Author: rakemag

Don’t let the title fool you: This show based around animal imagery is, if anything, more cryptic than cute. Among its nine artists are the eccentrically folky Juliette Oken, a local; New York-based Larissa Bates, whose mythological landscapes are, according to one art magazine, selling as fast as she can make them; Robert Marbury of Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists fame, who creates funny and frightening beasts from old stuffed animals; and Mark Hosford, who makes prints and drawings and also oversees the International Museum of Dog Food. 2640 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-871-2263; www.soovac.org

Dropping out of school at age thirteen would seem not to set a young woman up for a life in letters, but more than sixty books later, Doris Lessing has the last laugh at the vicious nuns and finishing-school marms who made her formal education such a drag. A self-made and wickedly sharp intellect with an unrestricted imagination, Lessing has lived in several countries (including South Africa, which exiled her for her political views), been observant witness to the twentieth century’s most pivotal political and social moments, and defied in her work and life the prescribed behavior for women of her generation. In Time Bites, her first collection of essays, she explores with typical precision and wit a huge range of topics, including Sufism, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, American isolationism, and the imagined sex life of Leo Tolstoy. At eighty-six, Lessing remains a vital force in literature, and she’s not planning on retiring anytime soon.

Windy but precise, laden with words that have no life outside the dictionary, and generously slathered with footnotes, David Foster Wallace has achieved acclaim for a kind of writing style seldom seen outside of graduate English programs. Of course, it also helps that his essays for Harper’s, the New Yorker, the Atlantic Monthly and other magazines are deeply informative and surprisingly engaging. Another part of their appeal lies in his willingness to observe himself as an awkward outsider in all-American settings such as a state fair or a cruise ship, with results that are often hilarious. This new book brings together Wallace’s ventures into weird, new landscapes from the last few years, including a lobster festival and a booth with a conservative radio talk show host.

Hero or rascal? Liberal threat or viable candidate? Could Al Franken be our next senator, really? Well, he can certainly charm his way across a room full of snakes, but when it comes right down to it, the guy can’t even pretend to be moderate about anything. Then again, neither can the folks in charge in Washington these days. And when you think about it, how big is the step from actor politicians to comedian politicians? At the very least, we’d like to see somebody brave a debate with this consummately funny, well-spoken, well-informed, and occasionally visionary fellow. Franken’s latest book, The Truth (With Jokes), further evidences his knack for using humor to turn political discourse on its ear. And while someone will inevitably show up at this reading with a debate in mind, we’re going just for laughs. 3225 69th St. W., Edina; 952-920-0633

At a preview for Brokeback Mountain, women throughout the audience gasped with pleasure when cowboys played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger started a fond embrace. Was this going to be a Mulholland Drive for ladies? Or simply a gay Western? Neither label will suffice, but this tale of a love affair between a ranch hand and a rodeo cowboy, and their subsequent attempts to forge a life together and apart, is a perfect match for Ang Lee. The director fully commits to his characters, refusing to paint them into any predetermined corners, allowing their stories to unfold gracefully, passionately, and toward not-so-inevitable climaxes. Larry McMurtry adapted the screenplay from a stunning story by Pulitzer Prize winner E. Annie Proulx, originally published in the New Yorker. 612-375-7600; www.walkerart.org

Along with The Passenger<,/i> here’s another seventies-vintage Italian film being feted with an anniversary re-release. Why spend eight bucks to see this one on the big screen? Well, when it’s a lush noir masterpiece that influenced everything from The Godfather triology to Reservoir Dogs, and was written by Marxists against fascism yet resonates with fresh meaning today, and is considered among the most beautiful films of all time; what more do you want? The new King Kong? Bernardo Bertolucci succeeded in spite of–or because of–a terribly limited budget, relying on stunning camerawork and odd lighting and costume design to help reflect the conflicting emotions of the film’s somber protagonist, a desperate young man in an Italy gone insane under Mussolini. Once he is recruited by the fascists to murder a beloved former professor, this film starts clicking on every level: as a political thriller, a feast for the eyes, even as a primer to the history of cinema (countless films have aspired to its stylish look). 612-825-6006; www.landmarktheatres.com