Writer's Block

AN ESSENTIAL NON-ESSENTIAL

May 6th, 2016

By Karen Kohoutek

I came to the MFA program through a series of flukes and coincidences. I happened to attend a student literary reading a friend was hosting at the public library, that was led by Mark Vinz, one of my former professors. He caught me afterwards, and he told me about the then-new MFA program.

A few weeks later, I was interviewing with him and Lin Enger to become their first teaching assistant, and I left a corporate insurance job to return to academia, changing the whole…

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​CELEBRATING BOOKS WITH BREWS

April 27th, 2016

This Saturday, Fargo’s own Zandbroz Variety will be celebrating Independent Bookstore Day, an all-day event that’s free and open to the public. Zandbroz will only be one of hundreds of bookstores participating in this event, which is meant to generate not only sales but also appreciation for bookstores in the digital age.

Manager Josie Danz describes it as a day-long celebration of books and the people that sell them, complete with free doughnuts and coffee, drawings for prizes, and…

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JACQUELINE BUSSIE: ‘OUTLAW CHRISTIAN’

April 20th, 2016

Today at 6:30 PM, Concordia professor and local author Jacqueline Bussie will debut her new nonfiction book, “Outlaw Christian: Finding Authentic Faith by Breaking the 'Rules'” at Zandbroz Variety. This event will be free and open to the public, with refreshments provided.

Bussie, a professor of religion, also runs Concordia’s interfaith center and is the director of The Forum on Faith and Life, a group that promotes discussion and understanding of differing theologies.

“With the…

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​Starting outward in the same direction

April 13th, 2016

Last Tuesday, travel writer and English professor W. Scott Olsen presented his eleventh book, published by NDSU Press, to a sizeable audience at Zandbroz Variety. The book, “A Moment with Strangers,” is a collection of essays and photographs collected from his travels, all highlighting the central theme of brief yet significant chance encounters.

“This whole book is built on the premise of those very brief encounters that you have with someone when you’re traveling,” Olsen…

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A MOMENT WITH W. SCOTT OLSON

March 24th, 2016

On Tuesday, Zandbroz Variety will host a book launch for local author, travel writer, photographer, and Concordia professor W. Scott Olsen. This event will promote his latest nonfiction book, “A Moment with Strangers: Photographs and Essays at Home and Abroad,” published by the North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies.


“Some of the stories are stories that I remember from years ago,” Olsen says. “In one sense it took 15 months to write, in another sense it took 15…

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​Ruth L. Schwartz: Writer, Shaman, Activist

February 27th, 2016

On March 1, Minnesota State University Moorhead’s Glasrud Distinguished Lecturer Series will host a panel with writer, shaman and activist Ruth L. Schwartz, with a lecture at MSUM’s Library Porch followed by a reading at the Red Raven Espresso Parlor. Both will be free and open to the public.

Her books of poetry include “Edgewater,” winner of the National Poetry Series; “Dear Good Naked Morning,” winner of the Autumn House Press Poetry Prize; “Singular Bodies,” winner of…

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​You’re cordially invited …

February 17th, 2016

In 1971, over 40 years before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to legalize same-sex marriage throughout the U.S., Minnesotans Michael McConnell and Jack Baker became the first gay couple to officially marry in the U.S.

On Friday, Feb. 19, 6:30 p.m., at Zandbroz Variety in downtown Fargo, McConnell and Baker will be giving a reading and signing of “The Wedding Heard ‘Round the World,” their autobiographical account of their milestone wedding.

“The Wedding Heard ‘Round the World” is…

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​Lloyd Willis: “Dog and Fox, and Other Musings”

January 24th, 2016

In September, local poet Lloyd Willis released his poetry collection “Dog and Fox, and Other Musings” through Amazon’s CreateSpace publishing platform and Kindle Direct Publishing.

The book is a collection of 90 haikus about subjects ranging from Midwest winters to the animal kingdom to the trials of human relationships. Each poem also has a photograph to go with it, providing a visual aid to complement the words.

“When I started thinking of putting the book together, I wanted to…

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Red Weather seeking submissions

January 18th, 2016

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This year, MSUM will be printing the 35th issue of its annual literary journal, Red Weather, an independent, student-run project that publishes poems, prose pieces and visual art. Though it has been open to only MSUM students, faculty, staff and alumni in the past, this year submissions are open to anyone residing within 10 miles of the Fargo-Moorhead area.

Red Weather will be accepting submissions until Feb. 15.

“There are no length requirements, but page space is at a premium, so…

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Reader Submissions

December 28th, 2015

photo by Molly McClain

The HPR prints reader poetry once a month

Plutarch, the ancient Greek historian, essayist, and biographer once said, “Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks”. HPR sent out a call for reader submissions in November via social media and we were pleasantly surprised by the response. Would you like to have your work published for this once a month feature? email sabrina@hpr1.com

North Dakota

By Julie Goeller McLain 1952-2004

Your vast emptiness encompasses me

Your…

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