In a world without Paul Wellstone, Gilb is that much more of a treasure. Having written two acclaimed story collections and a novel, he is back with a potent series of thirty-six essays, Gritos. A quote from one, a brief tribute titled Steinbeck, tells you where he’s coming from: “The literary world is a powerful … Read more
Chang acquired quite an illustrious reputation with Hunger, her first collection of stories. Now she’s exceeded the expectations generated by that book with her first novel, Inheritance, a multi-generational saga that follows the Wang family through the twentieth century, from imperial China to modern America. At one point, Chanyi, “old” at thirty-four and part of … Read more
Our good friend Webster defines the book primarily as “a set of written sheets of skin or paper, bound together in a volume” or “a long written or printed literary composition.” Its secondary (and, we feel, more progressive) definition is “something that yields knowledge or understanding.” The selections from Walker Art Center’s library on display … Read more
Hard to believe it’s been five years since Franklin Art Works, the little art gallery that could, added a new chapter to the life of a vaudeville theater-turned-porn multiplex. Now, of course, it’s a sleek yet simple space exhibiting work from both local and national artists, many of whom probably wouldn’t otherwise be shown in … Read more
Artists of all stripes have turned the MIA’s gallery devoted to Minnesota artists into a ground zero for political propaganda. Sweeping, populist, and endearingly shaggy, the exhibit has more in common with the bulletin boards on college campuses or at community centers than with the remote atmosphere of your average art gallery. Through an ongoing … Read more
Mars’s newest paintings address the demons of mental illness, yet they dig through the ugliness to find something beautiful within. That is, they achieve the feat of being simultaneously repellent and alluring: His depictions of monsters are horrific on the surface, but rendered in such rich detail and glowing colors that their humanity cannot be … Read more
THE CASE AGAINST BIRTH CONTROLIt’s 5:30 a.m. Husband snoring away. Dog in my lap. Nice quiet time for reading The Rake. I howled at your column [Sex & the Married Man, October]. At fifty-plus years old, I identified with every word. This liberally raised, nontraditional Catholic encourages couples who do not want children, not to do … Read more
Far be it from me to question the wisdom of Mother Angelica, but why does her Eternal Word Television Network exile its hottest property to the small-screen Aleutians of Saturday afternoon? With a roster of repeats and retreads trying to fill up a twenty-four-hour cable schedule, EWTN leaves only disoccupied weekenders to savor G.K. Chesterton: … Read more
Other countries’ politics are always a mystery. Of course, it helps to know some history. Then you can at least ask how they got here from there, rather than merely measure how different they are from us, how they fail to meet our highest standards of democracy, feminism, etc. But even disinterested interest is sometimes … Read more
They came out of nowhere. Or so it seemed to those of us who think we’re hip to the Twin Cities’ dance scene. They surfaced—or maybe the better word is “erupted”—last November at Choreographers’ Evening, Walker Art Center’s annual smorgasbord of classic, offbeat, up-and-coming, or just plain zany talent. Ten Foot Five caused a commotion … Read more