About
If you have the time and interest in volunteering in any way, contact the host when you arrive and help out. We'd love to have help. We'd love to see you and meet you and talk poetry and writing with you. Thanks!
Schedule of events
Event (Click each event name for more details) |
Date |
Time |
Venue |
October 1 |
2:00 PM |
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Up Close Poets Reading Theme: Colors of Time |
October 2 |
7:00 PM |
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Beowulf Performance starring John Heimbuch Note: There will be a Q&A session following the performance. |
October 4 |
7:30 PM |
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October 4 |
7:00 PM |
Online (Zoom - Click Event Name for Information) |
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October 5 |
7:00 PM |
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October 7 |
10:00 AM |
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October 7 |
2:00 PM |
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October 8 |
3:00 PM |
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October 10 |
7:00 PM |
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October 11 |
6:00 PM |
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October 14 |
TBD |
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October 14 |
2:00 PM |
NOTE: Now at Walker Library (Minneapolis) |
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October 15 |
3:30 PM |
Moon Palace Book Store (Minneapolis) |
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October 18 |
7:00 PM |
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October 19 |
6:30 PM |
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October 21 |
4:30 PM |
Unity Church - Unitarian (St. Paul) |
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October 22 |
2:00 PM |
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October 23 |
7:00 PM |
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October 24 |
7:00 PM |
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Important note for readers
If you would like to sell your books at your event, we will need an ST-19 form for the date of your reading. Please bring it to the event that you will be reading at. Download the document below to learn more about the ST-19 form, as well as how to obtain a MN tax ID.
Obtaining_A_MN_Tax_ID.docx | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |
October 1, 2 PM: Literary Bridges
Literary Bridges kicks off the Cracked Walnut Literary Festival by featuring 27 contributors to the new Cracked Walnut anthology, Rewilding Hope.
Event Location:
Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul
Our readers:
Donna Isaac, poet and teacher, serves the community of the Twin Cities, hosting workshops, classes, and readings (Literary Bridges), working with three different chapters of LOMP. Her published works include writings in print and online literary journals, three chapbooks, and one full collection of poetry. For more detail, go to her website: [email protected]
Kirkus Reviews has called Sharon Chmielarz’s work “… thoughtful, bold, humorous, earthy, and humane …” Her fourteenth book, spring, 2023, is Duet in the Little Blue Church, New and Selected Poems.
Patrick Cabello Hansel’s poetry collections are The Devouring Land (Main Street Rag Publishing) Quitting Time (Atmosphere Press) and Breathing in Minneapolis (Finishing Line Press). He has published in over 85 journals, including Crannog, Ilanot Review, Hawai’i Pacific Review, and RiverSedge. Nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize, he has won awards from the Loft Literary Center and MN State Arts Board. His novella Searching was serialized in 33 issues of The Alley News. He is the editor of The Phoenix of Phillips, a literary journal by and for the most diverse community in Minneapolis.
Wendy Brown-Báez is the author of Heart on the Page: A Portable Writing Workshop, the novel Catch a Dream and poetry collection Ceremonies of the Spirit. Her poetry and prose appear widely in journals and anthologies, such as Mizna, Poets & Writers, Talking Writing, Water~Stone Review, Peregrine, Tiferet, and Wising Up Press. Wendy facilitates writing workshops in community spaces such as state prisons, healing and spiritual centers, and arts organizations. www.wendybrownbaez.com
Barry MacDonald goes by the dharma name “Tekkan,” which means “Iron Man” in 12th century Japanese. Tekkan indicates a “settled practitioner of great determination.” He was given name when he took Buddhist vows. He lived in Japan for 9 years, teaching English at the Berlitz Corporation in Kyoto. He practiced Zen at Hosshin-ji, a Zen temple in Obama — a small town on the coast of the Sea of Japan.
Emilio DeGrazia, from Winona, has been active on the Minnesota writing scenes since 1970. He was founder/editor of Great River Review literary journal and has authored several books of fiction, essays and poetry. He has won some awards. He and his wife Monica also have co-edited three anthologies of poetry and prose for Nodin Press of Minneapolis. His latest book of poetry, also by Nodin Press, is titled What Trees Know.
Laura Kozy Lanik is a high school social studies teacher in Minneapolis. She is the co-creator and co-editor of Upon Waking. 58 Voices Speaking Out from the Shadow of Abuse poetry anthology published in April of 2019. Laura is the current Vice President of the Mississippi Valley Poets Society. You can find her poetry at www.buymeacoffee/laurakozylanik
Jeanne Lutz grew up on a farm in Minnesota, attended the National University of Ireland Galway, and spent two years in Japan. A Pushcart Prize nominee, Best-of-the-Net nominee, and winner of the Loft Mentor Series for poetry, she is the author of Until the Kingdom Comes. Visit her at jeannelutz.com
Micah Ruelle is a queer poet from America's heartland. They hold a CPTS from Oxford University's Wycliffe Hall and an MFA from Texas State. Their chapbook, Failure to Merge, was published in 2019 by Finishing Line Press. More recently, their work has appeared in, Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton anthology.
Yara Omer holds a BA degree in Journalism and Communication from Yarmouk University, Jordan, and a Masters degree in Deaf Education from the University of Minnesota. She has been a teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing since 2008. Yara writes in both Arabic and English and is published in Mizna, The Fourth River, the Gemini by the Minnesota Astronomical Society, Saint Paul Almanac, TSaunders Pubs, and MELSA (Metropolitan Library Service Agency). Yara is officially working with George Town University Press to publish her first novel.
Janna Knittel is the author of Real Work (Nodin, 2022), a finalist for the 2023 Minnesota Book Award in poetry, and the chapbook Fish & Wild Life (Finishing Line, 2018). Janna has also published poems in Blue Mountain Review, Constellations, North Dakota Quarterly, Pleiades, The Trumpeter, and The Wild Word as well as the following anthologies: Waters Deep: A Great Lakes Anthology (Split Rock, 2018); The Experiment Will Not Be Bound (Unbound Edition, 2023); and Broad Wings, Long Legs: A Rookery of Heron Poems (North Star, forthcoming 2023).
Marilyn Weber Gonrowski is an impressionist artist, poet, and jewelry maker. Her poem Time was included in an anthology, The Path Not Taken, published by the National Library of Poetry and Library of Congress. Marilyn is working on a collection of ninety poems I have written through the years.
Mary Kay Rummel’s ninth poetry book, Nocturnes: Between Flesh and Stone, was published by Blue Light Press of San Francisco. Previous books have won awards from New Rivers Press, Bright Hill Press and Blue Light Press. She is Poet Laureate emerita of Ventura County, CA. Mary Kay has performed her poetry in many venues in the US, Ireland and England and taught poetry classes and led workshops for all ages and groups of students. She lives in St. Paul.
Jennifer Hernandez lives in the northwest suburbs where she teaches immigrant youth and writes poetry, flash, and creative non-fiction. She serves as vice-president of the League of Minnesota Poets and loves to perform her writing. Recent publications include Visual Verse, Talking Stick, and Mom Egg Review.
Carol Masters has been writing poetry and fiction since fourth grade. Her last two books, You Can’t Do That!, a biography of peace activist Marv Davidov, and Dear Descendent, poetry, 2019, were published by Nodin Press and finalists for the Midwest Independent Publishers Award. She is a mother and grandmother.
Mike Bemis is an aspiring poet and short story writer. His most recent publication credits include the poems “Lizzie, in a Tizzy: A Meditation on Murder and Madness,” which appeared in the pages of “The Literary Hatchet” (fall 2022) and “Quinn of County Cork,” in the spring 2023 edition of “Levitate.” Bemis lives with his wife Jill in an eastern suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.
Robert Hale rises out of the North End of Saint Paul, MN He has worked as a professional musician most of his life, performing in the US, Europe, Central and South America. He particularly enjoys defying borders and barriers.
Brittany N. Jaekel writes from the northwest suburbs. Her work has appeared in RHINO, Bird's Thumb, and other places. Connect with her at brittanynjaekel.com.
C N Buchholz is a writer of poetry, memoir, mystery, suspense, and fiction. She has an avid interest in true crime, the Holocaust, and stories of survival. Buchholz has been published in two poetry anthologies, four short story mystery anthologies, and newspapers and magazines.
Nick Theisen resides in Minneapolis, though at heart he belongs to the pine forests of Northern Minnesota. Interested in themes of wilderness, interbeing and belonging, mythic imagination, and the ecological soul, his writing seeks a renewed relationship with mystery and the offering of an invitation to move in new ways, which may in actuality be old ways. For him, poetry is an act of remembrance and a living reminder that our essence is gift, and that the essence of gift is in both receiving and giving. In his non-writing time Nick works as an afterschool program coordinator.
Annette Gagliardi notices intricate details of lives lived around her, dimensions of nature, time and the human condition. She squeezes all the juice that life has to offer, then serves it up as poetry – or jelly, depending on the day. Her work is in literary journals Canada, England and the USA.
Claudia Hampston Daly has written for fun and profit all of her life. As a kid, poems and stories and later, television commercials and independent film projects. She covered news, created programs and managed stations for MPR. The Lives of the Children and For Kids’ Sake! Radio, her independently produced radio series, earned more than fifty national awards. These days, Claudia is writing poetry again and enjoying it thoroughly.
Mary Stadick is retired from a career in medical policy and technology assessment. When not writing technical documents, she has written poetry and essays. Mary is currently active with the Plymouth Writers Group and is a member of the League of Minnesota Poets.
Dawn Loeffler is a writer and educator from Northern Minnesota. She has been published in several anthologies including: Talking Stick, Upon Waking, Poetry is Dead, Dust & Fire, Rivers Meeting Project. She has also been a Judge for the Midwest Book Awards, Poetry Out Loud, and the U.S. Academic Decathlon competitions. Her free time is spent with her children and grandchildren, cuddled up with a book, or kayaking on a nearby lake.
Charlie Curry
Julie Martin is a poet and public school teacher, Julie Martin lives near the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. Her work has recently appeared in the following journals: The Talking Stick, Plants and Poetry, Agates, and The Coop: A Poetry Cooperative. Visit her blog, Sphinxmothrising.blogspot.com to see more of her work.
Michael Kiesow Moore is the author of the poetry collections What to Pray For and The Song Castle (Nodin Press). His work has appeared in many journals such as International Times, Poetry City, and Water~Stone Review, anthologies like Queer Voices, Among the Leaves: Queer Male Poets on the Midwestern Experience, and The Writer’s Almanac. Michael is the founder of the Birchbark Books Reading Series. When he is not drinking too much coffee, he can be found in Saint Paul dancing with The Braggarts Morris dancers.
October 2, 7 PM: Up Close Poets Reading (Online)
Up Close, the Poets Behind the Verse presents an online Cracked Walnut Festival Reading with Up Close guests from the past. The theme is Colors of Time.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83269695432?pwd=ckFWTjloaUZ0dmJkVTQ5cVI2dHJpUT09
Annette Gagliardi looks at the dimly, tinted shadows and morphed illusions that becomes life and finds illumination. She sees what others do not and grasps the fruit hiding there, then squeezes all the juice that life has to offer and serves it up as poetry – or jelly, depending on the day. Her work has appeared in literary journals in Canada, England and the USA. Gagliardi’s first poetry collection, titled: A Short Supply of Viability, and her first historical fiction, titled: Ponderosa Pines: Days of the Deadwood Forest Fire were both published in 2022. Visit her author website at: https://annette-gagliardi.com
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Barry MacDonald goes by the dharma name “Tekkan,” which means “Iron Man” in 12th century Japanese. Tekkan indicates a “settled practitioner of great determination.” He was given name when he took Buddhist vows. He lived in Japan for 9 years, teaching English at the Berlitz Corporation in Kyoto. He practiced Zen at Hosshin-ji, a Zen temple in Obama — a small town on the coast of the Sea of Japan. He has written 40 books: Everyday Mind I-XXXIII; and An Exploration of Consciousness I-VII. His books can be found on Amazon by using the book filter and typing “Tekkan Everyday Mind.”
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William J. Anderson writes poetry and non-fiction from his home near Anoka, Minnesota, the Halloween Capitol of the World. His alter ego, A. W. Powers, has created the Psychic Guardian Angel series of paranormal thrillers, published by Marlowe and Vane. He is exploring the world of social media and can be found at wmjanderson.com or awpowers-writer.com
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Christine Mounts is an IT professional by day and a poet by night. She writes and travels as much as a working schlub like her can manage. She is the author of Book of Snark: Wit & Wisdom for the Angry Professional Woman on the Bus, published October 2020. She co-founded the American School of Storytelling in 2021. She is a winner of the 2022 University of St Thomas Environmental (In)justice in Mni Sóta Maḳoce storytelling contest.
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George Colburn is a life-long resident of St. Paul, a graduate of Hamline and Indiana Universities. He enjoys spending time with his family, especially; his grandchildren up north at their cabin and baking bread. George has published 4 books of poetry: Payday – Poetry, Prose, and Possibilities, A Punctuated Echo, Milking the Dragon and An Undeclared War: Poetry Born in Vietnam. . George is a recent winner of the Veterans Voices Award from the Minnesota Humanities Commission.
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Greg Ruud has written and told stories and poetry all his life. A former teacher at St Kate's for the 4 year RN extention students program, he became drawn to a class there in the healing art of poetry. Over the last two decades or more he has met with 16 or so people every two months as part of the Minnesota Poetry Therapy Network. Through this group, he has come into his own as a writer of screenplays, short stories, and poetry. He lives in Minneapolis and Tuscon with his wife, Paula. He enjoys walking with friends in both places.
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Janna Knittel is the author of Real Work (Nodin, 2022), a finalist for the 2023 Minnesota Book Award in poetry and the chapbook Fish & Wild Life (Finishing Line, 2018). Janna has also published poems in Blue Mountain Review, Constellations, North Dakota Quarterly, Pleiades, The Trumpeter, and The Wild Word as well as the following anthologies: Waters Deep: A Great Lakes Anthology (Split Rock, 2018); The Experiment Will Not Be Bound (Unbound Edition, 2023); and Broad Wings, Long Legs: A Rookery of Heron Poems(North Star, forthcoming 2023).
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Jere Truer H hails from Arizona after living, writing, and working in Minneapolis for six decades. He has written poetry, songs, and essays for 50 years, and has two books of poetry published. He normally puts is poems on Facebook under the banner of "from An Unfinished Conversation." Jere is married and has 5 grown kids, and a growing tribe of grandkids and great-grands.
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Julie Martin is a poet and public school teacher, Julie Martin lives near the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. Her work has recently appeared in the following journals: The Talking Stick, Plants and Poetry, Agates, and The Coop: A Poetry Cooperative. Visit her blog, Sphinxmothrising.blogspot.com to see more of her work.
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Rick Hilber, age 73 and a resident of St. Paul, Minnesota, began to publish his poetry with Friesen Press in 2015. His first book of poetry Down the Highway, a Peace, was a tribute to the culture of North Dakota, his home state, He published his second book of poetry In Pieces in the Plaza with Friesen Press in 2016 (Friesen Press) in a book that celebrates life in Minnesota. Currently, he serves as the organizer and promoter for Birds Nest Open Mic.
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River Maria Urke has the heart of a poet and the eyes of an artist. Currently, she resides in River Falls, WI. River’s poetic writings and artistic touches reflects the principles she lives by where imperfection is beauty, nature is appreciated, and knowledge is gold. In addition, her work is influenced by her battle with multiple sclerosis, and her Ojibwe heritage. River is the host of the online literary program Up Close: Meet the Poet Behind the Verse. She is a member of the League of Minnesota Poets, Cracked Walnut, Mississippi Valley poets, and the WWNH artist seminar. Learn about River’s publications on her website- www.rivermaria.com
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Thomas R. Smith is a poet, editor, and teacher living in River Falls, Wisconsin. He has taught poetry for many years at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis and had hundreds of poems published internationally. His most recent book of poems is Medicine Year (Paris Morning Publications, 2022), and his prose book Poetry on the Side of Nature: Writing the Nature Poem as an Act of Survival came out last year from Red Dragonfly Press. He has also edited several books including Airmail: The Letters of Robert Bly and Tomas Tranströmer (Graywolf Press).
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Heidi Barr is a writer and wellness coach whose work is founded on a commitment to cultivating ways of being that are life-giving and sustainable for people, communities, and the planet. She is the author of three works of creative nonfiction, her most recent being Collisions of Earth and Sky, as well as two poetry collections: Slouching Toward Radiance and Cold Spring Hallelujah, and one cookbook. She is also the co-author of 12 Tiny Things and editor of "The Mindful Kitchen," a wellness column in The Wayfarer Magazine. In 2022, Heidi was named a Poet of Place, a group of five regional poets who are advocates and ambassadors for poetry and creativity in the lower St. Croix Valley. She lives with her family in rural Minnesota. Learn more at heidibarr.com.
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October 4, 7:30 PM: Beowulf Performance starring John Heimbuch (with Q&A after the performance)
John Heimbuch performs Charlie Bethel’s popular one-man adaptation of Beowulf ! This faithful and accessible adaptation of this classic Old English poem about a warrior king and three famous monsters, emphasizes the wit, vigor, and meaty language of the original Anglo-Saxon epic. Writer Charlie Bethel was a renowned storyteller. He adapted Beowulf into a solo theatrical text in 2001, and performed it and at venues across the United States until his death in 2017. His other sol stage adaptations include Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, Call of the Wild, Seven Poor Travelers, and Tom Thumb, or Tragedy of Tragedies. John Heimbuch first performed Beowulf at the 2019 Minnesota Fringe Festival, and has performed it at backyards, bars, schools, theatres, firesides, parks, conventions, and online ever since. He is proud to continue the legacy of Charlie Bethel’s work. |
October 4, 7 PM: Penned Poets (online)
Penned Poets is a peer-mentoring learning lab style chapter of the League of Minnesota poets. We use 4 rotating formats:
- poem discussion, review established poets’ poems
- writing workshop, presentation and writing
- support session, give feed back on individuals’ poems
- performance practice and read-around, share original works
Join us from 7pm to 8pm on Zoom using the following link:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82078588255?pwd=ZUpkMnVON2dteEtHeS9ieFcwMnRwdz09
Meeting ID: 820 7858 8255
Passcode: 270913
Readers:
Donna Isaac, poet and teacher, serves the community of the Twin Cities, hosting workshops, classes, and readings (Literary Bridges), working with three different chapters of LOMP. Her published works include writings in print and online literary journals, three chapbooks, and one full collection of poetry. For more detail, go to her website: [email protected]
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Annette Gagliardi is a Minnesota writer, author and teacher. A Short Supply of Viability, along with Proper Poems for Ladies . . . and a few naughty ones, too, give you an idea of Gagliardi’s range as a poet. She also has two children’s books, titled: The three Betty Goats Griff and Resourceful Erica. This fall Gagliardi launches her first historical fiction titled, Ponderosa Pines: Days of the Deadwood Forest Fire. Gagliardi is a contributor and one of two editors for the anthology, Upon Waking: 58 Voices Speaking Out from the Shadow of Abuse. Annette also has poetry in a variety of online and in print journals, magazines and anthologies and has won poetry awards in three states.
She is passionate about chocolate, loves gardening, serving tea, and having chocolate tea in her garden. Visit her website at: https://annette-gagliardi.com/ |
Ann Marie Newman is a creative dreamer who grew up to be a performance storyteller, poet, stage actress, YouTube vlogger known as Oopsy Annie, and visual artist. A former eight-year-long Storyteller in Residence for the Dallas Museum of Art, Ann Marie is greatly inspired by the art making of other creatives. She loves exploring and celebrating their creative works in a wide variety of disciplines. Her own written works have been published in a wide variety of anthologies, an award-winning, co-authored, poetry book on Amazon, plus three self-published and self-illustrated poetry books. Poetic Progression is available on Amazon. Ooopsy Favorites from the Poetry Slam Stage, and my children’s book No Bruce! No! Are available directly from me.
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Alicia Durrant writes about relationships--with God, self, and others. Her writings explore the ways art, music and culture impact these relationships. Born and raised 20 minutes outside New York City, she enjoyed her culturally diverse town in New Jersey. She believed racism was becoming antiquated until she relocated to Southeastern PA in 1998. There, Alicia was challenged by racist situations she'd only read about in textbooks and saw on sitcoms. Her experience with racism was as varied as the people sporting the mindset. Yet, life always provided a way for her to persevere and maintain her hope in humanity. Added to her PA challenges, Alicia further experienced divorce, and the challenges of supporting her child faced with Autism. Quieting herself in the depths of the evening, she wrote poetry. "I permitted time to stand still and let my muse speak."
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Born in Shanghai, China, Suki Sun is a recovery-out-loud poet based in Eagan, St Paul. She has been recovering from alcohol use disorder since 2019 and she started to write poems in English, her second language during the Covid pandemic when she moved from Manhattan to Eagan in 2022. In April 2023, as the volunteer poet for Tupelo Press 30*30 project, she wrote 30 poems in 30 days, an extraordinary challenge that she could never imagine approaching not to mention accomplish if she were still struggling with heavy drinking. In her writings, she is interested in the process that the meaning, sound, and shape of Chinese words immigrate into the poetry landscape in English through the cross-cultural lens, from involuntary mis-understanding to intentional mix-understanding with wonder, fluidity, and playfulness.
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Amanda Bailey writes poetry, flash fiction and memoir. Uprooted from the south early in life, she's explored every corner of the U.S. and its middle. She now lives in southern Minnesota and participates in her local arts community. Her work has appeared on the Mankato Poetry Walk and Ride, and in the anthologies Upon Waking: 58 Voices Speak Out from the Shadows of Abuse (2019) and After the Equinox (2019). In 2020, she received a Blackberry Peach Poetry Prize for written and spoken word. View one of the poem performances at this link: https://youtu.be/TOmBAn_LT4k?t=354 She currently serves as President of League of Minnesota Poets.
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Steven Concert, Harveys Lake, PA, serves as 2nd Vice President for NFSPS; acting-president, treasurer, and publications editor for the Pennsylvania Poetry Society; secretary for the Ohio Poetry Association; co-leadership for the River Poets; and editor of the Mad Poets Society's quarterly newsletter. He has been published in Poets Live, Fixed and Free Quarterly, ONE ART, Common Threads, Poetry 2022, and Word Fountain. His poetry has received award recognition in regional, state, and national competitions. His published collections include: Steer into the Skid (North 415 Press, 2022), No Mortar Required (2013), Standing in the Chaos (2006), and Too Blind To See (1996).
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Nancy Cook is a writer and teaching artist currently living in St. Paul. She serves as flash fiction editor for Kallisto Gaia Press and also runs “The Witness Project,” a program of community writing initiatives designed to enable creative work by underrepresented voices. Twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, she has been awarded grants from, among others, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the National Parks Arts Foundation, the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota Humanities Center, and Integrity Arts and Culture. She is particularly interested in exploring the intersections of geography, history, and cultural heritage in her work.
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October 5, 7 PM: Poetry Reading - Theme: Justice
Event Location:
Museum of Russian Art
5500 Stevens Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55419
Readers:
Danika Stegman-Lemay’s work has appeared in APARTMENT, Blue Arrangements, CLOAK, Ethel Zine, and Word for/ Word, among other places. Danika’s debut collection of poems, Pilot (2020), was published by Spork Press. Her second book, Ablation, is forthcoming from 11:11 Press in November 2023. Her website is danikastegemanlemay.com.
Ari Tison is an award-winning Bribri (Indigenous Costa Rican) poet, essayist, educator, autoethnographer, and author of YA hybrid novel SAINTS OF THE HOUSEHOLD (2023) + Untitled YA (2025) with FSG/BFYR. Her short stories have been published or are forthcoming with OUR SHADOWS HAVE CLAWS with Algonquin Young Readers (2022) and RELIT with Harper Collins. Her poetry and essays have been published in various literary journals including POETRY's first issue for young people. She teaches in Hamline's MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program.
Bill Anderson writes poetry and non-fiction from his home near Anoka, Minnesota, the Halloween Capitol of the World. His alter ego, A. W. Powers, has created the Psychic Guardian Angel series of paranormal thrillers, published by Marlowe and Vane. He is exploring the world of social media and can be found at wmjanderson.com or awpowers-writer.com
Paula Cisewski's fourth poetry collection, Quitter, won the Diode Editions Book Prize. She is also the author of The Threatened Everything, Ghost Fargo (Nightboat Poetry Prize winner, selected by Franz Wright), Upon Arrival, and several chapbooks, including the lyric prose Misplaced Sinister. She has been awarded fellowships and residencies from organizations including the Jerome Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Oberholtzer Foundation, Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts, and House of Helsinglight. Her poems have been featured on Verse Daily and included in the anthologies Privacy Policy: The Anthology of Surveillance Poetics, Rocked by the Waters: Poems of Motherhood, Rewilding: Poems for the Environment, Beyond the Frame, and New Poetry from the Midwest. Most recently, her visual work has been featured on the covers of Rain Taxi Review of Books and Concision Literary Journal, in Folder Magazine, and in the group exhibit Beyond the Page: Poets as Artists in the New Year at Friedli Gallery.While raising her son, Cisewski earned her BA from St. Catherine's University and her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. During those years, she worked in warehouses, was a mosaic artist mentor, owned a coffee shop, and waited one million tables. She lives in Minneapolis, where she teaches writing privately and academically, collaborates, makes visual work, serves as co-editor of Beauty School Editions and as poetry curator for The Waves, a quarterly cabaret of poets and musicians.
October 7, 10 AM: Highland Park Library Workshop
The Cracked Walnut Poetry Workshop presents a Literary Festival reading by 10 of its regular participants.
Event Location:
Highland Park Library
1974 Ford Parkway
St. Paul, MN
Readers:
Romi Slowiak is a recovering planner & arts administrator and is now acolyte, slave, grateful concubine to what Mary Oliver calls "the refined language of anguish." She attempts to forge a path through worry to wonder under lights held by beloved teachers Margaret Hasse, Diane Jarvenpa, Thomas R. Smith and fellow students.
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Barry MacDonald goes by the dharma name "Tekkan," which means "Iron Man" in Japanese. He was given name when he took Buddhist vows and lived in Japan for 9 years, teaching English at the Berlitz Corporation in Kyoto. He practiced Zen at Hosshin-ji, a Zen temple in Obama on the Sea of Japan. He has written 39 books: Everyday Mind I-XXXII; and An Exploration of Consciousness I-VII. His books can be found on Amazon.
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Born in Shanghai, China, Suki Sun is a recovery-out-loud poet based in Eagan, St Paul. She has been recovering from alcohol use disorder since 2019 and she started to write poems in English, her second language during the Covid pandemic when she moved from Manhattan to Eagan in 2022. In April 2023, as the volunteer poet for Tupelo Press 30*30 project, she wrote 30 poems in 30 days, an extraordinary challenge that she could never imagine approaching not to mention accomplish if she were still struggling with heavy drinking. In her writings, she is interested in the process that the meaning, sound, and shape of Chinese words immigrate into the poetry landscape in English through the cross-cultural lens, from involuntary mis-understanding to intentional mix-understanding with wonder, fluidity, and playfulness.
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Tom Odendahl, a retired social studies teacher, began taking poetry classes in 2016. Teachers from the Loft and St. Paul’s East Side Arts Council became his mentors. Many poems try to describe long journeys started through small windows. He has participated in several public readings over the past six years.
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Patrick Cabello Hansel's poetry collections are The Devouring Land (Main Street Rag Publishing) Quitting Time (Atmosphere Press) and the forthcoming Breathing in Minneapolis (Finishing Line Press). He has been published in over 85 journals, including Crannog, Ilanot Review, Hawai'i Pacific Review, Ash & Bones, and RiverSedge. Nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize, he has won awards from the Loft Literary Center and MN State Arts Board. His novella Searching was serialized in 33 issues of The Alley News. He is the editor of The Phoenix of Phillips, a literary journal by and for a diverse Minneapolis community.
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Dralandra Larkins is an award-winning spoken word poet, arts educator, and co-editor of Cracked Walnut’s anthology “Rewilding Hope, 2023” based in Minneapolis. Through performance, she weaves together words, rhythm, and intimacy to create a safe space for healing & self-discovery. She invites her audience to confront their own traumas and find strength in vulnerability. Her work is rooted in the art of healing, spirituality, and community. Her poetry not only serves as a form of therapeutic release for herself but also for those who listen to her words. Publication of her work has appeared in the Minnesota Women’s Press, The Edge Witness Writers, The Agates, and other anthologies. She’s collaborated and competed on platforms including the NAACP Mpls, MN Black Authors Expo, Button Poetry, TruArtSpeaks, Black Business Ball Enterprise, and Green Room. Her impact goes beyond the stage. She serves on the Cracked Walnut board of directors, and is a member of the League of MN Poets. Her poetic expression is a platform for advocacy, using spoken word to shed light on social issues & uplift marginalized communities. She is also the creator of the "Pocket Poetry Dispenser ''at Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul, MN. Visit Welcome (dralandrawrites.com) for more of her work.
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River Maria Urke has the heart of a poet and the eyes of an artist and resides in River Falls, WI. River's poetry and art reflect the principles she lives by where imperfection is beauty, nature is appreciated, and knowledge is gold. In addition, her work is influenced by her battle with multiple sclerosis and her Ojibwe heritage. River is the host of the online literary program Up Close: Meet the Poet Behind the Verse. She is a member of the League of Minnesota Poets, Cracked Walnut, Mississippi Valley Poets, and the WWNH artist seminar. Her website- www.rivermaria.org.
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Nick Theisen resides in Minneapolis, though his heart he belongs to the pine forests of Northern Minnesota. Interested in themes of wilderness, interbeing and belonging, mythic imagination, and the ecological soul, his writing seeks a renewed relationship with mystery and the offering of an invitation to move in new ways. For him, poetry is an act of remembrance and a living reminder that our essence is gift. He works as an afterschool program coordinator and delights in mutual sharing of poetry.
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October 7, 2 PM: Poets at the Depot
Event Title: Poets at the Depot
Where: 2-4pm, Saturday, 7 Oct, at the Northfield Depot
Theme: “Meet Me By The River”
Acknowledgments
For the Grant
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund and residents of the City of Northfield through the Percent for the Arts Initiative.
For the Land (City of Northfield’s Land Acknowledgment Statement)
We stand on the homelands of the Wahpekute and other Bands of the Dakota Nation. We honor with gratitude the people who have stewarded the land throughout the generations and their ongoing contributions to this region. We acknowledge the ongoing injustices that we have committed against the Dakota Nation, and we wish to interrupt this legacy, beginning with acts of healing and honest storytelling about this place.
Our Four Featured Readers:
Mary Moore Easter is the author of four poetry books, From the Flutes of Our Bones, The Body of the World (Minnesota Book Award finalist), Walking from Origins, and Free Papers: Poems inspired by the testimony of Eliza Winston, a Mississippi slave escaped to freedom in Minnesota in 1860. Newly published from Nodin Press is her memoir of dance and race: The Way She Wants to Get There: Telling on Myself (Minnesota Book Award finalist). Her poems also appear as texts for art songs, anthology contributions, and on library-sponsored poetry trails. Her adult career as an independent dancer/choreographer and founder and director of Carleton College’s dance program overlapped with writing as a Cave Canem Fellow. In 2022, Carleton named the new studios in the Weitz Center for Creativity to honor her legacy: the Mary Easter Dance Studios.
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Stanley Kusunoki is the author of three collections of poetry: 180 Days: Reflections and Observations of a Teacher, Items in the News (both published by North Star Press of St. Cloud), and Shelter in Place: Poems in a Time of COVID-19 (Polaris Press, an imprint of North Star Press). He is the co-host/curator of the Literary Bridges reading series at Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul. Kusunoki most recently was the High Potential Coordinator at Red Oak Elementary School in Shakopee. He lives in St. Paul with his wife, Claudia Daly.
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Diane LeBlanc is a writer, teacher, and book artist with roots in Vermont, Wyoming, and Minnesota. She is the author of The Feast Delayed (Terrapin Books, 2021) and four poetry chapbooks. Poems and essays appear in Bellevue Literary Review, Cimarron Review, Mid-American Review, River Heron Review, and River Teeth, among others. Diane is a professor of interdisciplinary studies and writer in residence at St. Olaf College. She is also a holistic life coach with emphasis in creativity practice. Read more at www.dianeleblancwriter.com.
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Larry Gavin is a poet from Faribault, Minnesota. He is the author of five books of poetry from Minnesota’s Red Dragonfly Press, and his work has appeared in publications all over America. In addition to poetry, Gavin was a senior editor of Midwest Fly Fishing Magazine for fifteen years. He has published over three hundred articles, mostly about cold water resources and fisheries. He taught fly fishing for ten years at the magazine’s school in Montana. Gavin has been a writer in residence at Bristol Bay Lodge in Alaska. Currently retired, he continues to write and publish poetry, widely. He is a regular contributing writer to Minnesota Outdoor News and many other outdoor publications. His column on outdoor sports appears weekly in the Adams publishing group of newspapers. Gavin’s manuscript of new poems, Any Tiny Truth, is currently at a publisher for consideration.
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October 8, 3 PM: Up Close: Meet the Poets Behind the Verse
Join us for an in-person interview with Heidi Barr at the Saint Croix Falls Public Library, from 3-4pm.
Event Location:
St. Croix Falls Public Library
230 S Washington St
St. Croix Falls, WI 54024
Click here for the Facebook event link.
Heidi Barr is a writer and wellness coach whose work is founded on a commitment to cultivating ways of being that are life-giving and sustainable for people, communities, and the planet. She is the author of three works of creative nonfiction, her most recent being Collisions of Earth and Sky, as well as two poetry collections: Slouching Toward Radiance and Cold Spring Hallelujah, and one cookbook. She is also the co-author of 12 Tiny Things and editor of "The Mindful Kitchen," a wellness column in The Wayfarer Magazine. In 2022, Heidi was named a Poet of Place, a group of five regional poets who are advocates and ambassadors for poetry and creativity in the lower St. Croix Valley. She lives with her family in rural Minnesota. Learn more at heidibarr.com. |
October 10, 7 PM: Poetry Reading - Theme: Mental Health
Event Location:
East Side Freedom Library
1105 Greenbrier St
St Paul, MN 55106
Co-Host and Keynote Speaker: Jenny Thrasher has dedicated 24 years to understanding and overcoming health challenges. Despite a degree in Psychology, she attributes her authority on the matter to her life experiences. After losing her father to suicide and almost losing her daughter, she realized intervention alone isn't enough. To truly prevent suicide, people have to live a life they love. Jenny is the author of "Growing Through Grief" a guide to healthy healing after losing a loved one to suicide. She is a recognized advocate for suicide prevention and the founder of Growing Out Of Darkness and All That We Are. |
Our readers:
Brendan Brophy is a poet living in Minneapolis, and the Youth Chair on the executive board of the League of Minnesota Poets. His work has been featured through several institutions such as the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St. Kate's University, Anoka Ramsey Community College, and Augsburg University. Brendan says that: “Poetry is the closest things to magic that we have in this world, in that it has the ability to take the truly vexing trials we face in life, and mold them into something beautiful, sustaining, and life-affirming."
Cassie Kluess is from Shakopee, Minnesota and works for the school district as a paraeducator. While she is often referred to as the quietest person in the room, her writing makes it clear that her mind is not so silent. Many of her poems can be found in older editions of Shakopee High School’s literature magazine. Although, you don’t have to go back too far to find them. Loss, love, and understanding are often found within her work as she tries to better know them herself. Her love of literature was sparked early on through comic books which she proudly recognizes and appreciates. When she isn’t reading or writing, she can often be found strolling along sidewalks and park trails listening to her favorite 70’s and 80’s tunes.
Jessi Atherton is a poet, a mother, a Veteran, and healer. Her poetry touches on many emotional life experiences such as childhood abuse, trauma, adoption, addiction, military service, motherhood, relationships, grief, and the journey of healing and finding inner peace. Jessi has a B.S. in Community Health (2007) and Nursing (2011) from Northern Michigan University. She currently attends Walden University for master’s in nursing (2023) in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Jessi is a Warrior Writers facilitator, a member of the League of Minnesota Poets, a Minnesota Humanities Center 2019 Veteran Voices awardee, a board member on the MN DAV and Minnesota Assistance Counsel for Veterans. Her work has been published in Nodin Press, The Cuddy Foundation, Iliad Press, McGregor Publishing, and the International Library of Poetry. Her first full collection of poetry, The Time War Takes, is forthcoming with Middle West Press in March 2023.
Brendan Brophy is a poet living in Minneapolis, and the Youth Chair on the executive board of the League of Minnesota Poets. His work has been featured through several institutions such as the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St. Kate's University, Anoka Ramsey Community College, and Augsburg University. Brendan says that: “Poetry is the closest things to magic that we have in this world, in that it has the ability to take the truly vexing trials we face in life, and mold them into something beautiful, sustaining, and life-affirming."
Cassie Kluess is from Shakopee, Minnesota and works for the school district as a paraeducator. While she is often referred to as the quietest person in the room, her writing makes it clear that her mind is not so silent. Many of her poems can be found in older editions of Shakopee High School’s literature magazine. Although, you don’t have to go back too far to find them. Loss, love, and understanding are often found within her work as she tries to better know them herself. Her love of literature was sparked early on through comic books which she proudly recognizes and appreciates. When she isn’t reading or writing, she can often be found strolling along sidewalks and park trails listening to her favorite 70’s and 80’s tunes.
Jessi Atherton is a poet, a mother, a Veteran, and healer. Her poetry touches on many emotional life experiences such as childhood abuse, trauma, adoption, addiction, military service, motherhood, relationships, grief, and the journey of healing and finding inner peace. Jessi has a B.S. in Community Health (2007) and Nursing (2011) from Northern Michigan University. She currently attends Walden University for master’s in nursing (2023) in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Jessi is a Warrior Writers facilitator, a member of the League of Minnesota Poets, a Minnesota Humanities Center 2019 Veteran Voices awardee, a board member on the MN DAV and Minnesota Assistance Counsel for Veterans. Her work has been published in Nodin Press, The Cuddy Foundation, Iliad Press, McGregor Publishing, and the International Library of Poetry. Her first full collection of poetry, The Time War Takes, is forthcoming with Middle West Press in March 2023.
October 11, 6 PM: Cracked Walnut Writing Collective
Event Location:
Merriam Park Library in St. Paul
Readers:
G.E. Patterson is a poly-disciplinary artist and teacher who trained as a poet and translator. He is a native of St. Paul’s Rondo community. His writing has been praised by the Washington Post for its “Ellingtonian mastery of many voices” and hailed by NYC’s Fund for Poetry for its “contributions to literature.” His work has also been honored with a Minnesota Book Award and fellowships from Cave Canem, the Djerassi Foundation, the MacDowell Colony, the MN State Arts Board, and the Academy of American Poets. Patterson was a featured performer, with cellist Nioka Workman, in NYC’s Panasonic Village Jazz Fest. Other large-scale, collaborative, public-art commissions include Create: The Community Meal (on food access and food justice); the Plume Project (on energy awareness and sustainability); Civic Women: Community Visions (on the civic practices of a cohort of women in the Czech Republic); and the Dale Street Bridge Replacement (on uniting a community fractured by the construction of Interstate 94). He is a contributing writer at Places Journal & serves as Guest Dramaturg, Tanztheater, Theater Münster in Germany. |
Said Shaiye is an Autistic + ADHD Somali Author, Photographer, Professor & Disability Advocate in Minneapolis. He holds an MFA from the University of Minnesota, where he was a Graduate Instructor of Creative Writing, as well as a Judd International Research Fellow. He is a 2023 Loft Windows & Mirrors Fellow. His debut book, Are You Borg Now?, was a 2022 Minnesota Book Award Finalist in Creative Nonfiction & Memoir. He has published poetry & prose in Indiana Review, Texas Review, Obsidian, Brittle Paper, Pithead Chapel, 580 Split, Entropy, Diagram, and elsewhere. He can be reached at www.saidshaiye.com. |
Mary Moore Easter is the author of four poetry books, From the Flutes of Our Bones, The Body of the World (Minnesota Book Award finalist), Walking from Origins, and Free Papers: Poems inspired by the testimony of Eliza Winston, a Mississippi slave escaped to freedom in Minnesota in 1860. Newly published from Nodin Press is her memoir of dance and race: The Way She Wants to Get There: Telling on Myself. (Minnesota Book Award finalist.) Her poems also appear as texts for art songs, anthology contributions, and on library-sponsored poetry trails. Her adult career as an independent dancer/choreographer and founder and director of Carleton College’s dance program overlapped with writing as a Cave Canem Fellow. In 2022, Carleton named the new studios in the Weitz Center for Creativity to honor her legacy: the Mary Easter Dance Studios. |
Claudette M. Webster is a faculty member of the Dougherty Family College, at the University of St. Thomas, where she teaches English. She is originally from Jamaica, West Indies and has spent much of her life in the Northeast: New York & Massachusetts. Ms. Webster is a board member of the Saint Paul Almanac where she is Director of Education & Programming. Also, she is a board member of Redbird Chapbook Press where she engages in community outreach. Ms. Webster is a writer of poetry and prose. She was recently published in Let the Black Woman Say Ashe’ edited by Ebony Adedayo. Past publications include Black Renaissance Noire, Essence Magazine, Pitkin Review & Cave Canem Anthology. Ms. Webster is an avid walker; she loves being in nature, especially near water. She aspires to visit each of the 10,000 lakes in Minnesota. |
October 14, TBD: Rain Taxi Book Festival
Visit the League of Minnesota Poets' table at the Rain Taxi Book Festival (https://twincitiesbookfestival.com/).
The Cracked Walnut anthology, Rewilding Hope 2023, will be available for purchase.
October 14, 2 PM: Mississippi Valley Poets Reading
Event information:
October 14th, 2-4 PM
NEW LOCATION:
Walker Library
2880 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis
Readers:
Bob French: Robert French — also called Bob, was born and raised in the Northeastern United States but has lived in many places. He enlisted in military service shortly after High School graduation and worked with an airline. He has transferred my residence quite often. When he retired, he began taking classes at the university of Minnesota and achieved a master's degree in Liberal Studies with some work in creative writing. He has written a great deal in the last 25 years and recently joined the Mississippi Valley Poets & Writers.
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Annette Gagliardi notices intricate details of lives lived around her, dimensions of nature, time and the human condition. She squeezes all the juice that life has to offer, then serves it up as poetry – or jelly, depending on the day. Her work is in literary journals in Canada, England and the USA.
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Ellen Lager's work has been part of the League of MN Poets for over 10 years. She has been published in The MacGuffin, Neologism, Sheila-Na-Gig, Haunted Waters Press, Halfway Down the Stairs, Sanskrit, and Vita Brevis Nature Anthology III, as well as others. She lives in Minneapolis, spending much of the year at a lake cabin with her husband, two rambunctious dogs and two unruffled cats.
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Mary Lux is exploring Minnesota as a new resident, interested in its wetlands, winter beauty, prairie past, its history and its incredible diversity of peoples and cultures. In Wisconsin she practiced poetry in Milwaukee with the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, published in many venues, and has poems in a number of anthologies.
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Shirley Smith Franklin was born in Minneapolis and raised in small upper midwest towns. Influenced by Lutheran heritage of word and song, her poems reflect on everyday life, thought, and relationships. Shirley’s work has been published in Dust and Fire, Finnish American Reporter, The Pen Woman, Moccasin, Equinox, and by the Loft, India Association of Minnesota, Minnesota Writing Project, Womens International League for Peace and Freedom, her church, and Friends of the Mississippi River. She enjoys reading her poetry aloud to audiences large and small.
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Mark Merick was born and raised along side the Mississippi River in Clinton, Iowa. His lifelong occupation has been a physician. In Mark’s opinion: poetry is everywhere – in all people, places, and things. Sometimes it is obscured. Sometimes it shouts so loud that it smacks him awake. And with a bewilderment reminiscent of Rip Van Winkle, he can shake the cobwebs and fog from his brain and see the beauty. It was always there, because nothing is missing. To capture that with words, is rare indeed. It is in trying that makes poetry a noble task.
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Evelyn D. Klein, writer, speaker, educator, artist, editor, has a B.S. in Secondary Education, an M.S. in the Teaching of English. A prize-winning poet widely published, she authored Once Upon a Neighborhood and Seasons of Desire, poetry and essays, From Here Across the Bridge and her latest poetry book, Fear and Promise.
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October 15, 3:30 PM: Poetry Reading
Event information:
October 15th, 3:30-4:30 PM
Moon Palace Books
3032 Minnehaha Ave.,
Minneapolis, MN 55406
The co-hosts for this event are Laura Kozy Lanik and Annette Gagliardi.
We are focusing on the MVP&W First Anthology, titled "Water songs."
Readers:
Laura Kozy Lanik is a high school social studies teacher in Minneapolis. She is the co-creator and co-editor of Upon Waking. 58 Voices Speaking Out from the Shadow of Abuse poetry anthology published in April of 2019. Laura is the current Vice President of the Mississippi Valley Poets Society. Her writing has been recently published in the Minnesota Women’s Press, Book Women, The Fem, MPR Classical Radio, Origami Kindness Anthology 2020, HerWords, and many other places. You can find her poetry at www.buymeacoffee/laurakozylanik
Annette Gagliardi notices intricate details of lives lived around her, dimensions of nature, time and the human condition. She squeezes all the juice that life has to offer, then serves it up as poetry – or jelly, depending on the day. Her work is in literary journals in Canada, England and the USA. See her author website at: https://annette-gagliardi.com
River Maria Urke has the heart of a poet and the eyes of an artist. Currently, she resides in River Falls, WI. River’s poetic writings and artistic touches reflects the principles she lives by where imperfection is beauty, nature is appreciated, and knowledge is gold. In addition, her work is influenced by her battle with multiple sclerosis, and her Ojibwe heritage. River is the host of the online literary program Up Close: Meet the Poet Behind the Verse. She is a member of the League of Minnesota Poets, Cracked Walnut, Mississippi Valley poets, and the WWNH artist seminar. Learn about River’s publications on her website- www.rivermaria.com
Linda White’s poems and essays have appeared on Writer’s Block, MNReads, Book Riot, in several anthologies, and in the Mankato Poetry Walk & Ride installation. She is currently working on two books. She lives in Minnesota under a Canadian goose migration path. You can find her on Instagram at @LindaBookMania.
October 18, 7 PM: Poets & Pints
Event Location:
Sisyphus Brewing in Minneapolis
Readers:
IamM.E I’m a free spirited FlowerChild with a fiery love and passion for the arts in every way, I’m a singer songwriter, aspiring actor , future author and activist. I plan on changing the way we look at our earthly experiences one poem at a time. It’s time we change the world for the better and that’s the mark I hope to leave on this planet. |
October 19, 6:30 PM: Blank Verse
Event Location:
Northtown Library in Blaine
**Refreshments will be offered.**
Readers:
The event will open with drumming by members of the New Arab American Theater Work’s ‘Yallah Drum’ Ensemble: (Sanaa Wazwa, Hanan Wazwaz, Robert Lehmann, Rachel Milloy, Tarek Aboueid, Hend Al-Mansour, and William Nour). |
Dorothy Probst is the granddaughter of Scottish immigrants. She is a creative flash nonfiction writer with a Master of Arts in Education Leadership from Luther Seminary, Saint Paul, MN., and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Arizona, Tucson AZ. Her CNF essays appear in the 2023 Saint Paul Almanac and in the 2021, 2022, and 2023 issues of Gather magazine, a nationally distributed nondenominational publication of the ELCA Women’s Ministry. |
Aziz Bisanz (they/them) - Aziz has been part of the Mizna Arab Arts Writing Collective since 2017 and enjoys writing poetry related to their own and collective experiences of rupture and healing in relationship to body, land, and ancestors. Aziz grew up in Minnesota but spent the better part of early adulthood in Philadelphia and Madrid. They are of Lebanese and Irish ancestry. By day, Aziz is a somatic therapist, supporting people to heal from relational, systemic, and intergenerational traumas through connection to the body. |
Sagirah Shahid is a Black Muslim poet from Minneapolis, MN. She enjoys wildflower gardens & daydreams. Her poems and prose are published in Mizna, Winter Tangerine, About Place Journal, Parhelion, The Drinking Gourd, and elsewhere. Sagirah is a poetry editor for the online literary journal, Overtly Lit. |
Yara Omer is a Palestinian - Jordanian - American writer. She has been a teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing since 2008. She writes in both Arabic and English and is published in Mizna, The Fourth River, the Gemini by the Minnesota Astronomical Society, Saint Paul Almanac, TSaunders Pubs, and MELSA (Metropolitan Library Service Agency). Yara is officially working with George Town University Press to publish her first novel. |
Nikki Lewis is a Lebanese-American poet and visual artist based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Nikki's artistry combines the mediums of poetry, collage, painting, cosmetics, and film to distill themes of interiority, queer sexuality, and fluidity. Nikki's art has been carved into sidewalks, published by zines, and appeared in the lesbian literary journal Sinister Wisdom's 2020 calendar. |
William J. Anderson writes poetry and non-fiction from his home near Anoka, Minnesota, the Halloween Capitol of the World. His alter ego, A. W. Powers, has created the Psychic Guardian Angel series of paranormal thrillers, published by Marlowe and Vane. He is exploring the world of social media and can be found at wmjanderson.com or awpowers-writer.com |
William Nour is a Palestinian-American Writer and community activist. His work appeared in Mizna Journal and he has performed his poetry at several community functions and local public schools. William Nour has acted in several plays and studies traditional Arabic drumming. He’s a 2018 recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Board grant for his play “Turbulence” which was part of the New Arab American Theater Works reading series, and he has participated in workshops at the Loft with David Mura and Elmaz Abinader at VONA. |
October 21, 4:30 PM: Autumn Leaves - Poetry and Music
Event Information:
“Autumn Leaves” is a program that brings together the two muses of poetry and music on the same stage. This program will run from 4:30-6 PM. Refreshments will be offered.
Unity Church-Unitarian
732 Holly Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55104
Accessible parking lot and wheelchair entrance on East of the building off of Holly.
Performers:
Thomas R. Smith is a poet, essayist, teacher, and editor living in River Falls, Wisconsin. He's the author of numerous books, most recently Medicine Year (poetry) and Poetry on the Side of Nature: Writing the Nature Poem as an Act of Survival (prose). He teaches poetry at the Loft Literary Center and posts poems and essays at www.thomasrsmithpoet.com. He is also a passionate songster and performs occasionally with the folk trio Catbird.
Ardie Medina with the Asiginaak Women's Handdrum Group: Ardie Medina is an Anishinaabe poet and playwright from Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin. She became involved in the Twin Cities writing community soon after moving to the area in 1993. Her poems have been published in various anthologies—Loonfeather Press, Yellow Medicine Review, The Saint Paul Almanac, and two self-published anthologies, Gatherings and In the Company of Others, with fellow poets from the Loft Literary Center’s former Foreword Apprenticeship program. Two of her plays are included in Alexander Street Press’s American Indian Drama Collection. Ardie resides in Northeast Minneapolis with her husband Mike and their two Affenpinchers Chito and Sundae.
Michael Kiesow Moore is the author of the poetry collections What to Pray For and The Song Castle (Nodin Press). His work has appeared in many journals such as International Times, Poetry City, and Water~Stone Review, anthologies like Queer Voices, Among the Leaves: Queer Male Poets on the Midwestern Experience, and The Writer’s Almanac. Michael is the founder of the Birchbark Books Reading Series. When he is not drinking too much coffee, he can be found in Saint Paul dancing with The Braggarts Morris dancers.
Lars Ortiz (cello) began his career as an English teacher in Denver Public Schools. He later became principal cellist of the Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis as well as a founding member of Lux String Quartet, where he worked with both Minnesota Public Radio and Schubert Club to promote music education. Although he has performed in both concert halls and coffee shops, he is most happy in his studio teaching budding cellists of all ages.
Diane Jarvenpa is the author of six books of poetry, her most recent Shy Lands published by Blue Light Press. She is a teaching artist with the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project MN and the East Side Arts Council. As a singer-songwriter she performs under the name Diane Jarvi.
October 22, 2 PM: Poetry Reading - Theme: LGBTQ+
Event Location:
East Side Freedom Library
1105 Greenbrier St
St Paul, MN 55106
Readers:
Michael Kiesow Moore is the author of the poetry collections What to Pray For and The Song Castle (Nodin Press). His work has appeared in many journals such as International Times, Poetry City, and Water~Stone Review, anthologies like Queer Voices, Among the Leaves: Queer Male Poets on the Midwestern Experience, and The Writer’s Almanac. Michael is the founder of the Birchbark Books Reading Series. When he is not drinking too much coffee, he can be found in Saint Paul dancing with The Braggarts Morris dancers.
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John Medieros is a memoirist, poet, editor, and lawyer. His memoir, Self, Divided (Howling Bird Press) is the winner of the Howling Bird Press Nonfiction Prize. It was selected as a Finalist for a 2022 Minnesota Book Award in the Memoir and Creative Nonfiction category, and won Honorable Mention for the 2021 Forward INDIES Book of the Year Award. He has been a Finalist for numerous literary awards, including the Loft/McKnight Literary Prize, and the Brenda Ueland Prize for Nonfiction. Medieros was a Writer-in-Residence for the Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts and co-curator of the Queer Voices Reading Series of Intermedia Arts for twelve years.
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Venus De Mars is a multidisciplinary artist and musician, best known as a singer-songwriting transgender rock star and leader of the glam-punk trans-band Venus de Mars & All the Pretty Horses. Venus came out as transgender in 1988. She is now mid-process in writing a memoir reflecting her thirty-year trans journey and place in this fast-changing, trans-embracing-backlashing world where we now find ourselves. Venus and her band released their newest album “I Think The Darkness” on June 11th 2022.
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Morgan Grayce Willow's poetry collections and chapbooks include, among others, Dodge & Scramble, Between, Oddly Enough, and The Maps are Words. She has published in anthologies and journals such as Queer Nature, Ecopoetics, Queer Voices, Saint Paul Almanac, When We Become Weavers. Her prose publications include the title memoir in Riding Shotgun: Women Write About Their Mothers and the lyric essay “(Un)Document(ing),” which was nominated for a Pushcart prize after its appearance in Water~Stone Review #22. Morgan completed the certificate program at Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA) where she exhibited her artist’s book Collage for Mina Loy in 2016. In 2023, she curated “Beyond the Page: Poets as Artists in the New Year” at Friedli Gallery in Saint Paul. Morgan is currently a teaching artist with The Loft and COMPAS Artful Aging program.
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Anthony Ceballos is a poet/bookseller/enthusiastic reader/alright cook. He lives in Minneapolis and can be found penning staff recommendations at Birchbark Books & Native Arts. In 2016 he was selected to be a Loft Literary Center Mentor Series mentee. In 2022 he was part of the inaugural Indigenous Nations Poets retreat in Washington DC. He is a first generation descendant of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.
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Kate Lynn Hibbard’s books are Sleeping Upside Down, Sweet Weight, and Simples, winner of the 2018 Howling Bird Press Poetry Prize. Some journals where her poems have appeared include Barrow Street, Ars Medica, Nimrod, and Prairie Schooner. Editor of When We Become Weavers: Queer Female Poets on the Midwest Experience, she teaches at Minneapolis College, sings with One Voice Mixed Chorus, and lives with many pets and her spouse Jan in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Please visit katelynnhibbard.com for more information.
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LM Brimmer is an interdisciplinary artist & educator living on Dakota land in Minneapolis, MN and was a co-editor of the anthology Queer Voices: Poetry, Prose and Pride (MHS Press 2019). A recent Randolph College MFA alumni, and Nancy J Blackburn Fellow, their essays and poetry have appeared in Pleiades, Impossible Archetype, Gasher Journal, Quarterly West and elsewhere.
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Amanda Bailey writes poetry, stories and memoir. Now living in Mankato, she’s active in her local arts community and has won several awards for her poetry. Her work has appeared in various journals and on the Mankato Poetry Walk and Ride. In 2019, she had poems included in the anthologies Upon Waking: 58 Voices Speak Out from the Shadows of Abuse and After the Equinox. In 2020, she received a Blackberry Peach Poetry Prize for written and spoken word, performances available on YouTube. In 2022, her poem “Big Mama Said” was selected for the Redwing Arts Poet Artist Collaboration.
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October 23, 7 PM: American School of Storytelling
Event Information:
American School of Storytelling
1762 Hennepin Ave South
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Website: https://americanschoolofstorytelling.com/
Do not park on Hennepin Ave before 6 pm.
Doors open at 6:30 pm.
Show starts at 7pm, followed by Open Mic.
Readers:
Diane Pecoraro often addresses the quirky iridescent fragments of human interaction, political events, immigrant issues, social change and art. As the Community Poet of St. Louis Park, she aims to unite people around verse by encouraging a forum where all voices are heard. A public poet, she has hosted many readings; collaborated with artists at gallery events; presented workshops for children and adults; written for special occasions; read at cafes, book stores, libraries, the University Club series, open mics, and parties, to name a few.
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Howard Lieberman is a writer, poet, performance artist/ storyteller and outspoken social activist whose art takes emotional risks that most storytellers avoid. He is a moderately nice Jewish boy whose personality was shaped by being emotionally abused as a child, orphaned at 14 and homeless at 17. Through a combination of blind dumb luck and perseverance Howard found his way to NYC where he became an attorney, Irish ceili dance teacher and Director of the Irish Arts Center. Hating what NYC brought out in him, Howard moved to MN in 1990 to experience living among Lutherans and bitterly cold winters. His unique blend of performance art and storytelling has made him a fixture in the Twin Cities performance scene at Patrick's Cabaret, Cheap Theater, Strike and since 2009, partnering with Loren Niemi at Fringe festivals around the country with works as diverse as 55 Minutes of Sex, Drugs and Audience Participation and How Do You Read Me?
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Loren Niemi began as a child fibber but soon realized he was less interested in lying than he was in improving the truth. He is still at it, as a poet, author and innovative storyteller whose work includes a 2020 Midwest Book Award winning story collection, “What Haunts Us”, and two poetry chapbooks, “Coyote flies Coach” and “Vote Coyote!” His poetry memoir “A Breviary for the Lost” is joined by his newest novel, "Circus Rex" (available September 29). He is also the founder of the American School of Storytelling and its CSO (Chief Storytelling Officer). More at: www.LorenNiemiStories.com
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Christine Mounts is an IT professional by day and a poet by night. She writes and travels as much as a working schlub like her can manage. She is the author of Book of Snark: Wit & Wisdom for the Angry Professional Woman on the Bus, published October 2020. She co-founded the American School of Storytelling in 2021. She is a winner of the 2022 University of St Thomas Environmental (In)justice in Mni Sóta Maḳoce storytelling contest.
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October 24, 7 PM: Natreum
Information:
Natreum
4815 Excelsior Blvd
St. Louis Park, MN 55416
Website: https://natreum.com/
Readers: TBD