The Great Northern Sauna Village: Poetry Reading with Michael Bazzett and Claire Wahmanholm
In Partnership with Milkweed Editions
Dates & Times:
Sat Feb 1 2025 - 2:30 - 4:00pm
Venue: The Market at Malcolm Yards
Cost: $60
Join us for a unique experience during this Open Steam session, as local poets Michael Bazzett and Claire Wahmanholm share their work in a special poetry reading.
The reading will take place in our event sauna, where you’re welcome to come and go at your leisure. Step inside and let the poems resonate in the soothing heat, and then cool off outside or check out one of our other saunas. This session is a chance to connect with poetry and community in a relaxing and meaningful way.
Looking for even more ways to sauna? We invite you to also check out one of our special sauna programs, including sound bathing, forest bathing, a winter run, & more!
Plan Your Experience
Please note: Sauna participants must be 13+ years of age at the time of their sauna experience. Attendees under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Parents are welcome to bring children ages 5-13 during our Family Day Steam Sessions.
How to prepare: Bring easy-to-slip-on/off sandals or flip-flops, a towel, a robe to wear to and from the saunas, and a water bottle to stay hydrated. Bathing suits are required, and we recommend coming already dressed to maximize sauna time. Please note that Malcolm Yards requires shoes and either a robe or clothes to be worn indoors.
Please note that photographs and video footage may be taken throughout this event. These will be used by The Great Northern and its partners for marketing and publicity, our archives, on our website and in social media.
Fragrance Sensitivity Warning: We want to ensure that everyone has an enjoyable and comfortable experience at our event. Please note that aromatherapy will be an integral part of some activities, and while we have designated scent-free saunas for those who prefer fragrance-free spaces, we cannot guarantee a completely fragrance-free environment within The Great Northern Sauna Village.
*Snow angels and cold exposure methods will be weather dependent. If above freezing temperatures, cold water buckets and rinsing stations will be available.
If you have a Sauna Village question or ticketing need, please reach out to tickets@thegreatnorthernfestival.com.
If you have a question about accessibility at The Great Northern Sauna Village, please reach out to accessibility@thegreatnorthernfestival.com
Claire Wahmanholm Claire Wahmanholm is the author of Wilder, Redmouth, and, most recently, Meltwater, which was a finalist for the 2024 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and the 2024 Minnesota Book Award. A 2020-2021 McKnight Writing Fellow, and the winner of the 2022 Montreal International Poetry Prize, she lives in the Twin Cities.
Michael Bazzett is the author of You Must Remember This, which received the 2014 Lindquist & Vennum Prize for Poetry, The Interrogation, and most recently The Echo Chamber. He is the translator of The Popol Vuh, the first English verse translation of the Mayan creation epic, which was named a New York Times Best Book of the Year. He is also the author of the chapbook Imaginary City (OW! Arts). His poems have appeared in numerous publications, including Ploughshares, The Sun, Massachusetts Review, Pleiades, and Best New Poets. A longtime faculty member at The Blake School, Bazzett has received the Bechtel Prize from Teachers & Writers Collaborative and is a 2017 National Endowment for the Arts Fellow. He lives in Minneapolis.