Mark Kenneth Tilsen is a Jewish Oglala Lakota poet and philosopher born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He currently is studying at Hamline University and trying to find a way back home after graduation. A sometimes activist, he can be found scribbling in his notebook at Kopplin’s coffee house when hiding from irate professors.
Okay. No kvetching! You can park on both sides of the street now. The snow will be with us for a while, but the air feels a lot better, light enough for us to seemingly glide down sidewalks without having to brace ourselves from the previous months’ harsh elements. They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Here, that image rings as thinly as that story about the groundhog. I can’t think of a good animal to reference in an allegory fitting to this Minnesota winter, but it does not matter. It’s nicer out. Let’s greet it with art in our 20th edition of This Week in Saint Paul!
The calendar on my kitchen wall claimed that spring had sprung last week, but Minnesota still predictably holds out. As a kid, and even now as an adult, I didn’t understand the connection of the equinox (nor that Pennsylvanian hedgehog) to any change in season. As a kid, I wasn’t sure if the groundhog myth was about adding six weeks or six months to winter. Hey, I was growing up in Minnesota! Anything is possible.
Tonight is a night of true celebration! Tonight, we honor the womyn in our lives—those who teach us, those who taught us, those challenge us, those who birthed us, and those who spit fire on the mic and make our jaws drop! Bring all of your favorite material by womyn writers or bring an ode to womyn, a womyn, or just bring yourself in the spirit of honoring these beautiful souls. We can’t wait to see you!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! If you have ever seen the sea of faces at Saint Paul’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, maybe you wonder, like I do, why March 17 is not a government holiday in Saint Paul. With all the crowds, as there should be in our city, my biggest question is whether the mayor will take out his bagpipes.
Last week, I checked out three movies from the library. I did not watch any of them. I am guilty of depriving the rest of the world of these copies of movies, but I have an excuse: I went outside. I saw things. I met with people who are doing things. I saw people—people not unlike the folks our stories celebrate each week. Whether I was meeting in Lowertown or Rondo, or working in my neighborhood, it felt great, likely at least in part due to the improving weather. It will grow even warmer this week, and some of the art will be even hotter! We have a few ideas to turn up the temperature.
Where have your footprints taken you? Through storytelling, spoken words, poetry, chanting, singing, crafting, and painting, we retrace our footprints and reflect as educators, community organizers, artists, students and fellow supporters on our journeys to romance the West Bank neighborhood in the midst of our greater personal journeys. The Saint Paul Almanac is pleased to announce the sixth 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. Featuring performances by Farhiyo Abdulkarim, Janet Curiel, Safy-Hallan Farah, Ifrah Mansour, and Lula Saleh.
Music, to Liz Lassiter, is purpose. Music is transformative. Music is a process for all spirits involved in creating it. Ultimately, music defines itself differently for different people and that is the beauty of it.
MAHMOUD EL-KATI is a lecturer, author, and commentator on the African American experience. El-Kati is Professor Emeritus of History at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. El-Kati hosts a weekly public affairs radio show called “Reflections and Connections” on KMOJ radio in the Northside of Minneapolis. He also moderates a monthly viewing and discussion on various Black classic films at the Fourth Fridays at the Movies held at Golden Thyme Cafe in St. Paul.
Andrea Jenkins is a poet and writer living and working in the Twin Cities. She is currently employed by the Minneapolis City Council as a Senior Policy Aide. As an African American, Out Transgender Woman she has faced her share of significant challenges, however she continues to move on with grace, dignity, and pride. She has performed with Leslie Feinberg, Kate Bornstien and Minnie Bruce Pratt to name a few.
One of the reasons that Saint Paul has a snow emergency protocol different from that of Minneapolis is that so many of the cross streets in many parts of town do not have houses or other buildings with numbers on them. This means that knowing which side of the street is “the odd side” can be tricky. This is why I was a little surprised when, Thursday evening, the city told us that the odd side of streets is where we must park on many roadways in town until further notice—just like Minneapolis. This means many of us have to move our cars. To where? Well, since you asked, we have a few ideas this week.
A little over a week ago, I received a message from Kathy at Ginkgo Coffeehouseto let me know that Ellis Paul, who was scheduled to play two events there that Saturday, was snowed in—in Virginia! I resisted the urge to mock our southern neighbors for a lack of a heartiness that we fake so well. Our own storm arrived on Friday with its own spate of local cancellations and kvetching—naturally behind a façade of Minnesota Nice. We might have missed some cool events over the weekend, with a renewed reminder that winter is not over. Still, we can make up for what we missed with a lot of hot happenings this week.
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