Marianne Murphy Zarzana
  • Home
  • Writing in This Moment: Blog
  • Poets & Writers I Read
  • Poem Gallery

The Sutter Brothers to Perform at Memorial Auditorium, Dawson, Feb. 19, 7 p.m.

2/17/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Sutter Brothers, a poetry-and-music duo with ties to this region, will present a show that conjures Minnesota characters in songs and stories, poetry and music at Memorial Auditorium, 601 9th Street, in Dawson on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults; student admission is free.
            For thirty years, The Sutter Brothers have presented programs that emphasize their rural, small-town roots and Scandinavian heritage. Blending Bart’s original poems with Ross’ arrangements of folk songs and tunes, The Sutter Brothers evoke the landscape, critters, and quirky characters of rural Minnesota, spanning the spectrum of human experience from comedy to tragedy.
            Best known for his baritone voice, Ross plays an impressive array of instruments: guitar, button accordion, dulcimer, and Irish drum. He has issued four CDs, won two Individual Artist Fellowships from the Minnesota State Arts Board, and performed for A Prairie Home Companion and the Winnipeg Folk Festival.
            Bart is the only author to win the Minnesota Book Award in three different categories—poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. He has published seven books, written for Minnesota Public Radio, and had three plays produced.
          The Sutter Brothers spent their most formative years south of Jackson, and Bart graduated from Southwest Minnesota State University, where the brothers have often performed. Ross has done music residencies in the schools of this region, including Dawson, for many years. 
            Though Ross and Bart have established separate reputations, The Sutter Brothers take special pleasure in performing as a pair, their shows enhanced by the counterpoint of spoken word and music. Their performance in Dawson will include original material set in southwest Minnesota. Call the Dawson-Boyd Arts Association at 320-769-2955 Ext. 246 for more information.
            Bart Sutter will conduct a writing workshop for students at Dawson-Boyd High School during their visit, and the brothers will also perform at Johnson Memorial Care Center.
           This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
[email protected]           1321 East 8th Street, Duluth, MN 55805          218-724-2736



0 Comments

The Writer's Almanac Posts Sutter's Poem, "Hoarfrost and Fog"

1/12/2015

0 Comments

 
So many beautiful high-contrast and other worldly images captured in today's poem, "Hoarfrost and Fog," by Barton Sutter, SMSU alumnus, posted on The Writer's Almanac. 

And wonderful to be able to listen to Garrison Keillor read it over the website in our first class of Advanced Poetry Workshop today at SMSU. 

There's been a good run of SMSU-related poets posted recently on The Writer's Almanac: Barton Sutter, Philip Dacey and Stephen Dunn. 


The SMSU Creative Writing Program has a strong, vibrant legacy, and we stand on the sturdy shoulders of all those who came before us. Check out our programs and share with others: www.SMSU.edu/go/English

0 Comments

Barton Sutter's poem, "Static," on The Writer's Almanac

1/9/2015

0 Comments

 
Great poem, entitled "Static," posted on The Writer's Almanac yesterday  by Barton Sutter, Southwest Minnesota State University graduate.

The speaker's voice in this poem captures that post-breakup ambivalence many of us have experienced--wistful and nostalgic for the good aspects of a past love but also clear-eyed about all the "static." I admire Bart's use of slant rhyme or off-rhyme couplets. The rhymes are a bit "off," not true rhymes, just as the couple almost clicked but not quite--too much static. Form and content work well in tandem here, something I focus on in my own poems and encourage my writing students to consider as well.

At SMSU, we're proud of Bart for many reasons, but especially because he is the only Minnesota author to win the Minnesota Book Award in three different categories: 

1992 for Fiction (My Father's War and Other Stories, Viking, 1991, U of MN 2000) 

1994 for Poetry (The Book of Names: New and Selected Poems, BOA Editions, 1993) 
1999 for Non-fiction (Cold Comfort: Life at the Top of the Map, U of MN, 1998) 

Bart has a collection of haiku, Chester Creek Ravine, coming out this spring from Nodin Press. I love reading haiku and look forward to buying a copy of Bart's new book. 



0 Comments

Philip Dacey's Poem, "Guest of Honor," on The Writer's Almanac Today

12/29/2014

0 Comments

 
The poem of the day chosen for The Writer's Almanac, "Guest of Honor," was written by Philip Dacey, a friend and an SMSU Professor Emeritus of English. It's from his new book of poetry, Church of the Adagio, Rain Mountain Press, 2014. Click here to read a review.

If you're not already familiar with Phil Dacey's work, I encourage you to dive in. He's prolific, a regular "poetry factory," in his own self-effacing words. But unlike the products most factories turn out, Dacey's poetry soars with fine craftsmanship and sings with full and open heart.
0 Comments

Alixa Doom's New Poetry Book, A Slow Dissolve of Egrets, Reviewed in Star Tribune

12/7/2014

0 Comments

 
Alixa Doom's new collection of poetry, A Slow Dissolve of Egrets, published by Red Dragonfly Press, had a recent review in the Star Tribune. 
Congratulations, Alixa! I look forward to reading this book over the Christmas break.
0 Comments

Poet Susan McLean Reads from Her New Book, The Whetstone Misses the Knife at SMSU, Oct. 20

10/29/2014

0 Comments

 
Susan McLean, a brilliant poet and professor of English at Southwest Minnesota State University, gave a wonderful reading from her new book of poetry, The Whetstone Misses the Knife, Winner of the Donald Justice Poetry Prize, at SMSU on Monday, Oct. 20. The video of her reading also includes McLean's Q & A following the reading. Enjoy!

"Susan McLean's poems are...a delight to read....A super book, and one to return to often." 
--Dick Davis

Here is a review of Susan's book by Constant Reader posted on Amazon.com :

"Unlike the knife in her title poem, Susan McLean couldn't be sharper. She cuts to the heart of her subjects with language as precise as a scalpel and as surprising as a prison shiv. Small wonder that The Whetstone Misses the Knife won the prestigious Donald Justice Prize, or that McLean followed the likes of A.E. Stallings and A.M. Juster in winning the Richard Wilbur Award for her earlier collection, The Best Disguise. In Whetstone she takes on subjects ranging from love to loss, sex to sexism. She is funny, touching, sardonic, playful, often enlightening, always entertaining--and brilliant, as Dick Davis notes in his jacket blurb, at balancing "the messiness of life" with "the formal perfections of art." McLean is not just one of the best poets writing today, but one of the best at working within--and against--poetic forms, ranging from sonnets and villanelles to ballades and double dactyls.

"Among the standouts in this collection are "The Mirror's Desolation," a surprisingly poignant message from a mirror to its owner ("I care for you too much to lie,/ copying lines you would erase..."), "Dear John," a hilarious letter to a certain below-the-belt "John Thomas," "No Thanks," on why the narrator doesn't want to play a damsel in distress, and "Rules for Love," which deserves to become a manifesto for a new generation of feminists (""Don't play dumb or play his games. Don't stop/ reading or saying what you think. Don't flatter.../ If he won't love you, you'll do fine alone.") .

"Although McLean is bound to strike a chord with readers of many ages, I particularly recommend her books as gifts for older teenagers and young adults. In a society that often makes people feel they must look or act a certain way, the protagonists of McLean's poems are independently, unapologetically, themselves. They embrace math and sex, shun makeup and diets, read Gloria Steinem, have crushes on Mr. Spock. As McLean writes in "Ad Lib," "The secret to doing what you please/ is never to ask permission." Here's hoping she keeps doing just that for many volumes to come."


0 Comments

2014 Lakeside Writers Weekend: "Write Where You Are" Workshops for Emerging and Experienced Writers

8/18/2014

0 Comments

 
Need to carve out writing time away from home? Crave feedback on a writing project that's been cooking a while? 

Join us for the 2014 Lakeside Writers Weekend, "Write Where You Are," at the Lakewood Supper Club, Ortonville, Minn., kicking off on Friday, Sept. 19 with a public reading at the Ortonville Public Library,  then workshops on Sat., Sept. 20 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Sun., Sept. 21 from 9 a.m. -1 p.m. 

The two workshop presenters are Judy Wilson and myself, Marianne Zarzana, creative writing professors at Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall, Minn. 


Wilson, returning by popular demand after leading the September 2013 workshop, will present an advanced workshop for writers of fiction and creative non-fiction. Wilson has published a book of short stories titled Trespass. In addition, she has been published in Renovated Lighthouse Literary Magazine, Product, Southern Literary Festival Anthology, Skylark Literary Annual, Mississippi Review, and The Atlantic Monthly’s Atlantic Unbound.

My workshop is open to writers at all levels of writing experience and covers all genres—poetry, non-fiction and fiction—as well as blogging. On Sunday during the workshop, we will both present information on promoting and publishing literary work. I have recently published essays in Notre Dame Magazine, and my poetry has appeared in Savoring (a collaborative art and poetry exhibit), Dust & Fire, Farming Words, Blue Earth Review, Minnesota River Review, Umbrella Journal, and Kitchen Scraps among other publications. 


For more information and to register, go to www.bigstonearts.com
Questions? Call Maureen Stores at 320-265-6121 
or email [email protected]


This activity is made possible by voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.


0 Comments

The Marsco Dissident Now Available in Print

8/1/2014

0 Comments

 
I'm thrilled to let you know that The Marsco Dissident by James A. Zarzana is now available in print on Amazon after being published one year ago as an e-book. 

As Jim's wife, I may be biased, but I know good writing. So do the readers who've posted reviews on Amazon. The characters and plots twists in this riveting dystopian novel will pull you in and make you hungry for the next three novels in The Marsco Saga. "It's a Marsco world."
0 Comments

Zarzana Reading at SMSU Fine Art Celebration, April 7

4/6/2014

0 Comments

 
Jim and I will read from our fiction, non-fiction and poetry at the 8th Annual Fine Arts Celebration at Southwest Minnesota State University on Monday, April 7, 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the Whipple Gallery, located in the SMSU McFarland Library. 

Jim will read from his sci-fi novel, The Marsco Dissident, published last summer on Amazon Kindle, and I'll read an essay, "The Biker Code," which will be published in the spring 2014 issue of Notre Dame Magazine.

We'll both read companion essays that we wrote for Story Guru web site about being writing partners as well as life partners for over 30 years: "A Shared Writing Life" and "A Writing Partners Honey Do List."


Join us, bring your lunch, and fill your own artist's well!
Picture
0 Comments

Kevin Zepper's Poetry Reading at SMSU

3/27/2014

0 Comments

 
I admire Kevin Zepper's poetry on many levels--the craft, the lively music, the word play, and the delightful range, as Mark Vinz writes, "from whimsy to tender sensuousness, always full of surprises, full of love for language, full of love." 

I hope you enjoy watching this YouTube video of Kevin's reading as much as I enjoyed a front-row seat in Charter Hall 201 this past Monday night at Southwest Minnesota State University.

Some of my favorite Zepper poems from this reading are "Botany," "Rose Girl," "Sugartown," "Beef Pot Pies" (I loved them as a kid), "Big Mother Boots," and "Java Dive."

Kevin's four chapbooks are Sugartown, I Bring You Dead Things, The Fifth Ramone: Prose Poems and (Suffering from) An Apartment Complex. 
0 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>

    RSS Feed

    Author

    I love to play with words. To capture moments on the page. To explore the physical and spiritual geography of what I call "fly-over country." I write from imagination, observation and my own experience of wandering in fly-over country--the literal, physical spaces of my life on the Minnesota prairie and the inner territory of the soul. 

    I teach writing at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota. I enjoy cooking and traveling with my husband Jim, reading, practicing yoga, playing tennis, biking, hiking and gardening.

    Archives

    December 2019
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2016
    July 2016
    October 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    Blogroll
    Arts Beat
    A Year of Being Here
    Bearded Vegan
    Becky's Blog
    Better World Books
    Birth Breasts and Beyond
    Carrie Etter
    Christine Stewart-Nunez
    Dana Yost
    Heroic Yes! Productions
    James A. Zarzana
    Landing on Cloudy Water
    Nicole Helget
    No Ideas But in Things
    Story Guru
    The Marsco Saga
    Write Right

    Categories

    All
    African American Writers
    African-American Writers
    American Life In Poetry
    Awp
    Dance
    Family
    Favorite Poems
    Favorite Writing Blogs
    Global Studies
    Good Articles
    Good Articles About Writing
    Good Blogs
    Good Books
    Good Essays
    Good Movies
    Good Plays
    Good Poems
    Good Quotes
    Good Video Clips
    Guerilla Art
    International News
    International Writers
    Irish Writers
    James A. Zarzana
    Libraries
    Literary Awards
    Literary Journals
    Mankato
    Memoir
    Mindfulness
    Minneapolis
    Minnesota Public Radio
    Minnesota State University-Mankato
    Mnsu
    Msu
    National Public Radio
    Nd
    Notre Dame
    Poetry Foundation
    Public Art Projects
    Publishing Resources
    Readings
    Shameless Plug
    Shameless Plugs
    Smsu
    Storytelling
    Ted Kooser
    Websites
    Writer
    Writer's Almanac
    Writers I Read
    Writing About Family
    Writing About Food
    Writing About Music
    Writing About Words
    Writing And Community
    Writing And Faith
    Writing And Politics
    Writing And Romance
    Writing And Sexuality
    Writing And Sports
    Writing And Teaching
    Writing And Technology
    Writing Contest
    Writing Groups
    Writing Prompts
    Writing Workshops
    Yoga
    Young Readers
    Young Writers

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.