The Wake

“There’s no way we’re going to be able to do this, but we may as well try,” says Kori Gardner, speaking about herself and husband Jason Hammel’s decision to make a living as musicians. “Our initial plan was to try it for a year and be able to say that we did it … Now it’s like I can’t imagine going back.”Jason and Kori are the husband and wife indie rock duo Mates of State. Known by casual listeners as ‘that cute couple that has their own band,’ their music is actually something much more substantial. With Kori on keyboards …

Read more →

“Hey Jen, I’m Chris.” We were already on a nickname basis by the time I rushed, late as usual, into the coffee shop. I was there to interview the local band This World Fair. I introduced myself to the other guys in the band and pulled up a chair. I took out my painfully large tape recorder and set it in the middle of the table. The lead singer Chris is an industrial engineer by day, DJ (guitar) used to play hockey for a living, and George’s (bass) first band was called the Positive Brothers, which was a rap …

Read more →

What constitutes beauty in music varies in form and style from person to person. Inara George, an independent artist, says music can be like an, “amoeba.” She described her process as pulled through the motion of writing music, as she explained, “Whatever comes … latch on and go with it.” With this concept of music, she exhibits an openness that appeals to a creative atmosphere. When opening for Idlewild at First Avenue, she expressed many such feelings about her music, while promoting her latest album, All Rise. When I met her, there was an unquantifiable aspect of her …

Read more →

“Poetry is boned with ideas, nerved and blooded with emotions, all held together by the delicate, tough skin of words.” – Paul Engle “The fact is that poetry is not the books in the library . . . Poetry is the encounter of the reader with the book, the discovery of the book.” – Jorge Luis Borges“More than kisses, letters mingle souls.” – John Donne

My forte is …
My forte lives. MY, forte climbs higher than the crescendo and resonates as the fermata takes on delivery, force, and division. That’s my forte.Roman Victory Celebration:
Ovation: History an ancient Roman victory ceremony for a returning military hero: Ovation.

But the dark night accomplishes more
The love mislaid like sabotage, like only passion can.Ending significance, the moon winks on and
assumes the happy night, unaware. The savage inky sky wrote treason
there, blending promise and sacrifice.Woman is Mr. and Mrs.
Woman is Man, by default, tangled.Man is a flat table, a suitcase, a nightstand
Man is Mr., abbreviated, abridged.Of nothing unborn, their breasts like postage
stamps, clearly unwritten.Knowledge forewarned, like children’s
cunning. Dad’s footsteps and knocking:like slow poetry, spoken till the morning bleeds blue.
Mother bleeds because the moon watercolors the night.The white ink milks a …

Read more →

Contemporary Art in Conversation:
Elizabeth Alexander and Kerry James Marshall
Oct. 13, 7:00 p.m.
The Walker Art CenterThe poet Elizabeth Alexander and visual artist Kerry James Marshal come together to discuss the written and visual representation of contemporary African American culture. Alexander writes about African American figurative painting, while Marshal creates intense canvases depicting the history of African American life. James Kakalios
Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m.
University of Minnesota
Physics Building, Room 150Superheroes obey the rules of physics too, and in his book “The Physics of Superheroes,” James Kakalios writes about the physical rules behind beloved …

Read more →

remember
when you read these words
she loved me once
the only thing
that gets me by
when I’m feelin low
and can’t get high
she loved meBoy’s Restroom Door, Champlin Park High School
I wish I would
have dumped him
when he was mean
to me because now
he’s in love with me
and I can’t. Women’s Restroom Stale, Blegen Hall

Youconfuse expression & performance
I speak, I am pouring
Out that which was internalized.
I do not seek your applause out
Of excitement & thrill, rather
Hushed oohs & ahhs, of understanding
By free will.
I am not dancing for your convenience,
You a dull, monotonous room,
Crowded mis-interpretations you
Treat the brave voice, as a cheap
Juke box whatever rusty nickel
Found, popped in, you’re seated
Listening for that blaring sound.
Most muffled words you have not
Considered but tantalized by this
Rhythm & movement, coming closer
Off the edge of your seat to …

Read more →

Environmentally and politically conscious students gathered on Northrop Mall to eat fair trade bananas, cookies and chips Sept. 26 in celebration of MPIRG’s 35th Anniversary.The student group Minnesota Public Interest Research Group, MPIRG, had their first meeting of the semester following the celebration. MPIRG is a non-partisan, non-profit grassroots organization run entirely by students. Last semester MPIRG organized events including Take Back the Night, a river cleanup and concert, and a bike workshop. This semester, the group has three task forces: fair trade, environment and democracy. Nicole Yarbrough, leader of the fair …

Read more →

According to a recent study, depression seems to affect women with more prevalence than it affects men. But the real question is why?When discussing the phenomenon of increasing medicalization (the practice of immediately categorizing a problem as a disease, including natural processes such as birth and aging) cultural scholars deal with the classic chicken/egg dilemma. What drives medicalization: the advertising of drug companies or the long-held beliefs of doctors and patients? It’s impossible to ignore the real effects that the media – ads in particular — have on society. What then, has been the result of the ever-growing prevalence of …

Read more →

The number of empty civilian shoes was overwhelming, but my eyes were drawn to a tiny pair of worn-out snow boots with an attached nametag. A little girl playfully jumped over them, knocking them over. As she was carefully putting them back in place, I noticed that her shoes were about the same size. I stood speechless, ashamed more than ever of the Iraq war and tried to fight the tears.Shoes lined the “Path of Remembrance,” representing the lives of the thousands of Iraqi civilians who have been killed in the war so far. The path was part of the …

Read more →

Like many U students, I voted for the very first time last November. While I had felt strongly about the outcome of the election, the actual voting experience didn’t strike me as particularly memorable. I went with a few friends, we waited in line, and I penciled in that little circle and handed over my ballot. But while some of us campaign for our preferred candidate and fret over the results, it’s easy to take the most important thing for granted – voting itself. At a time when registering to vote is so easy and encouraged that last fall a …

Read more →

Autumn comes in cycles: cold, warm, windy, cold, hot, cool, cold. This cyclical nature strikes me as I hop off my bike, sweat running down my forehead. Wasn’t yesterday chilly? This sucks.I lock my bike up and walk into Taraccino Coffee off Hennepin and University. I’m supposed to meet John Gaede here and interview him about the Twin Cities marathon. I walk to the front counter; two attractive women are waiting for my order.“What can I get you?” a tall, twenty-something with long-brown hair asks.“Actually,” I say softly, “I’m here to meet John for an interview.”“Oh, he’s in a meeting. …

Read more →

This fall season the Minnesota sports world has seen a dismal end to the Twins recent playoff streak, a disconcerting start to the Vikings’ season and the annual encouraging start and eventual falter of the Gophers’ football season. However, one program that’s been consistently strong⎯but not nearly as recognized⎯is Minnesota Gophers’ volleyball.Led by Head Coach Mike Hebert, the Minnesota volleyball program has becomea national power in recent years. Entering his 10th season here, Hebert brought the Gophers out of obscurity and into the national spotlight, leading the team to its first Big Ten Championship, Final Four and national championship appearances.Hebert …

Read more →