You Must Read This

[Susannah Schouweiler]

From time to time, as the mood strikes, I'll try to point you toward some of my favorite recently published essays and articles on the site.

[Susannah Schouweiler]

If you didn't catch Andy Sturdevant's brilliant piece last week, you simply must take a few moments to read it. It's an ingenious mix of 70s and 80s nostalgia and wry art world satire; it's also further evidence of Andy's distinct flavor of writerly genius.

"Farm Accident: A Secret History"

[Susannah Schouweiler]

Jaime Kleiman wrote a wonderful preview of the eagerly anticipated three-month-long Kushner Celebration at the Guthrie this week. It's an ambitious move by this landmark local theater, and Kleiman's expert distillation of the preparations underway is both astute and practically valuable. If you're at all intrigued by seeing a wide variety of work from this acclaimed playwright (Angels in America, Caroline, or Change, Homebody/Kabul, etc) now, by the end of the article you'll just be chomping at the bit to catch a show. I'm especially eager to lay eyes on the brand new play commissioned by the Guthrie, The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures.

Click here to read Kleiman's elegant preview of the Guthrie's "Kushner Celebration."

[Susannah Schouweiler]

Secrets of the City/MNSpeak editor Max Sparber is going to be writing several dispatches from this year's Minneapolis/St. Paul Film Festival for us this year. The first of his posts, specifically on the films by local artists included in the festival line-up, is wonderful. We've got loads of trailers in there, too. Be sure to check out the work by local filmmakers before you nail down your film-watching schedule for this year.

On a related note: I'd welcome a lively discussion here from time to time on the issues raised in some of the articles. It would be great to get some thoughtful responses to the content, to broaden the conversation a little bit.

Think of this area of the forums as a "comments" section of sorts for anything you read in the articles on the homepage, or see in access+ENGAGE, or on the mnartists.org blog.

[Susannah Schouweiler]

You may have noticed that the Minnesota Book Awards gala is this week, which will honor the best books by local authors published in the last year. So, I wonder: which titles, new or old, by Minnesota authors captivated you over the last year?

Here are a few that got me through the long winter nights: The Magician and the Fool by Barth Anderson, Yellowrocket by Todd Boss, the Fiction on a Stick anthology, and Suicide Collectors by David Oppegaard.

What about you?

[Ray Rolfe]

I must have read that.. some where... I have no reason for a bump up. yet.