Winona County Historical Society, the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, and local bookstores in Winona.