Seven Reminders and a Few Comments About the Poetry Scene

Relatively early in life we discover that memory is not a perfect entity. Consequently we develop systems for reminding ourselves to do thing like take out the garbage or lock the doors, or maybe to member the phone charger when we go on the road.

I'm not sure how many people tie a string on their finger, but I've known people who did that. I myself make lists. I also wake in the night and write things down that I think of and fear I'll forget in the morning. Post-It notes on the bathroom mirror have proven exceedingly useful.

Business software today would be incomplete without its calendars and reminders. I can't imagine how many meetings I would have missed had I not had that pop-up appear to remind me of the meeting in fifteen minutes.

Here are a couple reminders for Visual Arts Week, followed by some remarks about the amazing resurgence of poetry here in the Twin Ports.

1. For a fairly comprehensive (but not wholly complete) calendar of arts events, be sure to Bookmark the Duluth Art Institute page dedicated to Visual Arts Week.

2. Today would be a Good Day to Visit the Tweed Museum at UMD.

3.Tomorrow is the Superior Gallery Hop on Broadway Street, featuring the Phantom Galleries Superior, but also the Red Mug, North End Arts Gallery and the Mud Sisters. The Superior arts scene has been blossoming nicely.

4. Thursday, classic pianist Eric Himy (hee-mee) will be in our neck of the woods, performing at the historic Oldenburg House. This will be an unforgettable evening of music in a striking setting.

5. Thursday there will also be openings at the Duluth Art Institute (David Moreira) and the Duluth Photography Institute.

6. Then there's Friday. So much going on I will probably address it Thursday.

7. Other events of note coming up include Scarlet Rivera's return to Weber Hall next week along with Gene LaFond and Courtney Yasmineh to kick off the 2013 North Country Dylan Celebration.

The Twin Ports Poetry Scene

I remember the year when I first noticed, really noticed, the early blossoming of spring, the rich green of new leaves bursting from their buds after a grey winter. I wondered how I'd never really noticed this before. It happens every spring, but kids growing up are pretty much pre-occupied with other things and simply don't notice what's happening around them as they worry about fitting in, or how their favorite baseball team is doing.

I say all this because I find the Twin Ports Poetry Scene to be flourishing in ways I'd never noticed before. Like my personal revelation of spring's splendor as a young adult or late teen, I hesitate to say here that this is something new. It may have been going on all along and I simply hadn't noticed.

All this to say that tonight there's an Open Mic Poetry Reading at the Pineapple Arts on First Street from 7 - 9 p.m. tonight. And, for the first time there will also be poetry readings as part of Dylan Fest, week from this Saturday, at the Zeitgeist Arts Atrium, led by last year's Duluth Poet Laureate Sheila Packa. You are cordially invited to both these events. At Pineapple Arts tonight you may also share a song you've written. It's a grass roots creative celebration. It's North X North.