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The Pig’s Eye Post is back and the Almanac needs your help!
At the Saint Paul Almanac, we know we all do better when we know each other. Our goal is to use storytelling to help everyone in Saint Paul become friends and neighbors — one big block club of Saint Paulites that understand and support each other in good and difficult times.
- Arcata Press organizes the Saint Paul Almanac as a people’s meeting space for sharing the stories of our community through our annual book, public readings, community editor mentorship program, and other activities that showcase and honor local, diverse voices and artists.
- We publish work of nationally acclaimed local writers like Gordon Parks and Garrison Keillor with emerging writers’ work and writing from new immigrant, student, elder, African American, and other communities.
- In our partnership with the Saint Paul Public Schools, 2000 students receive Almanacs as part of their social studies curriculum, and we sponsor an annual student writing contest for grades 5–12 as well.
We need your help on Tuesday, November 16th, “Give to the Max Day” A.K.A. “The Great Minnesota Give Together”
Last year, for 24 hours, more than 38,000 donors logged on to GiveMN.org and contributed more than $14 million to 3,434 Minnesota nonprofits, whose missions range from feeding the hungry, to protecting the environment, to promoting the arts. Every hour one donor wins a golden ticket, adding $1000 to their donation.
To donate, visit the Saint Paul Almanac website homepage and donate in the left column or visit our page on the GiveMN website at http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Arcata-Press
That chill in the air may be telling us that winter is coming but the sunsets and skies are beautiful. For quality cloud watching, visit the high points of Cherokee Park or Indian Mounds Park or the south side of Lake Phalen. For an amazing summary of the incredible variety of weather in Saint Paul, and for a guide to the best places in the city to see storm clouds, thunderstorms, rainbows, and snow, read Kenneth A. Blumenfeld’s “A Fanatic’s Guide to Getting the Most out of the Weather in Saint Paul”.
Saint Paul Almanac coming events!
The Saint Paul Almanac continues its year-round literary celebration of Minnesota’s capital city with the acclaimed Lowertown Reading Jams
The entire 2010-2011 season will be presented at the Black Dog Café, a popular Saint Paul venue for spoken word artists, and a co-sponsor of the series. The Jams are curated by the following creative writers and agents for social change:
- Dec. 13, 2010 – Matthew Rucker
- Jan. 10, 2011 – May Lee-Yang
- Feb. 14, 2011 – Tou SaiKo Lee
- Mar. 14, 2011 – Carol Connolly
- Apr. 11, 2011 – Marcie Rendon
- May 9, 2011 – Desdamona
- June 13, 2011 – Melvin Giles
- July 11, 2011 – Diego Vázquez, Jr.
The Saint Paul Almanac‘s “Celebration through Stories” readings are ongoing until early December in coffee shops around the city
The event series features contributors to the Saint Paul Almanac reading their pieces from the 2011 edition. Coming dates include:
- Mad Hatter Coffee Cafe and Teahouse (Nov 13th)
- Common Good Books (Nov 15th)
- Jerabek’s New Bohemian Coffeehouse and Bakery (Nov 20th)
- Golden Thyme Coffee Café (Nov 22nd)
- Amore Coffee (Nov 29th)
- Grumpy Steve’s Coffee (Dec 4th)
See our Celebration through Stories event page for more information. For other upcoming event listings, check out our Saint Paul Calendar at https://saintpaulalmanac.org/saint-paul-calendar/
Got some good photos or a story from a local event or want to weigh in with a short, memorable review? Contact us: https://saintpaulalmanac.org/about/contact/
New Almanac writing from Greg Brick and Margaret Hasse
THINGS WE LOVE: Exploring the Fort Road Sewers
By Greg Brick
Back in my younger and more foolish days, I spent a lot of time exploring the sewers under the Fort Road neighborhood of Saint Paul. The tunnels run under every street at an average depth of about thirty feet. These tunnels, which carry raw sewage, were dug out of the St. Peter sandstone bedrock with handpicks more than 100 years ago. Their floors are paved with brickwork. I once painstakingly measured the aggregate length of this sewer labyrinth on sewer maps and found it was thirty miles long—the length of the famous Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. The funny thing is, it’s almost totally unknown to the public. Read more.
POETRY & FICTION: Big Hair
By Margaret Hasse
This fall, our son’s chosen
to grow his hair out long.
He keeps his tresses clean,
Otherwise lets the fields lie fallow,
Doesn’t cultivate with comb and brush.
One woman on Grand stares so long
at his hair, she trips over the curb… Read more.
Exhibits in Saint Paul
Mao to Now: Chinese Fashion from 1949 to the Present
GMD Gallery, McNeal Hall, St. Paul
October 2, 2010 to January 9, 2011
Chinese culture changed drastically between 1949 and the present. The evolution of Chinese fashion reflects how the culture transformed.
“Mao to Now” is divided into three periods: pre Mao (1912 to 1948), the Mao era (1949 to 1977), the era of the nondescript Mao suit and the post-Mao era (1978 to present), which demonstrates how, after Mao, Chinese fashion began to exhibit an increasingly dramatic melding of Chinese and Western design expression.
The work of four top Chinese fashion designers will be included in the exhibition: Wu Haiyan, Liu Canming, Wang Yiyang, and Zhang Da. In addition to the items of dress and accessories, the exhibition will feature photographs by high-profile Chinese journalists and photographers to illustrate the differences between the periods.
Curated by Dr. Juanjuan Wu, Assistant Professor, College of Design, University of Minnesota, Dr. Marilyn DeLong, Professor, College of Design, University of Minnesota and Mingxin Bao, Professor, Fashion, Art & Design Institute, Donghua University
Saint Paul Facts: We got ’em, now you know ’em
DID YOU KNOW? The students in the Saint Paul school district come from homes in which 70 different languages are spoken.
Support your Almanac
Stay in touch and tell your friends. Please join our email list. Sign up in the red box on the right column of every page on this site. We’re also on Facebook and Twitter. Use the share links on this page to let your contacts know about material on our site.
Buy the Almanac. You may have a copy, but do all your friends? Or your enemies? Scientific studies have shown that prolonged reading of the Saint Paul Almanac increases both longevity and quality of life, and reduces general crabbiness! Visit our online store.
Donate to the Almanac. The Saint Paul Almanac builds community through providing forums—in print, online, and at events around the city throughout the year—to share our individual stories. Every year, 2000 students in St. Paul’s public high schools receive a free copy of the Almanac. Your donation of $25 will help pay a poet, essayist, or short story writer, or make an almanac available to two Saint Paul Public School students. The Saint Paul Almanac is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and donations to our mission are tax-deductible. If you love Saint Paul as much as we do, and recognize the value of the Almanac, help us get it out there with a generous donation. Donate online now at https://saintpaulalmanac.org/about/donate/
Top of Page downtown sunset photo courtesy of Jim Denham. Visit Jim’s photostream on Flickr. School bus photo courtesy of Michael Hicks. Visit Michael’s photostream on Flickr.