Carnival

2012

I was a young Philadelphian, freshly divorced, and looking for a new city in which to start my new life. I was tired of rat-filled alleys and dirty heaps of black snow that lined the streets like piles of coal. At a library, I happened upon a travel magazine. And on those glossy, full-color pages, I spotted a picture of the Saint Paul Winter Carnival.

Sleigh Ride

2012

Homemade snow pants of thick wool, ice caked on my jacket sleeves and on my mittens: I head out with my best friend, Rita doll...

Art by Patricia Bour-Schilla

Thirty Degrees Below Zero

By Mary Wlodarski ● 2012

I like the cold so brisk and fresh it cuts through clothes and crimps nose hair...

A Nostalgic Zephyr: William Hoffman on the Old Jewish West Side

2012

It is difficult to choose from Bill Hoffman’s writings because they are all so compelling. Street by street and door by door and character by character he documented an important piece of Saint Paul—Jewish life on the West Side flats—that no longer exists. Hoffman should be required reading for recent immigrants and for those who have forgotten that their families were once immigrants.

Feb 13, 2012: Alexander Wanna presents “Poetry & Comedy” at the Lowertown Reading Jam

2012

The Saint Paul Almanac is pleased to announce the fourth in its 2011–2012 season of acclaimed Lowertown Reading Jams which celebrate the rich literary history of Minnesota’s capital city. The "Poetry & Comedy" Lowertown Reading Jam will be presented on Monday, February 13th, 2012 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar, 308 Prince Street in Saint Paul. This presentation of the eclectic series, presented by Alexander Wanna, features Marlene Moxness and Andrew Cahak.

Happy New Year from the Pig’s Eye Post!

2012

Welcome to the first Pig's Eye Post of 2012! This evening, Monday, January 9th, we are excited to present our first 2012 event, a Lowertown Reading Jam presented by writer, teacher, and performance poet Wendy Brown-Báez. The "Yours Truly" reading jam presents personal stories and collaborative poems, a reflection of what it means to be young, vibrant, determined, curious, and wise. Other Saint Paul events include the "Beaker & Brush" discussion series, Storyland at the Children's Museum, and the return of A Prairie Home Companion. With new writing from the Almanac.

Saturday Morning

2012

It was around 9:55 a.m. I was waiting for the library to open. I saw a cute Ethiopian girl coming toward me. She had dark brown skin, short hair, and a pretty baby face. “What time is it?” She asked me. Her English accent was very good.

The Dead of Winter

2012

We speak of it as though it were a place, a battlefield strewn with corpses, a burial ground of shattered statues hooded with snow.

Radio Crew

2012

Although I live in Minneapolis, I have a strong connection to Saint Paul. When I worked as a legal secretary in downtown Saint Paul, I could see across the Mississippi from my twenty-second-floor window to where my mother, Ione, worked in 1943 during World War II: Holman Field. Born in Spicer, Minnesota, Ione moved to Minneapolis in her early twenties. During the war, she had a long commute from North Minneapolis to her job in Saint Paul: A bus took her to downtown Minneapolis, then a streetcar brought her to downtown Saint Paul, and a shuttle carried her across the Robert Street Bridge to the Northwest Airlines Modification Center, where she worked on a radio crew for the B-24 bomber plane known as the Liberator.

Jan 9, 2012: Wendy Brown-Báez presents “Yours Truly” at the Lowertown Reading Jam

2012

The Saint Paul Almanac is pleased to announce its first 2012 event—the third in its 2011–2012 season of acclaimed Lowertown Reading Jams which celebrate the rich literary history of Minnesota’s capital city. The "Yours Truly" Lowertown Reading Jam will be presented on Monday, January 9th, 2012 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar, 308 Prince Street in Saint Paul. This presentation of the eclectic series, presented by Wendy Brown-Báez, features Mai Vang, Tyler Marie Arends, Angela Ken, Chaunesty Perkings, Michael Liljedahl, and English teacher Jennifer Plum.