BOOKS & AUTHORS
Nonfiction, Neoliberal Globalization, and Social Change
David Bacon spent 20 years as a factory worker and union organizer before becoming a photo journalist in the mid-80s. Since then, he has published numerous essays and photo essays documenting farm labor, immigration, and the impact of the global economy on workers. Bacon represents American working-class journalism at its finest, exposing stories seldom picked up by mainstream media. Tonight Bacon will be discussing a border that few North Americans know anything about — a working-class fight for survival on the unequal playing ground of NAFTA, where labor rights are often dishonored and where activists often end up blacklisted, jailed, or even desparecido (disappeared). Children of NAFTA: Labor Wars on the U.S./Mexico Border investigates the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement on those who labor in the agricultural fields and maquiladora factories on the border. And since union organizers are in fact the heroes in Bacon’s story, he will be joined this evening by Javier Morillo-Alicea, president of SEIU Local 26. (You’re likely to have heard of him as the organizer behind the recent janitors’ strike.)
7 p.m., Metropolitan State University/, Dayton’s Bluff Branch Library, Ecolab Room, 645 E. 7th St., St. Paul; 651-793-1699; free.
Choose Your Own Adventure
“Child of the ’80s that she is, when local writer and independent public-radio producer Heather McElhatton decided to write a book, she chose to resurrect the literary model made famous by Bantom Books’ classic Choose Your Own Adventure series. The result, Pretty Little Mistakes, is a novel with 150 endings to choose from, where adults can refuse marriage proposals, experiment with substances, and indulge their bi-curiosity.” Join The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library this evening to celebrate the book launch of McElhatton’s new novel. The program will include an introduction by Kevin Kling, a reading by McElhatton, guitar accompaniment by Robert Bell, and a reception of complimentary desserts, a cash bar, and book signing.
7 p.m., Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis; 612-630-6174; free.
Ink Runs from the Corners of My Mouth
The Carol Connolly Reading Series continues tonight with performances by poets Margaret Hasse and Richard Solly. Author of Stars Above, Stars Below, New Rivers Press and In A Sheep’s Eye, Darling, Margaret Hasse will be performing poems from her latest collection, Milk and Tides. Now a St. Paulite, Hasse works as a consultant to arts and community organizations. With three books to his credit, Richard Solly will read from his newest, From Where the Rivers Come, a gripping collection about loving and rising from the depths of illness and mere consciousness. Whew! That’s a mind-full.
7:30 p.m. (5 p.m. for dinner with reservations), University Club of St. Paul, 420 Summit Ave., St Paul; 651-222-1751; free (dinner not included).
Read “Boundaries” by Margaret Hasse.
Read “White Point, Nova Scotia” by Richard Solly.
MUSIC
It’s no secret that Branford Marsalis is playing tonight at the Dakota. In fact, the show is sold out. But great as Marsalis is, he’s not the only music in town. Irish singer/songwriter Damien Rice is playing a 7:30 p.m. show at Northrop Auditorium, and The Killers are playing at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium at 8 p.m. These are all good acts to catch, but again… no real secret there.
Classical String Instruments in Decidedly Nonclassical Projects
The hot musical secret of the night is the Ponytails & Ivory show at the 331 Club. Liz Draper, of Black Blondie fame, and Jonathan Kaiser, of Blackthorns fame, come together for an evening of double bass and cello duets. Ponytails & Ivory — a reference to the horsehair and ivory used to make the bow of a stringed instrument — gives the two string musicians a forum in which to play 100% improvised music. They never discuss any plans before they start playing; and no two performances are alike. Thus they are able to smoothly incorporate any influences that seem right on the spur of the moment — simple lyrical melodies, percussive rhythms, or even atmospheric sound experiments. Tonight’s show marks their third performance as a duo.
10 p.m., 331 Club, 331 13th Ave. NE, Minneapolis; free.
RAKING THE NET
Goings-on Around Town
Thanks to a hot new local blog full of great daily secrets, I got wind of JimmyOgraphy’s new video project. See what you’ve been missing around town.
Wondering how to spend the day at work?
Here’s some fun for you: the perfect time waster. Isn’t it beautiful?!
Have a secret to share? Send it to cristina@rakemag.com, and don’t be afraid to comment here, folks. This one-way interaction is getting a bit stale.
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