It’s been a very literary summer in Duluth and Superior.
First, the Duluth Failed Poets Society met at Wussow’s Concert Cafe to celebrate a new book. Laminated Wildflowers is a celebration both of craft and of community. (It’s also a sequel to Murder Your Darlings.) Photos and video of the event are available on Instagram.
Wildlife biologist Tori Kaufman has drawn inspiration from her work outside and has curated a series of oil prints. Her exhibition at Wussow’s Concert Cafe features boat-inspired vignettes, sturgeon and other critters, and other subjects. The prints are on display through the end of January. Kaufman is also a participant in the local literary scene, putting together type-written poetry in zine-like formats. A sampling of her work and a recent interview are below.
I’ve been going through public library discards, looking for Duluth authors in the mix. (I teach a course in Minnesota authors that leans hard into Duluth authors.)
Atlas posing at Studio Cafe with one of his puppet heads. Photo by Jess Morgan.
Since moving to Duluth from the South about two years ago, Atlas, or the artist behind Promontoy Palace, has been interweaving his solo artistic practice into local arts projects. His work can be found at the upcoming Dollhaus event, as well as an upcoming show in August at Studio Cafe. He utilizes puppets, poetry, paintings and ambient music to tell stories through a variety of mediums. To learn more about his current and upcoming work, check out the recent interview below.
This post, also looking for resources and connections for my fall 2025 course in Minnesota Writers, has two asks.
At the Duluth Public Library sale, it seems that the Minnesota Poetry collection was weeded, deaccessioned.
I think that’s a loss.
Calyx Books was a significant creative force in shaping poetic life in Duluth. These two pages, from a Calyx Press book discussed in the Duluth Budgeteer, are a kind of evidence of that impact, creating and manifesting literary community.
Outside the Poetry Dome in Chester Park. (Photo by Jess Morgan)
Duluthians wandering through Hillside-neighborhood parks or using the bus may have stumbled upon one of Robert Wildwood’s poetry collections hanging from a tree, or in other precarious or magical places. Wildwood shares about his latest outdoor poetry display in the interview below.
The League of Minnesota Poets once published an anthology that was loaded with Twin Ports poets and topics. Minnesota Skyline was printed in twelve editions, 20,000 copies.
I’m curious about the authors within, including Luella Bender Carr.
Below are photos from the Duluth All Souls Night poetry reading. The event was held at Studio 4 (formerly the Underground) at the Depot on Nov. 1.
I love Henry’s taste in the quirky and just plain odd. All of that is made visible in this WDIO interview with the local poet, who offers to teach us to become Canada Gooses.
This Duluth News Tribune article talks about Kathy Cargill’s comments about Duluthians in the Wall St Journal.
Said a billionaire Heiress named Kathy
“The locals are yokels
Their houses are crappy”
No accounting for taste
She bulldozed in haste
And wonders why the neighbors aren’t happy
