Professor Edward Goetz believes residents have the right to remain in their communities; therefore, he opposes the demolition of public housing.“These very affordable units are a precious resource at a time when 6 million people in this country face what the government calls ‘worst case housing needs’. We need to preserve these units and the deep subsidies they provide. In those cases where they need to be modernized or rehabilitated, they should be (rather than being torn down and completely lost),” Goetz said at a March 26 book launch for his New Deal Ruins. The event, at the University of Minnesota, also featured St. Paul Housing Agency Executive Director Jon Gutzmann.In New Deal Ruins, Goetz writes about large scale demolition of public housing and his philosophy on public housing. Goetz’s interest in the issue of public housing started with the Hollman consent decree in Minneapolis. The decree, signed in 1995, committed about $100 million for the redevelopment of close to 1000 units on the north side of Minneapolis near downtown.He conducted a study in which he examined the effect the demolition had on the families displaced and what happened to the site. Continue Reading
Since March 18, Cracked Walnut has been presenting 20 literary readings across the metro area, and one reading in Duluth. These readings feature a mixture of over 50 poets and prose artists. The series will conclude on April 12 at Cafe Bene in St. Paul.Cracked Walnut founder Satish Jayaraj started the program as a means of bringing literary readings into unusual locations within different communities. In the past, they’ve presented readings in a funeral parlor, a grocery store, and a public park. Continue Reading
If you’re working for or with a small or mid-sized arts organization and you’ve been looking for funding to make your programming more accessible to underserved audiences, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) wants to hear from you.The NEA’s Challenge America Fast Track (CAFT) program offers $10,000 grants to organizations reaching out to underserved populations: “those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability.” The fine print: the grant must be matched with the same amount from other sources.Examples of projects that have received CAFT grants in the past include “a multidisciplinary piece incorporating South Indian classical (Carnatic) and Chinese music traditions” (API Cultural Center in Oakland, California); “a multidisciplinary series of performances, film screenings, and workshops” (Sociedad Latina in Roxbury, Massachusetts); and the New York Arab and South Asian Film Festival.More information is available at the NEA’s website; an April 3 webinar is recommended for organizations interested in applying. The application deadline is May 23. Continue Reading
There once was a woman named Ka Vang who had hair like polished black granite and a love for stories and many things Hmong.And so she wrote a story in the Hmong folk tale tradition about a dragon and a little Hmong girl who grew up in a place called Frogtown in St. Paul, a launching point for generations of immigrants.Only, unlike the folk tales her mother told her as a child, Vang’s story not only celebrates her heritage, but also may help toward bridging the academic achievement gap between Caucasians and children of color.Recruiting authors and illustrators to create culturally relevant books to keep children reading is the idea behind the Reading Together Book Project spearheaded by the Minnesota Humanities Center and the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans and supported by Minnesota taxpayers through the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.Community Sketchbook focuses on the economic and social challenges facing communities, especially low-income communities and communities of color, and how people are trying to address them.It is made possible by support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Minneapolis Foundation, and some Minneapolis Foundation donor advisors.Community Sketchbook articles may be republished or distributed, in print or online, with credit to MinnPost and the foundations.Thanks to that program, author Vang paired up with book illustrator Aimee Hagerty Johnson to produce “Shoua and the Northern Lights Dragon,’’ a chapter book geared for third grade and older children. So did May Lee Yang, who wrote “The Imaginary Day,’’ which was illustrated by Anne Sawyer-Aitch.“If people see themselves reflected in a book or movies or music, they’re more engaged,’’ says Vang in explaining why she wrote her story about a little Hmong-American girl who — not unlike its author – struggles to preserve her heritage yet yearns to rise above traditional gender roles in the Hmong culture.Engaging childrenThe more engaged children are, Vang continues, the more they read and the better readers they become. We all know how important reading is to learning.The 2012 literature project, which resulted in the publication of 1,700 soft-cover books of each title, was designed to reflect the culture, heritage and pride of Asian Pacific Minnesotans, explains Casey DeMarais, director of programs at the Minnesota Humanities Center. The books were donated to elementary school classrooms earlier this year, but copies are available print on demand through Lulu for about $5 a copy.The winning writers and illustrators for the 2013 Reading Together Project will be announced soon. Continue Reading
More open doors to learning – and endless armchair meanderings – from Special Collections at the Minneapolis Central Library. I know because I have been lost for far too long now in the digital collection of Minneapolis City Directories, now accessible online covering the years 1858-1917. The collection is accessible remotely, free of charge, no library card necessary. Continue Reading
So I got a Facebook invitation, and the title of the invitation was “Sex at Dawn at Dawn.” Not knowing that there was a popular science book with that title, I read with curiosity the rest of what the invitation said.“Reading Outloud from the book people have been talking about (but I haven’t read yet), having some breakfast, getting ready to meet the day.” The event was to take place at 7 a.m. each morning for a week, and it was to take place at the following address: “Tree Bed at John and Nancy’s place,” followed by the home address of Bedlam Theatre executive director John Bueche and his girlfriend, Nancy Waldoch.After figuring out, through later posts, that what the event would entail was a reading of this popular book on John and Nancy’s bed in their apartment, and that certain people would be assigned readers, and that breakfast would be served, I thought it was too strange an opportunity to pass up.I signed to up to be a reader on March 22, which was the last scheduled day, and I arrived at 6:50 a.m. The invitation had said that “doors” were open at 6:30, but I figured if I got there ten minutes early, that would be enough time to have some coffee and whatever breakfast there was before it started. I also brought with me the ingredients for mimosas, by way of contribution.The lights were off in the house, and no one answered the door at first. When, after the second ring, Bueche opened the door, it was clear to me that I had woken them up. Panic set in that I was the only person who showed up, but he reassured me that everyone else was just late. “The start time has gotten more relaxed as the week has progressed,” he said.A little while later the next two guests arrived: a young theater person named Chris Garza and another person, who apparently saw the event listed on a local neighborhood forum. By this time, Bueche and Nancy seemed to be starting on breakfast. Continue Reading
When you’re looking for the online voice of the Lao American community, you don’t often see many of us regularly writing, considering there are over 200,000 Lao in Continue Reading
I may have written what follows before. Mulling is like that. And I’m not going back over my old posts. Life is too short to reread what I have previously written. Continue Reading
Diane Wilson is a Minnesota author and Mdewakanton descendant. Her first book, “Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past,” retraces her family’s Dakota heritage across five generations and won a 2006 Minnesota Book Award. Her second book is “Beloved Child: A Dakota Way of Life.” Wilson is also the executive director of Dream of Wild Health, a Native-owned farm in Hugo, Minn., whose dream is to help American Indian people reclaim their physical, spiritual and mental health.She spoke with the Women’s Press about how we get to a place of peace-or not; the consequences of war and genocide; and the stories that are told.Minnesota Women’s Press: Where are the voices of Native people in the public discussions surrounding the 150th anniversary of the U.S.-Dakota War??Diane Wilson: What has been important in the discussion was to hear a Dakota perspective on historical events rather than a non-Native filter.I ask: Is it a Dakota person telling the story? What is their cultural background? Continue Reading
Construction of the $12 million new Walker Library at Lagoon and Hennepin seems to be right on schedule. The Hennepin County Library System says, “We’re looking forward to re-opening the library in mid-2014.”Demolition of the old building was completed just last month. That building, with its iconic “LIBRARY” letters echoing “HOLLYWOOD” in Beverly Hills, had its two major floors underground. In 1981 that seemed like a brilliant idea to conserve energy. Unfortunately, two problems resulted from that design decision: Water seeped in and patrons were not thrilled about going into a sub-subbasement to look for a book. Continue Reading
