Population 485: Staged Reading

Join Great River Writes for this free staged reading of Michael Perry's "Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time." No reservations or tickets required. This free event is first come, first seated.

Perry will be joining us as our GRW closing speaker the following afternoon, December 1st, at La Crosse Public Library at 1pm. Check out this adapted work from his bestselling memoir. 

Population 485: Here the local vigilante is a farmer's wife armed with a pistol and a Bible, the most senior member of the volunteer fire department is a cross-eyed butcher with one kidney and two ex-wives (both of whom work at the only gas station in town), and the back roads are haunted by the ghosts of children and farmers. Michael Perry loves this place. He grew up here, and now -- after a decade away -- he has returned. Mike figures the best way to regain his credibility is to join the volunteer fire department. Against a backdrop of fires and tangled wrecks, bar fights and smelt feeds, he tells a frequently comic tale leavened with moments of heartbreaking delicacy and searing tragedy.

Michael Perry is a New York Times bestselling author, humorist and radio show host from New Auburn, Wisconsin.

Perry’s bestselling memoirs include Population 485, Truck: A Love Story, Coop, and Visiting Tom. Raised on a small Midwestern dairy farm, Perry put himself through nursing school while working on a ranch in Wyoming, then wound up writing by happy accident. He lives with his wife and two daughters in rural Wisconsin, where he serves on the local volunteer fire and rescue service and is an amateur pig farmer. He hosts the nationally-syndicated “Tent Show Radio,” performs widely as a humorist, and tours with his band the Long Beds (currently recording their third album for Amble Down Records). He has recorded three live humor albums including Never Stand Behind A Sneezing Cow and The Clodhopper Monologues, is currently finishing his first young adult novel, and can be found online at www.sneezingcow.com.

About Great River Writes

Great River Writes is a partnership between the La Crosse Public Library, Women Writers Ink,  the Winona Public Library, the River Arts Alliance, the UW-La Crosse English Department, the La Crosse Area Writer's Group, and National Novel Writing Month.

Great River Writes announces the 2nd annual writing series to inspire writers of all levels. In conjunction with National Novel Writing Month, public libraries and literary organizations in La Crosse and Winona will host writing workshops and author chats every Saturday, October 27 through December 9. Community write-ins, craft talks, and expert tips support both published and yet-to-be-published writers of novels, poems, short stories, and more.