Susan Fox Rogers; Katy M. Jensen

For many Minnesotans, living in one of the coldest states of the lower 48 is a point of pride. But there is a subset of people who live some or most of their lives in a place where the ice, wind, and speed at which the mucosal lining of one's nose freezes puts International Falls to shame: Antarctica. In Life on the Ice, 20 writers who've ventured toward the South Pole for money, adventure, science, and love share their experiences in stories and essays that are in turn funny, beautiful, informative, foreign, and familiar. In "The Day It Rained Chickens," Karen Joyce shares her trials as one of the general assistants at McMurdo station when decaying chicken carcasses inundated the town. Local writer Katy M. Jensen reveals the inner workings of the rarefied community of scientists and adventurers who brave Antarctic winters together. Jensen, for whom a set of cliffs in the Darwin Mountains is named, will appear with editor Susan Fox Rogers.
Sun., Nov. 11, 6 p.m., 2007