A Gathering + Open Mic
This event was held on Tuesday, June 3rd, at 7:00pm, at Moon Palace Books.
During our introductions, we each chose a favorite invertebrate; the clear winner was “spider” (sometimes with reservations), but several others made appearances, including octopus (my own favorite), tardigrade, dogbane beetle, and worms. We talked about the past year and a half of ReEntry Lab work, what we’ve accomplished so far, what we’re dreaming of in the future, and where and how people can plug in.
We then made space for stories of feeling like the Stranger — out of place, uncomfortable, perhaps unwelcome — and all attendees shared experiences of their own. After reflecting on our common human experiences, we took time to privately resolve one way to create welcome for strangers in each of our own lives over the course of the next month. We then closed out the session with an open mic, where several people shared poetry, in some cases directly related to being, or feeling like, a stranger.
This gathering and open mic were hosted by Davi Gray and Louise Waakaa’igan.
Davi Gray (she/they) is a queer, trans, nonbinary poet, writer, performer, artist, activist, and abolitionist. They live in North Minneapolis (Bde Óta Othúŋwe), within Mni Sóta Makoce, unceded lands of the Dakota and Ojibwe. Gray has won prizes in PEN America Prison Writing Contests, and her work has been published in Poetry, Water~Stone Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Rogue Agent, and elsewhere. She can often be found performing around the Twin Cities. You can learn more about her work, including upcoming events, at davigray.com.
Louise Waakaa’igan (she/her) is an enrolled member at Odaawaa-Zaaga’iganiing in northern Wisconsin. Her first chapbook, This Is Where (Aquarius Press), was published in 2020. She is also the first-place winner of the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop’s Broadside Competition (2016). Louise’s work has been previously published in PEN America, 21 Mythologies, The Moon Magazine, Night Colors, 27th Letter, Words in Gray Scale, and Doors Adjacent. She is ready to publish her second collection and recently has moved back to her beloved Minneapolis.
Better Things is a series of events sponsored by the ReEntry Lab, in partnership with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop (MPWW) and Moon Palace Books.
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.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
The ReEntry Lab is an organization working to connect writers and other artists leaving incarceration to a community that’s ready to receive them. You can learn more about its mission, volunteer to help, and sign up for the newsletter at reentrylab.org.