Author Allen Eskens Visits Hackensack to Kick Off Northwoods Arts Council’s Season

In greater Minnesota, artistic and cultural events are an incredibly welcome experience. One organization that provides these kinds of events for the Hackensack community is the Northwoods Arts Council, which has just kicked off its summer lineup with an author visit.

“Hackensack is on fire, there’s a lot going on.” said Northwoods Regional Arts Council President Terry Roeser. “Our motto is, ‘Bringing the arts to life in northern Minnesota,’ and we do that through many facets of artists and authors and music.”

While the arts council has 14 programs and concerts lined up for the summer, the first event was all about Minnesota best-selling author Allen Eskens and a presentation of his body of work.

“I’m presenting to these people about my writing journey, and these wonderful folks have come to listen to be babble on about myself,” joked Eskens.

Eskens is perhaps best known for his mystery novels, wherein he attempts to weave in multiple interpersonal plot lines throughout the course of the mystery itself.

“I use the thriller or mystery as a vehicle to tell a human story. So all of my books really have a strong focus in relationships,” explained Eskens, “So I tell two stories at one time.”

Whether it was Eskens’s style of writing or the event planning of the Northwoods Arts Council, a group of almost a 100 individuals came to hear Eskens speak on this occasion.

“It’s a remarkably good-sized audience for a town of this size, and like I said, I just enjoy talking about my favorite subject,” said Eskens.

The Northwoods Arts Council will also be hosting their annual Northwoods Art & Book Fesitval on August 12th, which will feature 65 artists and 35 authors. More information on their summer season can be found on their website.