Dave Eggers: writer, activist, superhero, pirate

This Friday I'm going to talk with author Dave Eggers as part of the Minneapolis Library Foundation's Pen Pals Series.

Eggers' bio reads a bit like a superhero who's pen is mightier than the sword. Of late, it seems that each book he writes spawns a foundation bent on making the world a better place. With his latest book Zeitoun, he depicts one family's true story and, by doing so, simultaneously takes on rebuilding New Orleans, and interfaith understanding. Prior to that he wrote "What is the what," a novel based on the real life story of one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. That book led to the creation of the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, dedicated to building secondary schools in southern Sudan.

In the video clip above, Eggers talks about how he's managed to partner 1400 volunteers with students for one-on-one after-school tutoring in the same building where he runs his publishing house McSweeney's.

Interested in hearing Eggers speak this week? You have two opportunities.

• After five years, State of the Arts comes to a close
• Park Square’s second stage to open Friday
• Most critics find ‘Romeo and Juliet’ a dreamy delight
• Michael Kareken fills two galleries with ‘Parts’