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On a series called “Outlast” on Netflix, a team of competitors are dropped into the Alaskan wilderness where they have to work together and live off the land to win a $1 million prize. Within minutes of meeting one another, they’re charged with building a shelter, finding sources of food, steering clear of bears and wolves and identifying clean water.
I watched that series with a sense of intrigue and jealousy. Because I would not know where to begin if I were placed in the same scenario. I don’t know which plants or critters are safe to consume in the wild. I cannot build a fire. I’m sure I could chop a tree down, but I would not know how to arrange the logs in a manner in some enclosure that would keep me warm.
I was embarrassed by it all as I watched that show.
From one generation to the next, an acknowledgment of the land’s value and an understanding of the best way to utilize and protect what it provides have been lost. My grandmother told us about the healing power of the aloe plant. Whenever I’d get my annual summer rash, I’d turn to it for relief because of her. My father, who grew up on a farm in Mississippi, grew his own tomatoes and cabbages and carrots. We’d pick them all one by one when it was time.
And here I am, in 2026, without any of those skills and therefore, a disconnection from the land that Robin Wall Kimmerer discusses in “The Serviceberry,” where she talks about abundance and how it can encourage bonds between neighbors.
In her book, she writes: “The practice of the front yard giveaway seems to be contagious on our road. One day, an old travel trailer appeared parked at the edge of a newly shorn hayfield. No electricity or water. A week later, a rough table was set up outside, boards between two sawhorses. Arrayed there was an ornate spice rack, a small heap of Army camouflage items, a canvas-wrapped canteen, a knapsack, and a mess kit. And a sign that said “free.” Is this an economy? I think it is—a system of redistribution of wealth based on abundance and the pleasure of sharing. Someone says: I have more than I need, so I offer it to you. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that these small acts all happen on a few miles of one country road. Giving begets giving and the gift stays in motion. And there are a lot more roads.”
We can build more connections with collective kindness and generosity. The gift economy Kimmerer touts in her book begins with an understanding that we share the same land and what it gives us all. If we collectively embrace that reality, then we can recognize that we also have the opportunity to help and sustain one another, especially in turbulent times.
Except this isn’t a TV show like the one I recently consumed. It’s our real lives and it’s also a chance to spend more energy on what can happen if we decided to think first about what our neighbor needs from us rather than how much we can attain for ourselves.
This is our last newsletter before our author event with Kimmerer at 6:30 p.m. on May 13 at Minneapolis Central Library, where supporters can join in-person and online. We’re looking forward to our event, which is expected to draw the largest crowd in the history of the book club. As always, I’d like to thank Hennepin County Library, Friends of Hennepin County Library, the Star Tribune and everyone who has participated in this book club over the years.
We look forward to this event and the future of the club. Thank you all!
- What can we learn through the practice of observing the living world and taking inspiration from it for human ways of living?
- How might that affect our ideas about economics, reciprocity, and the human relationship with nature?
How to participate
Author Event
Wednesday, May 13, 6:30 p.m.
Minneapolis Central Library
The Mary Ann Key Book Club will be hosting an exclusive evening at Pohlad Hall featuring Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass and The Serviceberry. The author will be joined in conversation by Star Tribune columnist and book club partner Myron Medcalf. This event will be recorded and available for 7 days following the conversation.
While the in-person event is fully booked at this time, several local branches of Hennepin County Library will be hosting livestream watch events for people to gather and watch the author event conversation together in real time. Consider signing up to attend one of the local watch events using the link below.
Each newsletter we will highlight two local organizations that serve Native communities and/or support work around sustainability of our state’s incredible land and water resources. Readers are encouraged to learn more about these organizations, in the spirit of reciprocity that runs through this year’s Mary Ann Key title.
All My Relations Arts (AMRA) operates the All My Relations Gallery, Minnesota’s premier American Indian owned and operated contemporary fine arts gallery. It seeks to provide education to the public about American Indian history, culture, and contemporary experiences through the arts. AMRA’s mission is to honor and strengthen relationships between contemporary American Indian artists and the living influence of preceding generations, between artists and audiences of all cultural backgrounds, and between and art and vitality of the American Indian Cultural Corridor. AMRA is an initiative of the Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI).
Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC) is a non-profit social and mental health services organization committed to traditional ways of being and support of Native women and their families, providing a broad range of programs designed to educate and empower Native women and to inform and assist those who provide services to the community. It seeks to empower Native women and families to exercise their cultural values with integrity, and to achieve sustainable lifeways, while advocating for justice and equity.
Celebrate the 30th anniversary of National Poetry Month by exploring the following HCL recommended book lists:
Saturday, May 2, 1:30-3 p.m.
Minneapolis Central Library
Teachers and parents of children of all ages are invited to join Richard Lewis and Lilly Crawford in a conversation based on Lewis’ poem and book, “A Tree Lives,” which explores and encourages the profound and instinctive sense that children can so often express towards the beauty and life of the natural world.
View the I am the Tree, the Tree is Me exhibit, which is on display April 1-May 29 in Cargill Gallery on the second floor of Minneapolis Central Library.
Tuesday, May 5, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 20, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
All My Relations Art Gallery
Join us for a two-part writing workshop in support of the Mary Ann Key Book Club conversation with Robin Wall Kimmerer. For the first session, novelist Diane Wilson will focus on land, encouraging participants to write about a beloved place that has influenced their lives. For the second session, poet Halee Kirkwood will focus on water, encouraging participants to write about a waterway that nourishes them.
Refreshments begin at 5:30pm, followed by the workshop at 6pm. The workshop is offered in a hybrid format. Registration required.
Wednesday, May 6, 1-2:30 p.m.
Eden Prairie Library
Local author Rhonda Fleming Hayes will discuss her new book, "Garden for Life: Strategies for Easier, Greener, More Joyful Gardening as We Age." Hayes brings a lifetime of gardening experience, research-based advice, and collective wisdom to older gardeners who are looking for inspiration and practical strategies, including suggestions for ways to downsize or redesign an existing garden, new techniques and tools to make gardening less strenuous, and plants that “multitask” to make a garden more sustainable.
About the Mary Ann Key Book Club
The book club was inspired by a Star Tribune column written by Myron Medcalf – the great-great-great-grandson of Mary Ann Key.
“I’m honored to partner with Hennepin County Library to launch the Mary Ann Key Book Club, named after the matriarch of my family, who was enslaved in Georgia in the 1850s. Purchased for $1,000 at the age of 14, Mary Ann Key persevered. Her body was in bondage, but slavery never stole the freedom of her heart, mind and soul. This book club is about focusing on the truths of the past, our challenges in the present and the possibilities of the future…”
– Myron Medcalf
This program is supported by Friends of the Hennepin County Library. Their generous financial support is helping to provide greater access to print and eBook copies of the featured books. Media partner: Star Tribune.
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