Anishinaabe Songs for a New Millennium and More From Marcie Rendon

from the series Something I Said…

By DWIGHT HOBBES with MARCIE RENDON

Marcie Rendon, author par excellence, is one of those overnight successes who’s been killing it for years. She broke ground in guerilla theatre (Free Fry Bread/Bryant-Lake Bowl), emerging mainstream (SongCatcher/History Theater) and, now, goes national. Soho Press’s Cash Blackbear series (Murder on the Red River, Girl Gone Missing, Sinister Graves) opened the floodgates. Upcoming are Where They Last Saw Her at Penguin Random House in September, Stitches of Tradition (Heartdrum) in October 2024, and the next Cash Blackbear mystery, Broken Fields, Spring 2025 at Soho Press. Meanwhile, Anishinaabe Songs for a New Millennium (University of Minnesota Press), drops in July.
Bao Phi (Different Pond, Thousand Star Hotel) has known her work since they were both fledgling firebrands in Twin Cities lit. He reflects, “As a fellow poet from the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis, I could say that this collection is essential to the complicated song that is Minnesota, and that would be true, but also everyone, everywhere, needs to spend time with this book and find their own way to sing along with it or sit quietly and listen deeply to its songs.”
Marcie Rendon chatted by email about what’s going on with her career.… Read the rest “Anishinaabe Songs for a New Millennium and More From Marcie Rendon”

Unfinished Stories

from the series Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery

224th in a series

By SUE HUNTER WEIR

In her novel Sing, Unburied, Sing, author Jesmyn Ward describes ghosts not as supernatural beings but as “unfinished stories.”
There are many such ghosts in the Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery. In the case of Mary Hampson, cemetery records do not provide a satisfactory ending to her story. They don’t even provide a satisfactory beginning. All that was known about her at the time of her death was that she died on September 20, 1881 (and even that is not a certainty), and that she was buried in Lot 54 at the south end of Block F. Her name is given as “Miss” Mary Hampson. There’s not much of a story there, but there was more to be learned about her.
Mary appeared in the 1880 Federal Census, something that, because she was a servant, was unusual.… Read the rest “Unfinished Stories”

Introducing New alley Volunteer Mara Brooks!

The alley welcomes volunteer Mara Brooks to our small but mighty copyediting team! We are excited about the new energy and perspectives they bring to the alley. As an introduction, we asked Mara a few questions to learn a little bit more about them.

Where did you grow up and what brought you to Minneapolis?
I grew up in rural New Hampshire – my hometown probably has more cows than people. I visited Minneapolis a lot while dating somebody who went to school here, and I immediately fell in love with the city’s food, abundance of nature, and tight-knit neighborhoods. It was an easy decision for me to move out here after college – it’s been two years out now and I’m having a blast!

What is something you enjoy doing in your free time?
I try to spend as much time outside as I can. If you live on the southside, you’ll probably see me wandering around Powderhorn Park most days of the week birdwatching or hammocking by the pond. I am also an avid climber and new sourdough baker!

What inspired you to volunteer for the alley?
I was an English major in college and have always enjoyed writing/editing projects.… Read the rest “Introducing New alley Volunteer Mara Brooks!”