He did not learn to read until he was 11. His teachers never expected much from him, and his classmates left him to himself. He was in "dummy classes" most of his early life. And yet ... and yet ... here he is today, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, founder of the Writers Studio school for fiction and poetry, visiting Minneapolis next week to talk about his new memoir, "My Dyslexia."
Philip Schultz knew he struggled, but he didn't know he was dyslexic until one of his sons had the condition diagnosed.
"His affecting prose will inspire compassion and leave readers with an understanding not only of dyslexia but of the lifelong challenges that someone with disabilities may face," Publishers Weekly said in a starred review of his memoir, which was published last month.
Schultz will speak at 7 p.m. Nov. 15 at Groves Academy, 3200 Hwy. 100 S., Mpls. The event is free, but donations to the school will be accepted. The public is welcome, with registration -- online at www.grovesacademy.org or by sending an e-mail to beanc@grovesacademy.org.
Also ...
• Duluth poet Connie Wanek had a poem reprinted in the November issue of Reader's Digest magazine. "Butter" is from her collection, "Hartley Field," published by Holy Cow! Press of Duluth.
• "Rez Road: An Indian's Journey through Reservation Life," by David Treuer, will be published in February by Atlantic Monthly Press. Treuer lives in Los Angeles, where he is professor of literature at the University of Southern California, and on the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota. He is the winner of a Guggenheim fellowship, a Pushcart Prize and a Minnesota Book Award.
• The 2012 "Saint Paul Almanac," a colorful compendium of events listings, essays, poetry and other writing by St. Paul residents, has been published. It contains works by Garrison Keillor, Patrick Coleman, Mike Hazard, Ethna McKiernan and many others.
