As the real world continues to creep closer than nostalgic comfort, one might engage in the tendency to hide. We can pretend that the lines drawn on our geographies will keep us safe and sane, but our hearts have always been more porous than walls and fences. We can hide, or we can engage and shake the truths out of the confusion. Art helps.
This is that hard part of autumn for me, when all the baseball is done and the rain has knocked the leaves off the trees, still with their warm-colored hues, but helpless on the ground, maybe to be raked or swept up or maybe to wait for the snow blanket where they will sleep until it is time for baseball again.
Saint Paul Almanac is celebrating its newest publishing initiative, Impressions. Impressions provides yet another outlet for Saint Paul to tell its story in its own authentic voice where writers’ work will be posted on broadsides in the trains and buses of our city.
Each week, I share some great things to do in this great town. We have some great ways to connect with our neighbors and friends and what it means to be in Saint Paul. They are suggestions. It is great if you can do some of them, but sometimes life is just too busy. But there is one thing I really urge you to do if you live in Saint Paul on Tuesday. VOTE!
Last Friday the rain slowly crept its way into our autumn. Even though the street sweepers have made their rounds, out my front window the sign telling us not to park there is stuck in a ground littered with even more leaves than when it was first staked. Rain is knocking leaves from the trees faster than the turning calendar. That means it is time to get out and see the town before the season turns.
How many more Saint Paul authors will win literary prizes this year? Two weeks ago, we were talking about Julie Schumacher winning the Thurber Prize for American humor. Last week, Macalester College professor Marlon James won the Man Booker Prize.
There is no rest for the wonderful. The fall has been busy and maybe you think you need a break, but when you realize that Saint Paul is not sleepy enough, you might be willing to miss some rest yourself. The ball of culture keeps rolling this week with a ton of happenings in Saint Paul.
Autumn is my favorite time of year. (Did I already tell you that?) I have heard whisperings that I am not the only one who enjoys the season. A few of the leaves have begun their turn, and we have been blessed with sun shining through the crisp air. The festivals are winding down but not completely, and a lot of performance seasons are starting up.
Yogi Berra passed away last week. An amazing baseball player of unlikely physical stature and appearance, he proved his athleticism as the greatest of Yankee catchers and in the history of baseball.
This autumn, we are urging you to share your own words through the Saint Paul Sidewalk Poetry Contest. We are really asking your to use your words, or at least 250 of them, to create a piece of art to be installed on sidewalks around the city.
This autumn, we are urging you to share your own words through the Saint Paul Sidewalk Poetry Contest. We are really asking your to use your words, or at least 250 of them, to create a piece of art to be installed on sidewalks around the city.
Help us to SAVE OUR STORIES by supporting Saint Paul Almanac’s literary and visual artists, and filmmakers.
We need your contributions so we may continue our work. Thank you!