February 2026 - Wild guesses at a future
In which I grapple with chaos theory (as we do)
As humans, mammals, finite beings enmeshed in the matrix of space and time we call the Universe, we can’t do a great job predicting the future. Or even an okay job, really. (Rabbit hole, if you want it: Chaos theory on Wikipedia.)
We try, we have to try, we can’t not try, that leads to nowhere good, but we will fail.
Kind of like art.
Here we are in Wonderland, the Upside-Down, the Mirror World, where the most reliable MSM-ish sources of information are People and Wired (and, for a span of time, Teen Vogue). The United States is under the control of a dictator-ish person who isn’t legally allowed to hold the office and has dragged a whole bunch of other collaborators into that status. as they have given aid and comfort to enemies of the United States (i.e., the illegal President and his cronies and lickspittles). And sometimes we have to pretend everything’s normal, or normal enough to go to the store, wash dishes, do laundry, eat and sleep and all that jazz. And it doesn’t feel normal, one bit.
But you know all that. Or you don’t, but you can find out.
Either way, I’m carrying on, because the future gets here whether I do or not, and I’d like that future to be as better for everyone as I can help make it. Part of my work—not all of it, but assuredly a large part of it—is my art in all its various forms, so that’s some of what I’m doing.
I’m reading some poetry at SubText books in Saint Paul, Sunday, February 1st, at 5:00-6:00 pm, along with Sana Wazwaz, Michael Kleber-Diggs, and Amy Leanne Johnston, at an event to remember the poet, mother, and human Renee Good. It’s an event for community building and I hope it may offer one avenue to process some of the collective grief and anger we Minnesotans are experiencing. The event is free and no registration is required; more details are available at SubText’s website.
The next Better Things 5x5 Reading and Open Mic is on Tuesday, February 3rd, at 7pm at Moon Palace Books in Minneapolis. Featured, five amazing artists: Ari Tison (Bribri), BakiBakiBaki, Jeffrey Dorr-Slowey, Heid E. Erdrich, and Isha Camara.
BuckSlam is happening Wednesday, February 11th, at Indeed Brewing Co. in Northeast Minneapolis. I recommend you eat before the show, because Pizzeria Lola, the usual delish food truck action, is currently closed due to fascist government thugs.
I’ll be reading a poem as a preface to a performance of Men On Boats, a Ten Thousand Things production. You can buy a ticket online for the February 26th performance at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, 511 Groveland Ave., Minneapolis. (Tickets for other dates and venues are available, too; I highly recommend making it to one of the performances, which run from February 4 through March 15.) The show starts at 7:30pm, but I’ll be reading a few minutes before that, so maybe plan on showing up early.
Other bits are happening behind the scenes, because of course I have a poetry collection coming out next year (!) and I have a play coming out in less than six months (!!) and the podcast I’m producing is launching in two months (!!!) and there is even more art-related activity in the background, most of which you won’t see Until It’s Ready, but I don’t have much to share about all that. Yet. Stay tuned.
I hope you are finding ways to breathe, to rest, to nourish your spirit and body and heart, and to carry on.