Reconstructing the Poetry History of the Arrowhead: Meda Casler and Edith Addison Thomas
I am reconstructing the Poetry History of the Arrowhead as I prepare to teach my Minnesota Writers class. Today, I want to ask you whether you know anything about Meda Casler or Edith Addison Thomas. (more…)
What Does William S. Burroughs Owe Djuna Barnes?
A lot of William S. Burroughs kind of sounds like Djuna Barnes. The prime example: Barnes created the character Doctor Matthew O’Connor in her 1936 novel Nightwood, and Dr. O’Connor could easily be confused with the 1938 Burroughs character, Dr. Benway (no first name). Each fictional physician is a comically amoral addict abortionist. I think it’s likely Burroughs created Dr. Benway within a year of reading Nightwood. Burroughs owes Barnes a debt of inspiration, and not just in the creation of Benway — many of his other characters could also be walk-ons in Nightwood, fitting in well among Barnes’ cast of liars, pretenders, and cheats. So it’s safe to say Barnes influenced the characters Burroughs created. I will also show her influence on his voice, style, and themes.
Since the 1980s, a Burroughs blurb appears on the back of every Nightwood edition, saying in its entirety, “I read Nightwood back in the 1930s and was very taken with it. I consider it one of the great books of the twentieth century.” That’s all he ever said about it; it says it all. It is commonly acknowledged that he admired her work, but I think Barnes had a larger influence. I think Burroughs took what he learned from Nightwood and then, in 1959, he wrote the actual number-one greatest book of the twentieth century, Naked Lunch. Barnes’ influence is found there, and throughout Burroughs’ work. (more…)
My heart is on fire for this lost Duluth poet
Elvira T. Johnson was a leader among poets. As I reconstruct the history of the Arrowhead in poets, she seems to be a voice I need to reconstruct. (more…)
Denfeld Lip Dub 2025: “Crazy in Love”
Denfeld High School students marked the end of another school year by releasing the traditional lip-syncing video. This year’s production is set to Beyoncé’s 2003 hit song “Crazy in Love.” It was edited by Denfeld sophomore Tamia Bowles.
Literary History of Duluth: Helen Jenswold Dahle
Google tells me John “Jack” Dahle was “born in Duluth, Minnesota, to Minnesota State Senator Clarence Arthur and Helen Jenswold Dahle.” But I have no idea who Helen Jenswold Dahle is. Does anyone else have any ideas? As I build a literary history of Duluth, I am missing information about this author. (more…)
Selective Focus: Alex (Alby) Breilein’s Family Portraits
Inspired by time spent sifting through family albums, Alex (Alby) Breilein creates photo-drawing collages from old photographs. The drawings are from snapshots taken before Breilein was born or formed memories. “I never knew them, yet they are a part of me,” she says of her grandparents’ pictures. Her artwork can be viewed at Wussow’s Concert Cafe throughout the month of June. Below is a recent interview with Breilein, as well as photos taken at her recent exhibit at Hemlocks Leatherworks: (more…)
Essentia Health campus vs. a panel from ‘Ronin’
Essentia Health campus in Duluth on Aug. 4, 2022. Steve Kuchera / Duluth News Tribune
Panel from Frank Miller’s “Ronin” as shown in the Comics Journal.
In the graphic novel Ronin, by Frank Miller, an AI named Virgo grows its organic technology over and through a dystopian New York City. As the story progresses, the city completely transforms. I wondered if I could find a photo of the expanding hospital complex that matched this comic panel.
Duluth Literary History
As I prep to teach a Minnesota Writers class again this fall, I am working through little resources and breadcrumb trails.
William A. Sommers has been subject to my writing here before. Here is his page from Minnesota Landscapes. I wonder if anyone has a story to tell? (more…)
Looking for Minnesota Authors: Dorothy Bladin Hill and Ruth Slonim
Minnesota Landscapes, the book published by the League of Minnesota Poets, has a number of Duluth authors I don’t know and want to know more about.
Dorothy Bladin Hill has a vertical file record at the Duluth Public Library — I gotta check that out. Bladin Hill was also an author of the Big Book of Christmas Entertainments. What other stories might anyone share that might ignite my students’ passion? (more…)
James G – “Birds”
JamesG‘s latest video finds him in an absurd bird situation.
Grandma’s Marathon 2024 Double: Bad Grandmas
Eric Strand has been running what he calls the “Grandma’s Marathon Double” since 2012. The concept is simple: start at the marathon finish line, run to the starting line, then turn around and run the regular marathon. Strand’s crew in 2024 included Dusty Olson, who Strand refers to as “the OG Grandma’s Marathon Doubler.”
Duluth Deep Dive #5: The Life and Times of William Sheldon Storer, Early Duluth Dentist
Dr. Storer came to Duluth from New York in 1893, where he set up practice as a local dentist. This post uses the Duluth Herald archives to recount notable events from his life, including his legal battle with Dr. Laird’s Travelling Medicine Show, his second marriage to a locally renowned German dietitian, and his role in what the original Duluth Rip-saw referred to as the “worst war in the glorious history of Lester Park.” (more…)
‘Minnesota Skyline’ and the history of local literature
The League of Minnesota Poets once published an anthology that was loaded with Twin Ports poets and topics. Minnesota Skyline was printed in twelve editions, 20,000 copies.
I’m curious about the authors within, including Luella Bender Carr. (more…)
To Tell the Truth: Mayor Johnson and Mr. Magoo
Duluth Mayor George D. Johnson appeared on the CBS-TV show To Tell the Truth in an episode that aired May 31, 1965 — 60 years ago today. Mayor Johnson was the second of three characters/contestants introduced on the show. The concept of To Tell the Truth is that each character is accompanied by two imposters, and the three of them answer questions from a panel of celebrities who then try to guess which of the three is the authentic person. (more…)
Ian Alexy – “There is a Light”
Ian Alexy has a new two-track digital release featuring the songs “There is a Light” and “Shivers Up the Spine ’24.” (more…)
New loan program designed to save historic Duluth buildings
Demolition of the former Pastoret Terrace on First Street and Second Avenue East has led to a new city fund supporting historic downtown Duluth building preservation.
Historic downtown Duluth buildings are now eligible for city-funded improvement loans after a legal battle over a fire-damaged-but-treasured 19th century townhouse demolition established the assistance program.
The city of Duluth recently added a $1.4 million Historic Fund to its long-running economic development initiative known as the 1200 Fund. To launch the new project, the city plans to make $400,000 in low-interest, partially forgivable loans to historic building owners for property work in 2025. The application process opened May 5. (more…)
The Buckthorn Crusader of Lakeview Park
The eastern stretches of Lakeview Park with an abundant mature buckthorn jungle.
After an hour or two of relentlessly battling buckthorn, you may sit to rest and close your eyes for a moment. If you do this, you’re likely to see pokey spear-like shapes in your closed-eye vision.
In my eight-year quest to de-buckthorn a particular unknown Duluth park, I have come to know this particular plant quite well. And in my obsessive need to destroy it, I believe it has come to know me. I even joined a city-organized and backed volunteer group dedicated to destroying every last seed and stem of non-native explosive-growth monster plants. (more…)
Celebrating frontline workers in housing and food insecurity through art at UMD
Too often, the frontline workers in housing and food insecurity go unnoticed in our region. Some of my students (and students of Adam Pine) interviewed some of these unsung heroes. Then, local artists Nelle Rhicard and Maryam Khaleghi Yazdi turned their insights into art — transformed, really, their insights into art. (more…)
Alan Sparhawk – “Get Still”
Alan Sparhawk‘s second solo album, With Trampled by Turtles, releases Friday. The video for “Get Still” was directed by Ingrid Weise and edited by Alexa Viscius.
Selective Focus: Run, Smelt, Run! Parade 2025
Select Instagram images from Magic Smelt Puppet Troupe‘s annual smelt-themed second-line parade. (more…)
Disturbing lack of ‘ope’ etiquette roils Duluth community
Midwesterner Arrested For Squeezing Past Someone Without Saying 'Ope!' | Babylon Bee
DULUTH, MN — Local midwestern man Dave Netters was arrested for squeezing past someone at a grocery store without saying the obligatory "Ope!"
babylonbee.com
Duluth has once again popped up as a dateline in The Babylon Bee, a satirical news website. The story reports that “Dave Netters was arrested for squeezing past someone at a grocery store without saying the obligatory ‘Ope!'” The story concludes by noting “Netters had pleaded not guilty on account of being from Missouri.”
Postcard from the Moonlight Over Lake Superior
This postcard, unmailed and undated, shows Downtown Duluth at night, circa perhaps the 1930s.
PDD Quiz: May 2025
Get your brain in gear with this week’s PDD quiz, which reviews May 2025 headlines and happenings!
The next PDD quiz, in honor of Father’s Day, will be published on June 15. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at alisonlinnaemoffat@gmail.com by June 7. (more…)
Here’s the latest lynx footage from Voyageurs National Park
[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]
The Voyageurs Wolf Project has more than 350 trail cameras set up within in Voyageurs National Park, about 100 miles north of Duluth. Though the project is focused on understanding the summer ecology of wolves in the park, the cameras record all kinds of wildlife throughout the year. Lynx sightings are somewhat rare, and footage this good is truly rare.
To support the Voyageurs Wolf Project’s spring fundraising project, visit crowdfund.umn.edu.
Big Into – “Behind the Veil” (Remix by MidiEvil)
Beat master MidiEvil lends his prowess to Big Into as they battle the Worst Company L.L.C.