Minnesota Memories
From Green Stamps to Hot Pants:
Growing up in the 50s and 60s in the
Twin Cities and Northeast Minneapolis.
Books by Twin Cities Author
Genny Zak Kieley
Many readers have come to know Genny Zak Kieley through her well-loved books on Northeast Minneapolis. Her Heart and Hard Work have chronicled the Pride and Tradition and Roots and Ties of Northeast, a very special place. Her more recent Green Stamps to Hot Pants: Growing Up in the 50s and 60s has been a hit with those who love nostalgia. Like a quilt of hand-stitched squares, using words and old pictures; each section tells about life in a simpler time. Her books go beyond the personal to cultural history. Critics have said they are a slice of history that should be in every library.
While these works have brought Genny into the spotlight, many fans have long admired her short stories, which she has been writing for more than 25 years. In her book Baitstore Angel and Other Stories, she offers a collection of stories that will delight followers old and young, and confirm her status as one of Minnesota’s beloved story tellers. Unforgettable tales of joy and sorrow that Kieley spins with her unique warmth and charm. Each one with rich characters and vivid settings, these stories will transport you to a world of heart and humor that has become this author’s trademark. Every story is a gift of love.
When Genny Zak Kieley took a writing class and found out she loved writing; she stayed and took classes for ten years. When one day the assignment was to write about A Place That Calls to You, Genny wrote about Bessie & Joe Yablonsky who owned the neighborhood store where she grew up in Northeast Minneapolis. People liked it so much; they suggested she write more of her memories.
Heart and Hard Work is now in its sixth printing, and has sold over 8,000 copies. It was not on the best seller list, but sure made a lot of Northeast Minneapolis people happy and also held the distinction of the most likely to disappear from the Northeast Community Library.
Come walk the streets of Northeast and enter the churches, homes, small stores and even a shoemaker shop, where residents tell the stories of their lives and the way things were.
Her latest book to hit the stores is Daughter #5 the Baby of the Family Can the Family survive?
A heartwarming story of adventures, love and a family pulling together.