Brave New Voices Youth Poetry Slam Festival: Six young people wanted to represent Minnesota!
January 31, 2014
The Be Heard MN Youth Poetry Slam Series, presented by TruArtSpeaks, is a series of poetry slams held throughout the Twin Cities from February 7th to March 29th, 2013. The series will identify six young people between the ages of 13-19 to represent MN in the international BRAVE NEW VOICES Youth Poetry Slam Festival (BNV) summer 2014!
February 6, 2014 – Soul Sounds Open Mic with Lydia Hoglund and Writing Workshop
January 31, 2014
Lydia Hoglund is the lead singer of Bomba de Luz, and the collaborator of many hip hop acts around the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Any kind of music she can try, she tries. Though Lydia is currently gearing up to hit the road with Rhymesayers’ hip-hop giants Atmosphere, Toki Wright, and Dem Atlas this February, Bomba De Luz is at work on its third album, set to be released in June of 2014.
This Week in Saint Paul: Monday, January 27–Sunday, February 2, 2014
January 27, 2014
A little more than a week ago, I attended a press conference on the Central Corridor in Frogtown that announced the Victoria Theater Arts Initiative, a new project that will launch an array of arts events and programs for Saint Paul. It was great to be out, amongst friends, even though most of the people there were folks I'd never seen before. It made me realize that getting out, even during a winter that has already been too long, makes the short days and low temperatures much easier to bear.
Empty Promise
January 27, 2014
The world is filled with empty promises. It’s like when you tell a person you love them, and they say it back, but after that y’all never speak again...
Five Things to Love about Saint Paul from Someone Who Moved Here from Somewhere Else
January 23, 2014
John Moe is the host of Wits, a national public radio show based in Saint Paul. Noted for skimming “the cream off a few decades of local and national indie scenes,” the show features writers, comedians, and musicians. John has brought such guests as Fred Willard, Rosanne Cash, Martha Wainwright, and Julia Sweeney to the historic Fitzgerald Theater. A widely published author as well as a reporter, he lives in Saint Paul with his family.
This Week in Saint Paul: Monday, January 20–Sunday, January 26, 2014
January 20, 2014
In the summer of 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till took the bus from Chicago to Mississippi to visit relatives. He never returned and his murder became a focal point that highlighted the culture of terror under which African Americans had lived for four centuries. The awareness that followed this event made clear that the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. was about much more than getting a preferred seat on a bus. This is not just history: these experiences are recounted in the stories of our neighbors—both those who lived in the previous century and those who still live with racism today. The theatrical visions presented for four decades by Saint Paul's Penumbra Theatre can be seen as ripples that still spread outward from the original splash of King's “I Have A Dream” speech.
The Drive
January 19, 2014
Not wanting to alarm my husband and infant son, in case they’ve fallen back asleep, I don’t call. I don’t even text. But I do take a picture with my camera-phone, because I need proof that I’ve done it, that I’m actually here: sitting in a 2005 Toyota Matrix, outside the Saint Anthony Park Library. This is incredible.
Small Comfort
January 15, 2014
I remember hearing Kurt Vonnegut, who was speaking in Saint Paul, say that when the aliens arrived on a desolated earth, we should leave them a message, carved in the walls of the Grand Canyon...
In Praise of Aging
January 13, 2014
In praise of buses rattling through the streets In praise of passengers jostling for a seat In praise of a transfer I didn’t need to buy In praise of snow falling from the sky, and my down coat Bought secondhand but warm...
This Week in Saint Paul: Monday, January 13–Sunday, January 19, 2014
January 13, 2014
Now that the frigid winds of the polar vortex have retreated back to the habitat of fluffy killer bears and—like most Minnesotans—you’re back to wearing shorts and sending outdoor T-shirt selfies to Facebook friends in Florida, there’s no excuse to stay inside. This week, let Saint Paul provide a post-chill sensory explosion.
This Week in Saint Paul: Monday, January 6–Sunday, January 12, 2014
January 6, 2014
This is the time of year when things are quiet on the literary front. Booksellers are bundling up in front of the fire with their publisher catalogs and dreaming of which authors will stock their shelves and visit their stores, hopefully before winter leaves us. Meanwhile, around town, there is still more than enough happening to tempt us out of our hibernation and keep us connected to the pulse of the city.
Silverheels
January 5, 2014
It was my mom’s first marriage proposal. At eight, she was the older woman. George was only six. After hasty consideration, Mom turned him down. As she explained to her mother, she couldn’t marry George. He liked carrots. She didn’t.