An Evening with Poets

Join us next Wednesday evening for some great poetry!

Poets Janna Knittel, Stanley Kusunoki, Sagirah Shahid, and Bryan Thao Worra will present their poetry in an evening of sharing the spoken word. Time for questions and answers will be provided at the end of the session.

This is such a cool opportunity and… it’s virtual!!! Sometimes, COVID brings about great opportunities. This is one of them!

If you’re interested in joining us, visit this website to sign up and reserve your spot!


Poet’s Bios-

Janna Knittel lives in Minnesota but still calls the Pacific Northwest “home.” Janna has published a chapbook, Fish & Wild Life (Finishing Line Press, 2018) and has poems published or forthcoming in Between These Shores Literary and Arts Annual, BluelineCottonwoodUp North LitNorth Dakota QuarterlySplit Rock ReviewCold Mountain ReviewWhale Road Review, The Wild Word, and Waters Deep: A Great Lakes Anthology. Recognition includes 2021 and 2019 grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board.

Stanley Kusunoki is the author of three collections of poetry; 180 Days, Reflections and Observations of a TeacherItems in the News, both published by North Star Press of St. Cloud, and Shelter in Place—Poems in a Time of COVID-19, (Polaris Press, an imprint of North Star Press). He has taught creative writing to young people through programs at The Loft, Asian American Renaissance, Intermedia Arts, and S.A.S.E., The Write Place. He was the recipient of a Loft “Asian Inroads” mentorship, and was awarded a MN State Arts board “Cultural Collaboration” grant to create, write and perform “Beringia-The Land Bridge Project” with Ojibwe performance poet, Jamison Mahto at Intermedia Arts. He is the host/curator of the Bridges reading series at Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul. Kusunoki most recently was the High Potential Coordinator at Red Oak Elementary School in Shakopee. He lives in St. Paul with his wife, Claudia Daly.

Sagirah Shahid is an African American Muslim poet, educator, and performance artist from Minneapolis. Sagirah has received awards, residencies, and fellowships from the Loft Literary Center, Wisdom Ways, the Twin Cities Media Alliance, and the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Her debut collection of poetry “Surveillance of Joy” is forthcoming from Half Mystic Press in April 2021.

Bryan Thao Worra is the Lao Minnesotan Poet Laureate and the author of 10+ books, recently appointed by Governor Dayton to the state Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans to represent the Lao community. He holds over 20 national and international awards for his writing and community leadership. This is his first reading in St. Cloud in over 15 years.

Brought to you by the Department of English and the College of Liberal Arts.

Severe Weather Awareness Week

It’s severe weather awareness week!

In honor of the week, I compiled a list of some good reads about weather! Check out some of these novels/stories!

My top book about weather is Winterdance by Gary Paulsen! The book isn’t about weather, necessarily, but it does have aspects of bad weather throughout the story. It’s a nonfiction memoir about Gary’s run in the Iditarod dogsled race in Alaska. The book is filled with humor, horror, and haphazard attempts to do things right. You will find yourself laughing, crying, and everything in between! It’s not one of his common books, but it’s definitely one of his best!

One of my favorite short stories about weather is “To Build a Fire” by Jack London. The unnamed narrator discovers what true cold really means when he finds himself trying to survive the arctic cold. When the termometer reads “75 degrees below 0 (fahrenheit),” things get dangerous!

Poetry is also a great place to find stories about severe weather! Check out Emily Dickenson’s A Thunderstorm, a gripping piece of art!

The last text I’d like to cover is a song, called “The Thunder Rolls” by Garth Brooks. Sometimes, during sever weather awareness week, we just need to sit down and enjoy a good song about severe weather! I like this song particularly because of the use of instrumentation to convey the thunder! Of course, this song could also be a metaphor, but I like to think of the song as purely just a celebration of weather!

What are your favorite texts about severe weather? These are just four of my favorites, but there are so many other good ones out there!

 

Alum Donella Westphal featured in STC Times

Covid has brought about many hardships for many people. Some of our most heavily impacted agencies are small business owners, especially small restaurant owners.

Alum Donella Westphal is not exemption to these hardships. She is the owner of Jule’s Bistro, right down the street from SCSU. If you’re interested in reading more about her bistro, check out this blog post.

Donella states in the article:

“When people ask me how we got through the past year, I tell them with a little duct tape, some paper clips,” she said. “And a lot of it was brutal and ugly at times, but it was also really quite beautiful. And I learned a few things about small business along the way.” 

To read more about Donella’s recently feature, check out the article here!

April Fools’ Day

Today is April Fools’ Day.

Which got me thinking:

  • Where did April Fools’ Day come from?
  • How did we get to this point, of putting vaseline on doorknobs, tape on the bottom of our digital mice, etc?
  • What is the purpose of this day?

Apparently, April Fools’ Day has been around since 1700, when English pranksters starting playing practical jokes on each other.

Prior to this, the history of the day is actually unclear. Some historians think it may date back to 1582, but that is just speculation.

Throughout the 18th century, the tradition became a two-day event in Scotland where people would go on phony errands and participate in many other prank-type activities.

For more information, check out this short explanation on History.com! (All information is taken from this source.)

Jestine Ware Upcoming Publication

We love when alumni produce publications!

One of our alums, Jestine Ware, has been terribly busy since she left our Rhetoric and Writing program. She’s worked as an editor for the company that published Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls and works as both a freelance and a full-time editor for small publishers.

According to her website, she has a publication coming out this fall, Fall 2021, titled Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 100 Tales of Black Girl Magic. I don’t know about you, but to me, this looks like a great read!

Jestine is someone to watch! She’s doing some really great things and I’m confident that she’ll continue to produce greatness!

Upcoming Events!

We have some really exciting upcoming events! Check them out and mark your calendars!


Wednesday, March 17, 4:00–, Danez Smith reading

Here’s link to info and registration: https://huskiesconnect.stcloudstate.edu/event/6941024

 

Bio: Danez Smith is a Black, Queer, Poz writer & performer from St. Paul, MN. Danez is the author of “Don’t Call Us Dead” (Graywolf Press, 2017), winner of the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Midwest Booksellers Choice Award, and a finalist for the National Book Award, and “[insert] boy” (YesYes Books, 2014), winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry. Danez is a member of the Dark Noise Collective and is the co-host of VS with Franny Choi, a podcast sponsored by the Poetry Foundation and Postloudness. Danez’s third collection, “Homie”, was published by Graywolf in January 2020.


Thursday, March 18th, 4:00 – 5:15, Sheila O’Connor will be joining Shannon Olson’s Advanced Fiction class to discuss Evidence of V, her Minnesota Book Award-winning novel. I’ll open this up to students in the department; she was supposed to visit in person last spring but that had to be cancelled.


Wednesday, March 31st, Sheila returns to meet with Harvest to discuss her role as fiction editor for the Water-Stone Review, housed at Hamline. 4:00 – 4:50. That will be open to English students.

https://waterstonereview.com


TBA – A Wednesday at 4:00, Meghan Maloney-Vinz visit to Harvest editorial group; that would be open to students in English as well. Meghan is the general manager for Water-Stone, and she also manages Hamline’s undergraduate national online journal, Runestone, which re-opens its submissions window in April, I think:  https://runestonejournal.com


Wednesday, April 12, 7:00-8:15 Celebrate National Poetry Month with readings by Four Poets, made possible by a grant from the Minnesota Arts Board

Artist Bios

Janna Knittel lives in Minnesota but still calls the Pacific Northwest “home.” Janna has published a chapbook, Fish & Wild Life (Finishing Line Press, 2018) and has poems published or forthcoming in Between These Shores Literary and Arts Annual, BluelineCottonwoodUp North LitNorth Dakota QuarterlySplit Rock ReviewCold Mountain ReviewWhale Road Review, The Wild Word, and Waters Deep: A Great Lakes Anthology. Recognition includes 2021 and 2019 grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board.

Stanley Kusunoki is the author of three collections of poetry; 180 Days, Reflections and Observations of a TeacherItems in the News, both published by North Star Press of St. Cloud, and Shelter in Place—Poems in a Time of COVID-19, (Polaris Press, an imprint of North Star Press). He has taught creative writing to young people through programs at The Loft, Asian American Renaissance, Intermedia Arts, and S.A.S.E., The Write Place. He was the recipient of a Loft “Asian Inroads” mentorship, and was awarded a MN State Arts board “Cultural Collaboration” grant to create, write and perform “Beringia-The Land Bridge Project” with Ojibwe performance poet, Jamison Mahto at Intermedia Arts. He is the host/curator of the Bridges reading series at Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul. Kusunoki most recently was the High Potential Coordinator at Red Oak Elementary School in Shakopee. He lives in St. Paul with his wife, Claudia Daly.

Sagirah Shahid is an African American Muslim poet, educator, and performance artist from Minneapolis. Sagirah has received awards, residencies, and fellowships from the Loft Literary Center, Wisdom Ways, the Twin Cities Media Alliance, and the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Her debut collection of poetry “Surveillance of Joy” is forthcoming from Half Mystic Press in April 2021.

 Bryan Thao Worra is the Lao Minnesotan Poet Laureate and the author of 10+ books, recently appointed by Governor Dayton to the state Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans to represent the Lao community. He holds over 20 national and international awards for his writing and community leadership. This is his first reading in St. Cloud in over 15 years.

 


Wednesday, April 21st, Harvest Online Release Party, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. 

We are printing a limited number this year and will have to sort out distribution when they’re ready.

Great Black Authors

In honor of Black History Month, we compiled a list of amazing Black authors! Check out some of their works!

 

Lucille Clifton – A wonderful poet who was discovered by Langston Hughes! Clifton was born in NY in 1936 and attended Harvard University. My personal favorite poem is her poem, “sisters” where she writes about her relationship with her sister, Elaine! Clifton died in 2010 but her poetry still lives on!

Langston Hughes – A prominent figure during the Harlem Renaissance who often wrote about Black life! He truly shaped the way Black poets are viewed! If you get the chance, read his essay, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain.” You won’t be disappointed.

Ralph Ellison – Born in 1914, Ellison grew up loving music. It was thought that he would be a musician and composer, but instead, decided to write. Being the grandson of slaves, Ellison’s works are particularly important. I highly recommend reading his Invisible Man, written in 1952. It is a gripping novel right from the first page!

Alex Haley – Another very important Black author! He wrote his novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family after spending a decade researching his family’s history. The novel was such a success that it was made into a TV miniseries!

James Baldwin – The list isn’t complete without James Baldwin! He wrote many novels and essays that brought to light the unfortunate consequences of the American racial strife. He has been described as “bold and courageous writer who is not afraid to search into the dark corners of our social consciences, and to force out into public view many of the hidden, sordid skeletons of our society” by Therman B. O’Daniel in the College Language Association Journal.

Maya Angelou – Again, another prominent figure that must be on this list! She’s an absolute icon! Read her I know why the Caged Bird Sings. As I was research this book, I found out that it is one of the most challenged books for “its language and portrayals of violence, racism, sexuality, childhood rape and teen pregnancy” (source). To me, this is all the more reason to read it, especially because this novel is autobiographical and describes Angelou’s early life.

This list is far from complete. If you’d like to read more by Black authors, check out this list of great novels compiled by Oprah or this list compiled by Penguin Random House.

English words of African origin

In honor of Black History Month, I thought it would be fun to put together a list of English words that are derived from African languages!

Check it out!

  • aardvark – Afrikaans word, meaning earth (or ground) pig
  • apartheid – Afrikaans policy of separate development/living
  • banana – West African, possibly Wolof banana
  • banjo – probably Bantu mbanza
  • basenji- breed of dog from the Congo
  • biltong – from Afrikaans – cured meat (often used in South African English)
  • bongo – West African boungu
  • braai – from Afrikaans – barbecue (often used in South African English)
  • buckra – from Efik and Ibibio mbakara “master”[1]
  • bwana – from swahili
  • chachacha possibly from Kimbundu, onomatopoeia for ringing bells or rattles worn around the legs of a female dancers.
  • chigger – possibly from Wolof and Yoruba jiga “insect”)
  • chimpanzee – from a Bantu language, possibly Tshiluba kivili-chimpenze
  • cola – from West African languages (Temne kola, Mandinka kolo)
  • coffee – disputed; either from the Ethiopian region/Kingdom of Kaffa, where coffee originated, or Arabic kahwa
  • conga – feminized form of Congo through Spanish
  • dengue – possibly from Swahili dinga
  • djembe from West African languages [2]
  • fandango- possibly from the kikongo empire[3]
  • Geranuk – Somali: Gerenuk means “giraffe-necked” in the Somali language
  • gnu – from Bushman !nu through Hottentot i-ngu and Dutch gnoe
  • goober – possibly from Bantu (Kikongo and Kimbundu nguba)
  • gumbo – from Bantu (Kimbundu ngombo meaning “okra”)
  • indaba – from Xhosa or Zulu languages – ‘meeting’ (often used in South African English)
  • jambalaya possibly from tshiluba
  • jamboree possibly from swahili “jambo”.
  • jazz – from West African languages (Mandinka jasi, Temne yas)
  • jive – possibly from Wolof jev
  • jumbo – from Swahili (jambo or jumbe or from Kongo nzamba “elephant”)
  • juju – Yoruba
  • juke, jukebox – possibly from Wolof and Bambara dzug through Gullah
  • kalimba
  • Kwanzaa – from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning “first fruits”.
  • kwashiorkor – from Ga language, Coastal Ghana meaning “swollen stomach”
  • impala – from Zulu im-pala
  • lapa – from Sotho languages – enclosure or barbecue area (often used in South African English)
  • macaque – from Bantu makaku through Portuguese and French
  • mamba – from Zulu or Swahili mamba
  • mambo – possibly West African through Haitian Creole
  • marimba – from Bantu (Kimbundu and Swahili marimbamalimba)
  • marimbula
  • merengue (dance) possibly from Fulani mererek i meaning to shake or quiver
  • mumbo jumbo – uncertain West African etymology
  • mojo – from Fula moco’o “medicine man” through Louisiana Creole French or Gullah
  • obeah – from West African (Efik ubio, Twi ebayifo)
  • okra – from Igbo ókùrù
  • okapi – from a language in the Congo
  • safari – from Swahili travel, ultimately from Arabic
  • samba from an African language through Brazilian Portuguese [4][5], carnaval website
  • sambo – Fula sambo meaning “uncle”
  • sangoma – from Zulu – traditional healer (often used in South African English)
  • tango – probably from Ibibio tamgu
  • tsetse – from a Bantu language (Tswana tsetse, Luhya tsiisi)
  • trek – from Afrikaans – move (often used in South African English)
  • ubuntu – Bantu languages
  • voodoo – from West African languages (Ewe and Fon vodu “spirit”)
  • yam – West African (Fula nyami, Twi anyinam)
  • zebra – possibly from a language in the Congo
  • zombie – Central African (Kikongo zumbi, Kimbundu nzambi)

Source Credit

Join us! for “Infinitum: An Afrofuturist Tale”

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The English Department is delighted to welcome award-winning illustrator, concept designer, cartoonist, and animator, Tim Fielder for a Virtual Fireside Chat (via ZOOM) on February 10 from 12:30-1:30 PM where we will be discussing his work, Afrofuturism, and his latest, best-selling graphic novel, Infinitum: An Afrofuturist Tale.

 Mr. Fielder is an Illustrator, concept designer, cartoonist, and animator who has worked over the years in the storyboarding, film visual development, gaming, comics, and animation industries for clients as varied as Marvel Comics (‘Dr Dre: Man With A Cold, Cold Heart’), The Village Voice, Tri-Star Pictures (‘The Mothership Connection’), to Ubisoft Entertainment (‘Batman: Vengeance).

This virtual event will include a moderated Q&A session with Fielder on Wednesday, February 10 from 1230-130 PM, in conjunction with the Introduction to English Studies Course (ENGL300). This will be among the first events where Fielder discusses, in-depth for an academic audience, his new graphic novel, Infinitum: An Afrofuturist Tale, available now through Harper Collins press.

Infinitum is steeped in Afrodiasporic experience and presents a unique cosmic experience, addressing issues of racism, classism, gender inequity, the encroachment of technology, and the spiritual cost of war, while exposing the history behind ancient mysteries.

If you would like to attend this Free Event or if you have any questions, please RSVP to mbdando@stcloudstate.edu.

We hope that you’ll be able to join us for what is sure to be a wonderful talk.

Sincerely,

Michael B. Dando

Interested in Working for SCSU?!

Interested in working for SCSU this summer? Great opportunities and GREAT people to work with! We highly encourage you to consider working for SCSU this summer.

As someone who works on campus this year, I can say this is one of the best jobs I’ve had. Everyone on staff is so helpful and kind; it’s truly a pleasure to work here! I personally highly recommend working for SCSU.

Applications are due February 12th. Apply here and email advising@stcloudstate.edu if you have more questions.