Writer's Block | September 25th, 2015
The Tom McGrath Visiting Writers Series will be hosting a reading with poet Ladan Osman on the Library Porch at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Starting at 4:30 p.m., on Sept. 29, this event will be free and open to the public.
Osman was born in Somalia and earned a BA at Otterbein University and an MFA at the University of Texas at Austin’s Michener Center for Writers. Her poetry has appeared in multiple literary journals, as well as former Poet Laureate Ted Kooser’s syndicated newspaper column, “American Life in Poetry.” Osman currently lives in Chicago and works as a contributing editor for The Offing, a magazine located in Los Angeles.
Osman’s poetry chapbook, “Ordinary Heaven,” was published in 2014 by Slapering Hol Press, and later featured in a boxed set entitled “Seven New Generation African Poets.”
This chapbook was prefaced by Ted Kooser, who stated, “Osman is a worldly and acutely sensitive writer who knows how to reach right through the sequined veil of fashion and put her hand squarely on the reader’s heart, with frank and candid expression, with unaffected wonder.”
Her full-length poetry collection, “The Kitchen-Dweller’s Testimony,” was published by the University of Nebraska Press in 2015 and won the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets.
In the preface, fellow African-American poet Kwame Dawes declared that Osman “writes out of a passion for language, out of a compelling pleasure and challenge in the potential of the voice to humanize us, or perhaps even better, to affirm our humanity. Osman is a warrior poet … especially gifted and disciplined about her craft, her technical facility with the poem.”
Common themes of Osman’s poetry include religion and spirituality, Somali and Muslim heritage, and the trials of immigrants, particularly women of color. Her influences include Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, Sudanese author Tayeb Salih, and American poet, author and filmmaker Sherman Alexie.
Copies of both books will be available for purchase at the reading.
April 23rd 2023
March 15th 2023
March 8th 2023
February 12th 2023
August 17th 2022
__293px-wide.jpg)
__293px-wide.png)
_(1)__293px-wide.jpeg)
MayFargo MarathonNow - May 20Youth run Thursday, 5K Friday night, 10K, half and full marathon, entertainment along route on Saturday. fargomarathon.comKids to Park DayMay 20Bring the kids to Theault Farm in Fargo for crafts,…
By John Showalter john.d.showalter@gmail.comHuman rights is a subject that often comes up in the media. One has only to tune in to any of the major news broadcasters to hear heated debate and discussion regarding the treatment of…
Event by Moorhead Parks & Recreation and Swing Barrel Brewing Company, LLCW. H. Davy Memorial Park, 1st Ave & 8th St N, MoorheadTuesday, June 27, 5:30-8pmThe Gina Powers Band + Petting ZooHeather & Thistle Pipes and DrumsArt…
__300x100.jpg)
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comOur opinion: Keep your chins up, class of 2023As the school year draws to a close, this seems to be the time of year when most editors offer up their best advice to the most recent graduating…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comQuestion for 2024: Will a Billion Guns and a Quadrillion Bullets Make DSA Safer?Ever since Lucy fell out of an African tree 3.2 million years ago, animals have been designing new ways to kill each…
We are looking for 55-gallon plastic food grade barrels, do you have ideas or connections?We use these barrels to teach our resilient yard workshop series including Make Your Own Rain Barrel and Make Your Own Compost Tumbler. If…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.comSpring has finally sprung. It’s time to bounce out of the house and try a few new places to eat. Let’s explore what restaurants are trending on the Fargo-Moorhead Eats Facebook page. With nearly…
Event information provided by Morgan Thompson, Marketing and Sales Associate, FARGODOMEMThompson@fargodome.comIt’s the official kickoff of summer, and the return of the best BBQ around and look who’s going to be there! Getting…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comWriter-director Nicole Holofcener leans in – all the way in – to the sturdy milieu of the well-heeled, narcissist-inhabited, New York-based comedy landscape dominated for so many decades by…
Hjemkomst Center 202 1st Ave N, Moorhead April 25, 3:30-7:30pmPaint a rock, make a stranger smile and be a part of the movement! Keep your rock or add it to the pile to be labeled, sealed and…
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 Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comSpring is here (mostly), and our area is buzzing with people eager to get back out and about -- many newly vaccinated and feeling a bit safer. Partnering with Jade Events, Fargo Brewing is just…
By John Showalter john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…
By Traci Sethre traci.sethre@gmail.comAn integral piece of fencing is your mask. Its integrity keeps you safe. It’s typically painted black to hide your face…
By Ken and Alice Christiansonsubmit@hpr1.com HB 1332 is currently before the North Dakota legislature. The bill proposes to permit social workers to use a discredited treatment method to convert the sexual orientation of gay and…
