Kwame J. C. McDonald: He Faced Death with Courage

2014

Kwame McDonald was a much-loved icon in the community. He was well traveled and well known across the country. My relationship with him—a relationship of associating and working together—lasted over thirty years, right up until the time he died. This is also a story about the manner in which he died, his whole attitude about life and death, and the acceptance of his fate.

Ironic Meetings of Ghosts at the Irish Fair of Minnesota on Saint Paul’s Harriet Island

2014

The Irish Fair’s site along the pewter-gray, spreading Mississippi beneath downtown Saint Paul on the ample greensward of Harriet Island is majestic and invites celebration. The bustling and music-crammed Irish Fair with its snowy canvas tents, its black-tinted signposts, and plentiful green turf offers an Ireland of the mind to its visitors.

Lowertown Reading Jam 2014-2015: “The Crooked Rib?!”

2014

Wednesday, November 26, Nimo Farah presents “The Crooked Rib?!” at the Lowertown Reading Jam! The Saint Paul Almanac is pleased to announce the premier performance in its 2014–2015 season of acclaimed Lowertown Reading Jams, which celebrate the rich literary history of Minnesota's capital city and the widely popular genre of spoken word.

Central Corridor Light Rail Construction

2014

It will leave nothing. Nothing. The future comes, ripping the asphalt up—black, jagged slabs.

This Week in Saint Paul: Monday, November 24–Sunday, November 30, 2014

2014

Yes, it’s winter, several weeks early. In honor of an early winter, I won’t make you stand here freezing for long. We’ll get right to the business of art and literature and culture. Also, since we haven’t the sanity to avoid this weather, maybe I can help infuse a little sanity into your holiday plans.

The Zoo at Night

2014

You’re not alone with your sleeplessness. The lion is roaring. There’s a peacock, too, though you didn’t recognize its call until Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom went to India. You’re not alone because a distant siren cues the timber wolves, all of them except the shy ebony outsider, the only one who doesn’t fight over the salami your brother tosses into the Wolf Woods.

All Good Things Are Wild And Free

2014

“IN THE MIDDLE of all the chaos of life, a massage,” smiles Andrea Sullivan. She is a practitioner of Shiatsu Anma, Chinese Abdominal Detox Massage (Chi Nei Tsang), Thai Yoga Massage, and Taoist Medical Qi Gong and meditation, and to watch Andrea giving a massage in the moiling farmers' market is becalming.

Paper Planes

2014

My grandmother had forbidden me from going to their house, so Jaine and Tamara starting sending me airmail. My bedroom window faced their yard, and when my grandmother wasn’t home or it was dark out, they would write me notes on paper airplanes and send them up through my window. I had just learned to read and write so it was all very exciting...

This Week in Saint Paul: Monday, November 17–Sunday, November 23, 2014

2014

First off, thanks to everyone who joined us and gave us a shout-out for Give to the Max Day. Along with the promise of a slight warm-up, that support is helping me start this week with hopes for more great happenings and being released from last week’s winter air. It is a luxury to reach toward Thanksgiving without snow and without cold, but it seems that we are due for a small treat if not a bask in comfort as we approach my favorite holiday.

November 20th, 2014 – Soul Sounds Open Mic – Drop Out Crisis: Youth Poets Push Back

2014

This Thursday November 20, Soul Sounds Open Mic will have a special feature: “National Drop Out Crisis: Youth Poets Push Back.” This past summer, TruArtSpeaks tapped into the voices and expertise of young people addressing the national dropout crisis through spoken word, hip hop, and rap.

November 13th, 2014 – Soul Sounds Open Mic – with Lisa Brimmer

2014

Nov. 13th - Lisa Brimmer is a poet and playwright residing in Minneapolis, MN. In 2009, she attended the Juniper Summer Writers Institute week long workshop with Dara Weir. Brimmer was a fellow through the Given’s Foundation of African American Literature in 2009 and worked with Ishmael Reed, E. Ethelbert Miller, and Laurie Carlos.

This Week in Saint Paul: Monday, November 10–Sunday, November 16, 2014

2014

As you will see, Thursday is a busy day in the Saint Paul arts world. Besides a lot of authors and artists reading, it is Give to the Max Day. Maybe you should write this down. (I did.) Of course, you can always take a look at the Almanac arts calendar.