Playing Haydn for the Angel of Death

1011 Washington Avenue South,Minneapolis MN 55415

21 May, 2022

Description

Join friends and colleagues of the late acclaimed poet Bill Holm as they give the world premiere of "Playing Haydn for the Angel of Death." Join friends and colleagues of the late acclaimed poet Bill Holm as they give the world premiere of Playing Haydn for the Angel of Death, a musical setting of his namesake poem composed by Minnesota native Martha Helen Schmidt. The event will also feature select readings from Holm's literary oeuvre by Milkweed Editions founder, Emilie Buchwald, among others, and will feature internationally recognized musicians: Pianist, Daniel Rieppel and Lyric Baritone, Ryan Hugh Ross. Bill Holm was the embodiment of the spirit of Minnesota. His love of the windswept prairie, the glacial Fjords of his ancestral Iceland and the power of music are imbued throughout his impressive oeuvre of poetry. Holm’s masterpiece of prose Playing Haydn for the Angel of Death encapsulates his philosophy of music by drawing on musical metaphors while referencing specific compositions to describe the ultimate human condition - death. Free and open to the public. Registration required. ABOUT BILL HOLM Bill Holm was born in 1943 on a farm outside Minneota, Minnesota. He received a BA from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1965 and an MA from the University of Kansas in 1967. Holm was the author of several poetry collections, including Playing the Black Piano and The Dead Get By with Everything. His collection The Chain Letter of the Soul: New and Selected Poems was published posthumously in 2009. He also wrote several essay collections, including The Windows of Brimnes: An American in Iceland. A professor emeritus at Southwest Minnesota State until his retirement in 2008, Holm was known for his connection to Minnesota. In an article for the MinnPost, Nick Hayes describes him as “the quintessential voice of our small towns and prairies.” He goes on to note that Holm “was also our lost Icelander in Minnesota.” The grandchild of Icelandic immigrants, Holm spent most of his summers at his cottage in Hofsos, Iceland, and his writing was influenced both by the heritage and landscape of both of his homes. In 2008, Holm received the McKnight Distinguished Artist Award. He died on February 26, 2009, in South Dakota. ABOUT MILKWEED EDITIONS Milkweed Editions is one of the nation’s leading independent publishers. A 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, our mission is to identify, nurture, and publish transformative literature, and build an engaged community around it. We believe that literature has the potential to change the way we see the world, and that bringing new voices to essential conversations is the clearest path to ensuring a vibrant, diverse, and empowered future.