The Saint Paul Almanac is pleased to announce the third in its 2013–2014 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.

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The “Double Hungry: Sustainable Poems” Lowertown Reading Jam will be presented on Wednesday, December 18, 2013, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar, 308 Prince Street in Saint Paul.

“Double Hungry: Sustainable Poems” gathers four diverse poets who will read about food in a changing world. This presentation of the popular and eclectic series is hosted by Heid E. Erdrich, whose newest book is Original Local—Indigenous Foods, Stories and Recipes from the Upper Midwest, and features poets G. E. Patterson, James Autio, and Kristin Naca.

All ages, no cover, donations accepted. Food and beverages for sale.

Watch SPNN’s video of the Reading Jam

 

About the Performers

Heid-ErdrichHEID E. ERDRICH writes, teaches, and collaborates with other artists across genres. She is the author of four poetry collections, most recently Cell Traffic: New and Selected Poems. A recipient of awards from The Loft Literary Center, the Archibald Bush Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, and First People’s Fund, among other honors, Heid won a Minnesota Book Award for National Monuments in 2009. Her newest book, Original Local: Indigenous Foods, Stories and Recipes from the Upper Midwest is selling like Grandma Gourneau’s corn cakes! Visit www.heiderdrich.com for more information and to pick up a copy of Original Local.

ge-pattersonA featured poet-performer in New York’s Panasonic Village Jazz Fest, G. E. PATTERSON is the author of two books of poems.  His work has garnered a Minnesota Book Award and fellowships from the Jerome Foundation and the Minnesota State Arts Board.  He has also been honored with a fellowship by New York City’s Fund for Poetry. His writing can be found in several magazines and anthologies, including The Ecopoetry Anthology, Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry, Blues Poems, Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam, Poetry 180, Isn’t It Romantic, American Letters and Commentary, nocturnes: (re)view of the arts, Open City, Provincetown Arts, Seneca Review, Swerve, Xcp: Cross Cultural Poetics,  and St. Mark’s Poetry Project’s Poets and Poems.  After years in the Northeast and on the West Coast, G.E. Patterson now makes his home in Minnesota.

James-D-AutioJAMES D. AUTIO is a visual artist and poet in Minneapolis. James’s writing has been accepted by Drunken Boat, North American Review, Venereal Kittens, Naugatuck River Review, Thieves Jargon, and other fine journals. James is the proud recipient of a Vermont Studio Center fellowship and numerous awards for his plays, poems, and essays.

Kristin-NacaKRISTIN NACA‘s Bird Eating Bird was selected for the National Poetry Series MtvU Prize and published by Harper Perennial. Her poems have appeared in Prairie Schooner, Indiana Review and The Cincinnati Review. She lives in Minneapolis and teaches in Saint Paul. Naca examines the intersections of language, culture and sexuality in her poems—and the themes of food and feeding and agriculture arise through that lens. Recently a poetic essay about food and poetry appeared in Poetry Magazine.

 

Location

The “Double Hungry: Sustainable Poems” Lowertown Reading Jam will be presented on Wednesday, December 18, 2013, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar, 308 Prince Street in Saint Paul.

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