Meet Poet, Author and Artist Laura Hansen

NAC 2020 AUTHOR VIRTUAL TOUR 

MEET MINNESOTA POET, AUTHOR AND ARTIST

Laura Hansen is a former business owner and indie bookseller rounding out her days working part-time at the Little Falls Carnegie Library. Laura owned and managed Bookin’ It in Little Falls from the fall of 1992 to spring 2013. During that time Laura read extensively (still does) and moderated hundreds of book discussions. As if working as a business owner 24/7 was not challenging enough, Laura also spent time writing poetry, attending poetry workshops, mentoring other writers and launching a local writers’ group. Laura has also served on the boards of Great River Arts and the Five Wings Arts Council. 

Laura’s various careers have taken her from Little Falls, to the Twin Cities and Rochester, York Pennsylvania, the Dayton Ohio area, Viroqua Wisconsin and back to Little Falls. She has also traveled in Spain and recently attended two writing programs in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Laura’s writing reflects her family and professional life, her observations of nature and place, and – most strongly – her attachment to places of water and natural beauty.

Hansen's most recent book, "The Night Journey", is a break-out collection of not only poems but brief stories of travel and enchantment (River Place Press, 2020).

Hansen's short collection of poems titled "Déjà vu" focuses in on a period of change and “becoming a woman of a certain age” (Finishing Line Press, 2017).

The cover of "Déjà Vu" features Laura’s original oil painting titled “Prairie Storm”. Laura felt this was a good choice as the art work is somewhat impressionistic making it open to interpretation. A touch of purple found in the painting was expounded on by the layout team for the final cover design.

Hansen’s "Midnight River" is a full-length collection that won the Stevens Poetry Manuscript Competition in 2015 and was published in 2016. "Midnight River" was also a Midwest Book Award Finalist in Poetry. 

Laura is available for poetry readings and workshops. Contact the author via her website at www.riverpoethansen.com or www.laurahansenbooks.com

Also available in limited quantities: Laura’s self-published chapbooks and poetry zines as well as a booklet,"Without Tears: Poems of My Brother's Last Year"

Enjoy one of Laura Hansen's recent poems 
"Do Not Delay This Wakening"

I need right now
for the river
to go storming past
like a bear fresh
from its den,

to see it open
its dark maw
and roar,
releasing all the
pent-up frustrations
of winter
and of home-staying,

to pound its furious
big clawed paws
down on the weakening
ice, to break us free
of winter's stasis,

to trundle away
with this unholy
pandemic riding
on its back.

Laura L. Hansen
March 25, 2020
poem reprinted with permission of the author

Participant NAC Art and Book Festival