Patricia Kirkpatrick, Tish Jones, and Shá Cage: A wealth of poetry

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Last night Parthenia and I made the rounds of poetry readings. We couldn’t stay but wouldn’t miss a stop at Open Book to congratulate Patricia Kirkpatrick, winner of the first annual Lindquist & Vennum Prize for Poetry. Patricia read from her new collection of poems, “Odessa,” published by Milkweed Editions. Poetry is nice, but Parthenia and I both noticed great shoes in the crowd, especially Patricia’s soft, suede flats with ankle straps and daughter Simone’s shiny golden heels–stand-outs with black tights. Continue Reading

Dakota Commemorative March: Retracing 150 miles of forced march at end of Dakota-U.S. War

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On an unseasonably warm November Saturday, participants in the 2012 Dakota Commemorative Walk traveled from their lunch stop at the Treaty Site History Center, just north of St. Peter, toward Henderson. The grass at the side of Highway 169 was drained of color, dry and crunchy underfoot. A steady hum of traffic shot by the procession of marchers and slow moving cars on one side while the Minnesota River was visible on the other. On the horizon, bare branches of oak and cottonwood trees stood out against blue sky.The Dakota Commemorative Walk remembers and honors the 1,700 Dakota women, children and elders who were forcibly marched 150 miles by U.S. military troops from the site of the present-day town of Morton to Fort Snelling. Continue Reading

Twin Cities youth activists respond to self-immolations in Tibet

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In June, in the township of Dzatoe (in Chinese, Zaduo) on the Himalayan plateau, two young men, ages 22 and 24, set themselves on fire. Tenzin Khedup is reported to have died within minutes. Ngawang Norphel was badly burned and is in the hospital. The township is nearly twelve thousand miles from the Twin Cities in the Yushul Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, an area known for its rugged and remote nature. It is home to the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve, where the headwaters of the Yangtze, the Yellow and the Mekong Rivers are found in the high Himalayan plateau.When news about self-immolations reaches the Twin Cities, it reaches the second largest community of Tibetans in North America. Continue Reading