Local Art Seen: Minerva at the PRØVE

Friday evening the PROVE Collective hosted the 3rd Annual Zine Party at its gallery in Downtown Duluth. The event started at five and from the start the place was filling up with people who came out to celebrate the zine, hear music and listen to poetry.

Laura Gapske, cofounder of the zine, stated in her opening remarks that the aim of the publication is "women empowering other women." There is no censorship. Not all Minerva writers are feminists, but we "want to give voice to women."

There followed a series of women who read their work to a densely packed audience filling more than half the gallery. AF Bat opened with a challenging essay about labels which she titled "That's Not My Name."

"Take a brief moment to think about what we're called.... what we're called vs. what we call ourselves."

"Labels are how we connect to the people around us. Some we have control over, some we don’t. That’s the same for people who like us, and hate us. The people that want to identify and connect with us, and the ones that want to discard our chosen identities and overwrite our words with theirs, and twist our identity into something we don’t recognize, like the face of an angry friend."

"I am here tonight to discard a label. One that I don’t need, and never needed. I’m here to say that I am not a feminist."

She cited Sandra Day O'Connor's work in making legislation gender equal instead of favoring men. O'Connor did much for women but did not call herself by that label.

Ava (AF Bat) talked at length about a group of women trappers from Canada who live in the bush, doing what many consider men's jobs, one of them the leader of their group. After listening to their stories a being with them awhile she made some observations.

"Four themes resonated through their stories: equality, sustainability, partnership and accountability. In their culture, everyone is an equal until they stop producing an equal amount. There are no skills out in the bush that are labeled as gender specific. It was expected that each person was to pull his or her weight to accomplish a greater goal while leveraging their individual talents."

"The group rattled off adjectives to describe themselves: trapper, partner, other half, daughter, mother, Canadian. One referred to herself as ‘bushbunny’ (Her online avatar in trapping communities is a bunny on snowshoes, as she is speedy at cutting trails on snowshoes, and that is her talent on the trapline, as her husband has slowed down at his age.)

"After noticing that no one had used the word “feminist’ I asked if that was a word that they could identify with. One responded with “Never really thought of the word feminist. I mean there is a textbook definition. But I always just see equality. Because in the bush we are equals. “ Another responded with, “Why the need for a label? It's only a word not an identifier…You are you. That is your label!” One of the trappers, who hadn’t said a lot up until that point chimed in that she had never identified that way, and found that when other women used that label and corrected her, it made her feel as though her feelings on the matter were not important and they were taking away her right to describe herself. She made it abundantly clear that she was a trapper, first and foremost, who just so happened to be a woman, but an equal on the trapline and in her community."

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I noticed that many of the readers had nicknames, which were their pseudonyms in the zine. Red Flannel Hash, Cleta Rose, 2 Grass -- the names reminded me of the alter egos reflected in the names our local Roller Dames wore.

Jill Woman (Jeanne Jewell) presented next, opening with a provocative set of questions, and a painfully pointed observation: "What would like look like if you had never been abused? What if your mother had never been abused? What if your grandmother had never been abused? It would be different."

In another piece, Jill Woman shared how things went when her man left. "I did not try to find someone to take his place.... Instead, I found a woman's community."

Another observation she made hit home: "There's more to life than to just stay alive."

In a poem about abuse this couplet summed up another painful sentiment:

I guess we're the talk
all over town.
Why doesn't he see
he's only bringing himself down.

The walls were decorated with original pages from the zine, clipped like laundry on clotheslines the length of the wall. Artwork and thought-provoking ideas expressing, sometimes quietly and other times forcefully, a younger generation's "voice for women."

The fact that so many were present for the event said something. The ideas expressed did not have universal agreement, but here was a forum for women to speak and be heard. Are we going listen.

Duluth Writers Celebrate Their Authorship

David Beard, UMD professor of rhetoric.

Last night a group of authors with UMD Department of Writing Studies affiliations met at the Zeitgeist to share the joys of achievement. After a meal together in the cafe's upstairs back room, they reconvened in the Zeitgeist Atrium for a special program that included speakers and the sharing of treasures including the publication of Remnants of the Disappeared, Sea/Words, the new issue of the Split Rock Review, Clockwork Rhetoric, and many, many more. Professor David Beard served as master of ceremonies for this informal affair.

The mood was upbeat and speakers during the brief program included Terrance Griep, Ava Francesca Battocchio on behalf of Minerva Zine, and Kate Monson of PRØOF. Griep, aka Spider-Baby in pro wrestling circles, read an article he wrote for Lavender magazine as Spider-Baby, the first openly gay pro wrestler and also a former champion. His motto from the ring is, "Boo me for what I do, don't boo me for what I am." He plays the role of a "bad guy" in his wrestling persona but in real life is quite humorous. He noted that pro wrestlers are not exactly famous for being introspective or sensitive.

Prof. Beard next introduced Ava Francesca Battocchio, a longstanding contributor to Minerva who writes under the name 'afbat' "because even my own mother got sick of taking a breath between my compound Calabrese first name and Venetian last name. Despite it being a aesthetically pleasing on paper, it takes a lot of technological training to narrowly avoid typo tragedies."

Ava, a local clothing magnate (inside joke) has been an active participant and supporter of the arts. After apologizing for how loud she speaks (megaphone-strength vocals) she shared a personal story that showed the power of the written word.

Last winter, I published an article about being a survivor of sexual assault. It was the first time that I took back control and transitioned out of that victim role. I was nervous about telling my story but only for how it would alter others' perceptions of me. Shortly after its release, I was trudging my way down that street, and a woman stopped me. We were loose acquaintances, the kind with whom you huddle together for warmth during a smoke while talking about the endless cold weather. She told me that she had read my article and because of that, she was encouraged to report her sexual assault and seek counseling. I had no idea up until then that my voice could have such an impact. It solidified my decision to be a PAVSA advocate. Minerva is about community, expression and inspiration. We're looking for more voices, meaning contributors and more megaphones, meaning sponsors to help facilitate. Thank you to the University of Minnesota Arts and Humanities Grant, David Beard, Zeitgeist, and you, for attending.

Kate Monson of Prove Collective shared about their own publication PRØOF expressing appreciation for past contributors and future. The magazine will problem remain an online production as print costs have been exorbitant for the time being.

Afterwards the writers and friends circulated, looking at one another's works, and making new acquaintances. A rewarding event for everyone involved.

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For what it's worth I, too, had a new book to celebrate. Unremembered Histories went into print this spring after three years as an eBook. Within the coming weeks I hope to see my children's book A Remarkable Tale from the Land of Podd appear in print. This link will take you to all my current books and book projects.

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And don't forget tonight's opening reception at the Tweed. Resurfaced and Reformed: Evolution in Studio Ceramics will be a highlight of the season. 6-8 p.m. Music by the Deja Vu Drifters.