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SUMMARY:Why I chose to write psychological literary fiction and what I have done as a writer
DESCRIPTION:When I was young\, I was a voracious reader. I fell in love with the work of F. Scott Fitzgerald in high school\, happened upon Dostoyevsky in a bookstore the summer after I graduated from high school\, and discovered Proust a year later. These are three of the greatest authors of psychological literary fiction. I also developed an interest in psychoanalysis when I was young. My senior year in high school\, my psychology teacher gave me a book by Freud to read\, so we could talk about the possibility of him including the book in his course the next year. I read the book\, became fascinated by Freud\, and by the time I finished undergraduate school\, I’d read most of Freud’s major works. When I was a French professor\, I taught courses on Proust\, as well as other authors of psychological literary fiction\, and on Freud—the influence of literature on Freud\, and Freud on literature. And when I retired from academe\, I finally had the opportunity to write my own psychological literary fiction. It has been quite a voyage\, and I intend to replicate that voyage with you. \n–Bio– \nBrian Duren earned a Doctorate in French literature from the University of Paris\, as well as a B.A. in English and a Ph.D. in French from the University of Minnesota. He taught modern French literature\, European cinema and interdisciplinary courses on psychoanalysis and literature at the Universities of Texas\, Tulsa\, Iowa\, and Minnesota\, until he became an administrator. After retiring from academe\, Brian launched a new career as an author of psychological literary fiction. He writes innovative novels with an introspective quality about nomadic characters who travel through time and space\, always returning to what haunts them. His first novel\, Whiteout\, praised by the St. Paul Pioneer Press as a “stunning debut novel\, worthy of national recognition\,” won the Independent Publisher Gold Medal for Midwestern Fiction. Award-winning painter Nancy Robinson lauded Brian’s second book\, Ivory Black\, for “putting an imaginary paint brush into the hands of the reader and leading the way through an experience so real\, it seems like more than a dream\,” while Junot Diaz described his third\, The Gravity of Love\, as “a magnificent haunting duet of grief\, absence\, and the unshakable bonds of family …” Brian’s fourth novel\, Day Brings Back the Night\, will be published in June of 2026.
URL:https://mnindependentscholars.org/event/why-i-chose-to-write-psychological-literary-fiction-and-what-i-have-done-as-a-writer/
LOCATION:Bethlehem Lutheran Church – Commons Room\, 41st and Lyndale\, Minneapolis
CATEGORIES:Monthly Forum
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://mnindependentscholars.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/The-gravity-of-love.webp
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DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261121T100000
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DTSTAMP:20260930T195355Z
CREATED:20260930T184608Z
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UID:3723-1795255200-1795262400@mnindependentscholars.org
SUMMARY:Enshrining Equality: The Push for the Minnesota Equal Rights Amendment
DESCRIPTION:Minnesotans know how to stand against threats to our freedoms. But we also know that progress can be undone. In a time of escalating national threats\, we must enshrine equality\, fairness\, and freedom directly into the foundation of our state laws.\nJoin us for a discussion on the future of our civil rights\, where we will share information about Minnesotans for Equal Rights — a cross-sector coalition fighting to cement a comprehensive Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) into the Minnesota State Constitution. We will lay out the long-term strategy for the 2028 ballot and discuss how passing one of the nation’s most inclusive ERAs will offer the strongest possible protections against discrimination\, no matter who is in power. Learn how we can make Minnesota a state where equality isn’t just a hope—it’s a constitutional promise.\n\n \n\nMonica Meyer\nPolitical Director\, Gender Justice\nshe / her / hers or they / them / theirs\n\nMonica Meyer has been leading organizing\, activism\, fundraising and policy advocacy on behalf of issues of equity and justice since 1992. Monica’s most recent job was working for LGBTQ liberation as the Executive Director of OutFront Minnesota. During Monica’s twenty years at OutFront Minnesota\, she loved getting to work with thousands of justice-loving people fighting to make Minnesota more loving and equitable.\nDuring this time\, OutFront was involved in securing some key victories advancing LGBTQ equity including helping to form and lead Minnesotans United for All Families\, the campaign to defeat a constitutional amendment banning same-sex couples from the right to marry and secure marriage equality through the Minnesota legislature. They also worked to pass one of the country’s strongest anti-bullying laws\, a policy to secure trans inclusion in sports\, and elect pro-equality candidates up and down the ballot.\nSome of Monica’s recognition includes the Humphrey Institute’s Public Leadership Award\, the Lynx’s Inspiring Women Award\, HRC’s Brian Coyle Award\, the Charlotte Striebel Award from MN NOW and the MN School Social Work Association’s Friend of Social Work Award.\nMonica received her master’s degree in public policy from the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota\, and her undergraduate degree from Hamline University.\n\n\n\n\nLauren Himiak\nCommunications Director / MN4ER Campaign and Coalition Manager\nshe / her / hers\n\nLauren Himiak is a strategic communications leader who started her career as a journalist and has spent more than 20 years building communications infrastructure\, storytelling strategy\, and stakeholder trust for organizations working on the front lines of social justice\, global health\, and reproductive rights.\nLauren has led communications strategy at both the international and grassroots level. Early in her career\, she led communications for global health organizations including Population Council and Women Deliver\, shaping strategy and messaging for global health and advocacy initiatives. She later brought that same strategic instinct to reproductive rights work in the U.S.: at the Center for Reproductive Rights\, she created a new storytelling initiative that wove abortion storytelling into litigation\, national campaigns\, and policy advocacy\, and at the Women’s Equality Center\, she helped launch UnRestrict Minnesota\, building trust and alignment among a wide range of stakeholders to advance reproductive rights in the Midwest — work that gave her deep\, firsthand ties to Minnesota that she has maintained ever since.\n\nMost recently\, Lauren served as Associate Vice President at Fenton Communications and Senior Director at Metropolitan Group\, where she led communications strategy and supervised staff across a range of social justice clients. She holds a Master of Arts in International Affairs\, Governance & Human Rights from The New School and a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing & Communications from SUNY Cortland.
URL:https://mnindependentscholars.org/event/enshrining-equality-the-push-for-the-minnesota-equal-rights-amendment/
LOCATION:Bethlehem Lutheran Church – Commons Room\, 41st and Lyndale\, Minneapolis
CATEGORIES:Monthly Forum
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnindependentscholars.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Equal-Rights-Amendment.jpg
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