Crystal Gibbins in North American Review
Local poet Crystal Gibbins has published in North American Review. It’s fantastic.
Local poet Crystal Gibbins has published in North American Review. It’s fantastic.
Ken Bloom recently lectured about his photography for Coldsnap Photography. Check out the presentation on Zoom.
I follow Paving Stones Ministries, and I love the new post about “All Lives Matter” from a scriptural perspective.
There are people in today’s society for whom racism and marginalization are a constant and persistent problem. I have seen it on the streets of our cities. I have seen it in the hallways of our universities. Unfortunately, racism is alive and rampant in our country, and there are people who are being crushed to powder under its millstone. They are broken, they are hurting, and they are weary. THEY are the ones who need our ministry right now.
According to David Syring, “The night train — a metaphor for where we are during the global crisis of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. This video offers a visual and musical metaphor for the sense that we are all immersed in this together as a global society, and we don’t know where the train is going.”
As the pandemic seems to lose steam in Minnesota (if not the rest of the country — I’m looking at you, Superior) some of the live streaming music events have started to move back into real venues.
So looking for music, I was happy to discover that the 9:00 Meltdown, which used to be my background music on KUWS, is still available on Soundcloud, with new episodes. This one opens with a song whose refrain is “I’ll be your teenage bride,” which is not indicative of how cool the rest of the interview is.
John Gregor’s ColdSnap Photography is holding “pro-am” presentations. Last week’s session featured Christian Dalbec. Dalbec finds a way to make a sleepy shore exotic and exciting. Check out the presentation on Zoom.
Scott Laderman is featured on the New Books Network. Hang ten, dudes, and listen to Laderman share his research.
Former Duluthian Michael Fedo was interviewed about the anniversary of the lynchings in Duluth for an article in Smithsonian, the journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Over the years, the horror of June 15, 1920, when three black men were lynched by a white mob in Duluth, faded away behind a “collective amnesia,” says author Michael Fedo. Faded away, at least, in the memories of Duluth’s white community.
In the 1970s, when Fedo began researching what would become The Lynchings in Duluth, the first detailed accounting of the night’s events, he met resistance from witnesses who were still alive. “All of them said, gee, why are you dredging this up again? All of them except the African American community in Duluth. It was part of their oral history, and all of those families knew of this event,” Fedo recalls.
More can be found at smithsonianmag.com.
Poetry
Winner: Jess Koski, “Did Geronimo Send Postcards from FL?”
Runner-up: Tina Higgins Wussow, “This is How Scars are Formed”
Short Fiction
Winner: Jess Koski, “Onaabani-giizis—Hard Crust on the Snow Moon”
Runner-up: Vickie Youngquist-Smith, “Autumn Shadow of Death”
Short-short Fiction
Winner: Vickie Youngquist-Smith, “Domestic Duplicity”
Runner-up: Lynn Watson, “But Officer”
Creative nonfiction
Winner: Eric Chandler, “I Have No Idea”
Runner-up: Chris Marcotte, “Holding Hands with an Angel”
Congratulations to everyone who participated in this year’s contest. Lake Superior Writers had 117 entries this year. The organization plans to launch next year’s contest theme in January, with a submission deadline in April.
I stopped by Blue Rock Coffee & Wine, kind of. It recently opened by the Miller Hill Mall, and I am enchanted by the idea of a wine bar. We haven’t had one in Duluth since the Minnesota Wine Exchange closed, unless I suppose you count the Spirit Room over in Superior. A wine bar feels like a place to taste, not to drink, if that distinction makes sense, and I’d love to have one in Duluth.
So I cruised through the drive through, having salivated over the menu, but being full from a full lunch. I ordered a peach iced tea, which tasted like actual tea, instead of a tea mix. That bodes well, as do the photos of the food.
Am I forgetting other places built for tasting wine, instead of drinking? Vikre is built for tasting gin, not for drinking it, if that helps.
Low has been doing Instagram concerts on Fridays during the coronavirus, with tips benefiting charity, too. Because the shows are on Instagram, they seem to vanish within a day. But apparently, they give permission to fans to post to other media platforms. This is the only one I can find. Are they available in other places or through other YouTube users? Help appreciated.
Signed, — A Fan Whose Greatest Disappointment Was That Moving To Duluth In 2005 Did Not Mean Seeing Low Every Weekend
History is being written today.
Documents from the Northeastern Minnesota COVID-19 Community Archive Project at the University of Minnesota Duluth are now live. More information about the project can be found at lib.d.umn.edu. If you would like to learn more, including information on how to submit, please check out the research guide.
This is a great resource, including art by UMD colleagues and friends.
I went to the dentist today, the first day (I think) that Park Dental has been open at its Downtown Duluth location in the Medical Arts Building. There is a Park Dental location near my workplace, but I have an affection for running errands downtown, normally.
On Tuesday, my friend and colleague Devaleena Das and I appeared on the KUMD program Neighbors with Lisa Johnson. It was a great experience, with a great interviewer, talking about a very difficult subject. You can listen on kumd.org.
