Poetry
Writers Speak Out: Power to the People
Writers Speak Out: People Have the Power was held at Wussow’s Concert Cafe on April 21. (more…)
Meet the Moment: Writers Speak Out
Meet the Moment: Writers Speak Out was held at Wussow’s Concert Cafe on Feb. 26. (more…)
Selective Focus: Tori Kaufman’s Visual Art
Wildlife biologist Tori Kaufman has drawn inspiration from her work outside and has curated a series of oil prints. Her exhibition at Wussow’s Concert Cafe features boat-inspired vignettes, sturgeon and other critters, and other subjects. The prints are on display through the end of January. Kaufman is also a participant in the local literary scene, putting together type-written poetry in zine-like formats. A sampling of her work and a recent interview are below. (more…)
Minnesota Poets — but who are the Duluthians?
I’ve been going through public library discards, looking for Duluth authors in the mix. (I teach a course in Minnesota authors that leans hard into Duluth authors.) (more…)
Selective Focus: Puppets and Poetry with Promontory Palace
Atlas posing at Studio Cafe with one of his puppet heads. Photo by Jess Morgan.
Since moving to Duluth from the South about two years ago, Atlas, or the artist behind Promontoy Palace, has been interweaving his solo artistic practice into local arts projects. His work can be found at the upcoming Dollhaus event, as well as an upcoming show in August at Studio Cafe. He utilizes puppets, poetry, paintings and ambient music to tell stories through a variety of mediums. To learn more about his current and upcoming work, check out the recent interview below. (more…)
Rag Mag: More Duluth Literary History Hunting
This post, also looking for resources and connections for my fall 2025 course in Minnesota Writers, has two asks. (more…)
Poets from Minnesota in ‘Black Flag’ — but were any of them from Duluth?
At the Duluth Public Library sale, it seems that the Minnesota Poetry collection was weeded, deaccessioned.
I think that’s a loss. (more…)
Writing Communities: The Writing Group at Sara’s Table
Calyx Books was a significant creative force in shaping poetic life in Duluth. These two pages, from a Calyx Press book discussed in the Duluth Budgeteer, are a kind of evidence of that impact, creating and manifesting literary community. (more…)
Selective Focus: Robert Wildwood’s Outdoor Poetry
Outside the Poetry Dome in Chester Park. (Photo by Jess Morgan)
Duluthians wandering through Hillside-neighborhood parks or using the bus may have stumbled upon one of Robert Wildwood’s poetry collections hanging from a tree, or in other precarious or magical places. Wildwood shares about his latest outdoor poetry display in the interview below. (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…)
All Souls Night Poetry
Below are photos from the Duluth All Souls Night poetry reading. The event was held at Studio 4 (formerly the Underground) at the Depot on Nov. 1. (more…)
Local poet talks absurdities with morning television audience
I love Henry’s taste in the quirky and just plain odd. All of that is made visible in this WDIO interview with the local poet, who offers to teach us to become Canada Gooses.
Park Point Land Grab
This Duluth News Tribune article talks about Kathy Cargill’s comments about Duluthians in the Wall St Journal.
Said a billionaire Heiress named Kathy
“The locals are yokels
Their houses are crappy”
No accounting for taste
She bulldozed in haste
And wonders why the neighbors aren’t happy
Poet Laureate Collection unveiled at UMD
The Twin Ports area has long been a literary center for Minnesota. Now, the history of the literary community in Duluth is open and available to researchers and readers alike in the Archives and Special Collections of the Kathryn A. Martin Library at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Poet Laureate Program is the heart of a collection of materials available to the public. (more…)
Chester Park has a new kind of tree: A poetree
“This book is offered in the form of a poetry chrysalis to encourage us to think about how we are a part of nature and how our actions cause change,” Wildwood wrote on the note. (Photo by Rob Wildwood via Facebook)
Picking a new summer book just got easier. Duluth writer Robert Wildwood has taken the free library idea to new heights, offering up copies of his latest book of poetry to the public in a novel way. This month, chrysalides of poetry appeared in Chester Park trees, and they are a gift for you. (more…)
Placemats as Time Capsule of Duluth Poetry
As part of the Duluth Poet Laureate collection being built at the University of Minnesota Duluth Kathryn A. Martin Library Archives & Special Collections, Sheila Packa donated some poetry placemats that were collected for use at an Empty Bowl event. (more…)
Sheila Packa on MPR
Sheila Packa was interviewed by Cathy Wurzer on Minnesota Public Radio. She asked her what poem made her want to become a poet.
Poetry Slam Dunk
On March 5, the Duluth Poetry Chapter, working with Caddy Shack Indoor Golf & Pub, hosted a Poetry Slam Dunk, a play on the usual open-mic format of a poetry slam. Poetry slams are typically held in bars, with the alcohol making the reading of poems less intimidating and the listening more relaxed, too. (more…)
A year of a poet laureate
I’ve been working with Bart Sutter to record the history of the poet laureate program in Duluth. Sutter was the first poet laureate, and the only author to win the Minnesota Book Award in three different categories. (more…)
Oral Histories of Poetry in Duluth
Bart Sutter has shared with me some of his important work as poet laureate. Below is a document from his collection, a partial transcript of a panel he organized. The panel set out to construct an oral history of poetry in Duluth.
I would love more info about the panel or about the clubs and organizations listed therein. (more…)
Call for Poems and Nonfiction Writing (Journals, Essays, etc.) about “What I Learned from a Travel Experience”
University of Minnesota Duluth students in Writing Studies 4200, “Writing and Cultures,” will edit a collection of creative writing (poems and nonfiction) about what can be learned from a travel experience. They are soliciting writings from everyone (students, alumni, and the broader community) on this topic for inclusion in the collection. (more…)
The Slice: Duluth Poet Laureates Reading 2022
A series of readings was held in October celebrating past poet laureates of Duluth and introducing the next generation of the city’s poets.
In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.
Bits of Bly: August Sun
The five-part series of clips from a 1997 Robert Bly interview from KUMD concludes with the poet reciting his poem “August Sun.”