January 18th, 2017
On Friday, January 27th, award-winning children’s book illustrator Carrie Hartman will be at Ellen Hopkins Elementary and Robert Asp Elementary as part of a collaboration between the schools. She will sign autographs and present to various classrooms during their alternating library times.
Hartman previously made an appearance at the primary school in Becker MN, where a teacher was quoted as saying, “Carrie's multimedia presentation and stories were entertaining, engaging, and…
January 11th, 2017
On Wednesday, January 18th, nonfiction author Elizabeth Raum will be at Ellen Hopkins Elementary and Robert Asp Elementary as part of a collaboration between the schools. She will sign autographs that morning in Ellen Hopkins’ library before presenting to classes during their alternating library times.
Raum, a former teacher and librarian, has written nearly 100 educational books for several children’s series, including Countries Around the World, American Lives, Fact Finders, and…
December 21st, 2016
Since October, a monthly journal known as “The Poetry Rag” has been circulating throughout Fargo, Moorhead, and Grand Forks. It can be found in local coffee shops, bookstores, record stores, and other small businesses that carry free publications.
The two masterminds behind “The Poetry Rag” are its creator Joe Bertrand and editor Kendra Smith. Depending on the length of the poems, each issue contains 15 to 18 poems.
“The Rag started out of frustration,” Bertrand admits.…
October 26th, 2016
Back in 2015, local poet L. Reuben Willis released his poetry book, “Dog and Fox, and Other Musings” through Amazon’s CreateSpace publishing platform and Kindle Direct Publishing, complete with photographs as visual aids.
More recently, Willis has come out with a very different collection entitled “Losing My Religion: Wooing and Losing a Goddess,” a set of poems with an overriding narrative inspired by two people Willis knows.
“It’s about a long-distance love affair between…
September 28th, 2016
On Sunday the 25th, Zandbroz Variety hosted North Dakota’s Poet Laureate Larry Woiwode, who’s currently a writer in residence at the University of Jamestown. The author of many works of fiction and nonfiction in addition to poetry, Woiwode read from his latest compilation, “Land of Sunlit Ice.”
This limited-edition chapbook was designed, edited, and hand-printed by student interns at NDSU Press, with only 200 copies available. Antique wire stitches and a platen press were used to…
September 21st, 2016
This Monday, the 26th, children’s book author and illustrator Patricia Polacco will be at three of Moorhead’s local elementary schools, courtesy of the Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (DGF) Public School District. A much sought-after guest lecturer and keynote speaker, Polacco will give presentations at Probstfield Center for Education, S.G. Reinertsen Elementary School, and Ellen Hopkins Elementary.
Having studied in the U.S. and Australia, Polacco holds a PhD in art history with an…
July 27th, 2016
MSUM English professor and published poet Thom Tammaro recently came out with a new poetry collection, published by Red Dragonfly Press. “23 Poems,” currently available at Zandbroz Variety and on Amazon, is a compilation 40-some years in the making.
“Some poems were written as far back as the late 1970s, and some as recent as 2015,” Tammaro says. “Eleven of the twenty-three poems have been previously published.”
This isn’t the first time Tammaro has been published by Red…
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…
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…
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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By Bryce HaugenNot everyone detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is an undocumented immigrant. After a Jan. 12 scuffle at a local Walmart, Tim Catlett, a resident of St. Cloud, Minn., was held at the Bishop…
By Kooper Shagena Just off of I-94 and Highway 83 on State Street in Bismarck, an abandoned Kmart sits behind an empty parking lot, watching the cars roll on and off the interstate exchange. It has been standing there quietly since…
Saturday, January 31, mingling at 6:15 p.m. and program at 7 p.m.Fine Arts Club, 601 4th St. S., FargoThe FM Symphony is getting intimate by launching a “Small Stages” chamber music series and it's bringing folks together via…
By John Strand If you are reading this editorial and you too are worried sick about the state of our country, keep reading. Maybe we can inspire each other. It was near closing time. We were discussing our values crisis. So this…
By Ed RaymondA mind that snapped, cracked, and popped at one hundredI wasn’t going to read a long column called “Centenarian: A Diary of a Hundredth Year” by Calvin Tomkins celebrating his birthday on December 17 of 2025…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick GionSince the much-dreaded Covid years, there has been much ebb and flow in the Fargo-Moorhead restaurant scene. In 2025, that trend continued with some major additions and closings. Let’s start the New Year on a positive…
Saturday, January 17, doors at 7:30 p.m.The Aquarium above Dempsey’s, 226 N. Broadway, FargoThe Slow Death is a punk supergroup led by Jesse Thorson, with members and collaborators that include members of The Ergs!, Dillinger…
By Greg Carlson There is a great scene in the middle of Kelly Reichardt’s excellent movie “The Mastermind” when protagonist James Blaine Mooney (Josh O’Connor) is chastised by criminally-connected wheelman Jerry (the…
By Jacinta ZensThe Guerrilla Girls, an internationally renowned anonymous feminist art collective, have been bringing attention to the gender and racial imbalances in contemporary art institutions for the last 40 years. They have…
Saturday, January 31, 6:30-9 p.m.Transfiguration Fitness, 764 34th St. N., Unit P, FargoAn enchanting evening celebrating movement and creativity in a staff-student showcase. This is a family-friendly event showcasing pole, aerial…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com At the beginning of the movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas," the Grinch is introduced as having a smaller than average heart, but as the movie progresses, his heart increases three…
January 31, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Viking Ship Park, 202 1st Ave. N., Moorhead2026 marks 10 years of frosty fun! Enjoy sauna sessions with Log the Sauna, try Snowga (yoga in the snow), take a guided snowshoe nature hike, listen to live…
By Vern Thompson Benjamin Franklin offered one of the most sobering warnings in American history. When asked what kind of government the framers had created in 1787, he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Few words…
