Several artists who shall remain nameless wrote to complain that they had not been included in last month’s cover story about hot Minnesota art stars [“Making It”]. We normally love to namedrop and logroll terrific overlooked artists, but we’re looking after you here, folks. Take our word for it: There is no elegant way to … Read more
CJ Kurth writes: This picture was taken on the campus of Peking University in Beijing, China. My coworker who was showing me around said I should take a picture here as it is a very famous lake in China and that most Chinese would recognize the location. The tower seemed like a perfect backdrop. I … Read more
Twin Citizens Desi Fernandez and Laine Bergeson traveled eight thousand miles (a twenty-eight hour flight; good thing they brought a copy of The Rake!) to visit former Twin Citizens Jennifer, Grady, and Linda Jean Kenix in New Zealand. Here they are in Kaiteriteri enjoying springtime in December. How come they’re not upside down? Author(s) and … Read more
Marcia Gardner (Minnetonka) and Colin Fenwick (Shorewood) write: Hello! The Rake was with us as we traveled and worked as part of a Global Volunteers team in Mexico about a year ago. Here we are in a park in the town of Victoria, in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. Author(s) and Location: Marcia Gardner
Cheryl writes: Smugglers Cove is the perfect place to surf. So we read an article from The Rake to local and visiting surfers on the beach. We wanted to show them our creativity even though we were frozen for almost six months a year. Of course, that’s probably why we stay young looking too! From … Read more
Game Night at the American Language Center in Damascus is an eagerly anticipated annual event. Each classroom offers a different game, with a volunteer to explain the rules, supervise play, and arbitrate potential disputes. A day before the event, my co-worker Tanisha informed me that I’d be presiding over the board games Risk and Monopoly. … Read more
Hugh Bennewitz’s Vulcans feature was hilarious [Back Page, February]. I do feel, though, that the piece left some questions unanswered. First, are there twelve-step groups for survivors of Vulcan assaults? It seems to me there would have to be, and that their intergalactic numbers would be huge. Second, is there a twelve-step group for recovering … Read more
Thanks so much for your recent tribute to Richard Pryor, “In Memory of Richard Pryor” [Free the Jackson Five, January]. From the moment I first heard Richard in the early seventies, I knew I was listening to comic genius. I had never laughed so long or so hard before I listened to Richard. He could … Read more
Jennifer Vogel reportedly drove across North Dakota in writing her article, “No. 1 Hard: Notes on the emptying of North Dakota” [February]. Was she just looking for images and people to interview who would capture her predetermined story about North Dakota? Or was she looking to write about the economics that are actually at play … Read more
As somebody who endured five years in North Dakota, which felt more like twenty-five, I relished your article about the state’s ongoing economic desperation and youth outmigration issues. Well, “youth outmigration” is a polite term for anybody young and smart leaving the state in any kind of vehicle that will run just as quick as … Read more