February Rode in on the Back of a Storm
sounds better than "the world feels like it's disintegrating"?
I really hate the forcible injection of so-called “AI” so-called “assistance” in every app. I. Am. Typing. The. Words. I. Want. To. Appear. When I need help, I will ask. I mean, probably not you, mindless homunculus of silicon; I’ll probably ask my friends, my spiritual ancestors, the feral cat that likes to lounge on a nearby pile of roofing shingles, and maybe the Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioicus) leaves blowing past me in the wind. In the meantime, please be rocks.
The next Better Things 5x5 Reading is upon us! Like, imminently! Tuesday, February 4th, 7pm, Moon Palace Books (3032 Minnehaha Avenue, Minneapolis, MN). Five fantabulous readers, five minutes each. And then an open mic! What’s not to love about this???
On the second Wednesday of February (February 12th, if you’re keeping track), the next — and last for this season — BuckSlam happens, also at Moon Palace Books. It will be amazing (always is). Doors at 6:30, show at 7pm; $1 cover (NOTAFLOF). Anyone can sign up to compete, and anyone can judge (not at the same time). This is your big chance!!!
I plan to make it to as many Re-Verb Open Mics as I can this month; it’s one of the best places you can be on a Thursday evening in St. Paul! Hosted by TruArtSpeaks at Flava Cafe, University and Dale (right next to a Green Line station). See you there?
I’ll also be at two free zine workshops this month, part of the ReEntry Lab’s Liberal Arts Engagement Hub Residency. The workshops are beginner-friendly, free to attend, and facilitated by local zinester extraordinaire, YOLOW Zines. To attend, register at tinyurl.com/HubZines (there are still some spots available).
Someone recently put me on to the Dada Duende Record Club, which is the type of wonderfully amazing mashup of art & words & art that hooks me. They put out limited-edition numbered sets of art volumes which include a lathe-cut record (!), a pigment print, and a softcover full-color book with art and poetry and music 👀.
I’ve got a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff going on this month / season / Spring (wetu in Dakota; Ziigwan in Ojibwe — maybe I’m early, but I’m calling it now; who’s Phil think he is, anyway?), but I’ll leave all that for a future issue of the Writing News. I mean, it’s not news yet, right?