APPEARANCES

@ The Briar- National Poetry Month

April 12 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00

Doors at 6:30 PM, Performance at 7:00 PM Central, Tickets $10 at the door

The Briar 1231 Washington Street Northeast, Minneapolis, MN

Diane Pecoraro’s poems cover a variety of themes including landscapes, the creative process, immigrant issues and the quirky iridescent fragments of human relationships. Committed to play and humor, she often composes songs and rhymes for the sole (and quite serious) purpose of producing chuckles. Diane has been the Community Poet of St. Louis Park for twelve years. In this position she unites people around poetry, writes verse that reflects community themes and encourages a forum for diverse voices to be heard.

Christine Mounts has a quirky droll sense of humor and a gigantic heart. She volunteered to edit and publish a collection of blog posts written by a mutual friend of ours as he was dying from cancer. Popcorn From the Void turned out to be a more extensive project than she had imagined, but she persisted. The book is now available on Amazon. She herself has cared for family and friends, hands on physical and emotional support. Her poems are observations from that wisdom of how the fragile and the ridiculous and the enduring are all part of daily life.

Sarah Degner Riveros writes poetry despite the daily constant responsibilities of a life in all its messiness and vibrancy: raising 5 children and dealing with household chores, teaching Spanish classes, cultivating a garden and caring for chickens, and showing up for all things literary, hungry for ways to disentangle the challenge from the love, and active in local politics. She is willing to investigate her experiences, some of which are painful and traumatic, and then pivot to notice the ordinary: a child’s toy, the bees in a garden, the stack of containers, the dust, the laundry, the kids running in and out, the fruits and the harvest.

Wendy Brown-Baez is an author, writing instructor and performance poet. She has performed her poetry in cafes, bars, cabarets, galleries, literary centers, bookstores, and women’s retreats nationally and In Mexico, including locally at Art-a-Whirl, Wild Yam Cabaret, Patrick’s Cabaret, Sample Night Live, Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts, and Cracked Walnut literary festival, solo and in collaborations. Wendy’s prose and poetry have appeared widely in literary journals. Recent work appears in Water~Stone Review, Peregrine, Tiferet, and Duende, and she has published a novel and two books of poetry. Wendy was awarded McKnight and State Arts Board grants to teach writing workshops in non-profits and continues to teach in community spaces such as spiritual centers, prisons, and healing centers.

Volume 13 A Path to Each Other stories and poems come from the authentic voices of everyday lived experience and thus it encapsulates the dream of a liberated and just United States: a place where cultures meet and mingle and celebrate our unique perspectives. At this time in our collective experience, we need these important stories more than ever, stories and poems of grappling with injustice amid the joy of enjoying our families, gathering with our neighbors, and appreciating natural beauty. It's never been more urgent to share our truth and walk toward each other. --executive editor Wendy Brown-Baez

"A Path to Each Other is a beautiful and formidable collection. It's a love letter to memories, places, and people who make possible our collective understanding of belonging. The voices in this book speak their truths in these tumultuous times, declaring the value of their words, holding safe the pieces of our world."

–Kai Kalia Yang

This collection of voices weaves humor, love, the gut-punch of loss, the ordinary and extraordinary with mamas and daddies, buses and ESL classes, scooters and rescue dogs, and the vagaries of Minnesota weather. It is provocative and compassionate in its portrayals of inter-generational experiences of adversity and success, written, as the quote in the book from David Mura suggests, “from strength not weakness.” In these uncertain and stressful times, these writers lead us across the diverse landscapes and cultures of St. Paul with their lyrical words and stunning imagery to help us find what we need most—a path to each other made by walking together with empathy and understanding.

―Gwen Westerman, author of Follow the Blackbirds and 2021 Minnesota State Poet Laureate

to purchase books, check out local bookstores Next Chapter or Subtext or on Saint Paul Almanac distributor website:

Saint Paul Almanac

Past Performances and Events

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photos courtesy of Orlando Diaz, Monica Del Castillo, Ned Haggard,

Laurie Benson, and George Colburn

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My performances cross the boundaries between cultures, between emotional

and transcendent states, between the spiritual and the sensual, and

between poetry and theater. In the Bay Area Express, Natasha Nargis wrote:

"She works the room with maximum theatricality, drawing those who are

transfixed on the drama before them into her vivid, vibrant world."

My style has been described by Stefen, a Berkeley muralist, as "more like a dance"

as I unfold my heart to show the world a reflection of its own beauty.

My hope is that we realize we are not alone,

and my inner landscape affirms that when I perform.

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Cuba and Jerusalem, bursting with life and history and humanity, seemed to erupt into the room. Others, about pain and grief and loss, sunk their hooks into us, touched something deep inside. The energy and empathy of her poems was infectious, and it got us all. --Gabrielle Santiago, Patrick's Cabaret

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