A Gathering + Open Mic
This reading took place on Tuesday, July 1st, at 7:00pm, at Moon Palace Books, and featured five fantastic writers: Anthony Ceballos, Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre, Taiwana Shambley, Louise Waakaa’igan (who substituted for Barbara Currin, who couldn’t make it), and Jeannine Ouellette.
Each reader took approximately five minutes to share work, followed by a refreshment break and an open mic. This reading, and the open mic afterward, were hosted by Davi Gray, Erin Sharkey, and Louise Waakaa’igan.
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; the ReEntry Lab is an organization working to connect writers and other artists leaving incarceration to a community that’s ready to receive them.
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.
Anthony Ceballos (he/him) lives and writes in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he can be found penning staff recommendations at Birchbark Books & Native Arts. He is a first generation descendant of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. In 2022 he was selected to be a participant in the inaugural Indigenous Nations Poets retreat in Washington DC, as well as their 2024 retreat in the Twin Cities. In 2016 he was selected to be a mentee in The Loft Literary Center’s Mentor Series program. He has been published in Yellow Medicine Review, Water~Stone Review, Queer Voices: Poetry, Prose, and Pride, and the anthology Another Last Call: Poems on Addiction and Deliverance, among others. His first collection of poetry, Glassful of Prayer, will be published by Trio House Press in February of 2026.
Kyle Tran Myhre (aka Guante) (he/him) is a poet and activist whose work explores the relationships between narrative, power, and resistance. He’s performed at the United Nations, been featured on a Grammy-winning album, been a member of two National Poetry Slam championship teams, and visited countless colleges, conferences, and festivals, using spoken word and storytelling as doorways into critical dialogue. His most recent book, “Not a Lot of Reasons to Sing, But Enough,” is available now via Button Poetry. Find more at http://www.guante.info.
A Black trans woman with disabilities, Taiwana Shambley (she/her) is a speculative fiction writer and award-winning teaching artist from St. Paul’s North End neighborhood. Guided by political anger and black radical tradition, Taiwana’s mission is to empower queer, trans, and disabled youth voices, through both her writing and by facilitating storytelling skills for others. Taiwana is a master’s student in fiction, a Loft and PEN/Faulkner award-winning teaching artist, and represented by agent Riley Jay Davis. She invites you to sign up for her mailing list at http://taiwanashambley.com to be the first to hear about her debut novel and chapbook.
Barbara Spivey Foster-Currin (she/her) is a strong 62-year-old African American woman who has faced the challenges of segregation and injustice throughout her life. Growing up in an ERA that marginalized her, she learned from her mother that silence can be a protective strategy in an often unfair WORLD. This silence was not just a personal choice; it was a necessary way to cope with the oppressive Jim Crow laws that shaped her journey. Barbara experienced discrimination that deepened her feelings of hopelessness and isolation. These feelings intensified during her six years in Shakopee Prison for Women. In prison, she began a journey of self-discovery through the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop (MPWW). This program allowed her to reflect on her past, take responsibility, and find a new direction in life. Through writing, Barbara explored the fears and pain shaped by her experiences. She turned her struggles into opportunities for expression, allowing her to share her story and regain control over her narrative. A key moment in her journey occurred when the SEEN project recognized her work, allowing her to share her VISUAL with more people. With this assistance, Barbara unveiled a critical insight: genuine transformation begins when individuals feel acknowledged, listened to, backed, and appreciated. “Language enables me to express my anguish, and narratives provide a way for me to convey my suffering.”
Jeannine Ouellette’s (she/her) lyric memoir, The Part That Burns, was a Kirkus Best Indie Book and Rumpus book to read in 2021. Her literary work has appeared widely in journals and anthologies. Her bestselling, cult-classic Substack, Writing in the Dark, is a passionate creative community where writing is part of a deeper, vaster conversation about how attention, curiosity, playfulness, and surprise provide portals on the path to becoming, because talking about “how to write better” without that larger context is kind of boring. Ouellette teaches writing at the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop and the University of Minnesota.
Erin Sharkey (she/they) is a writer, arts and abolition organizer, cultural worker, and film producer based in Minneapolis. She is the editor of A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars (Milkweed Editions ’23). Erin is a founding co-op member of the Fields at Rootsprings, a retreat and respite space in central MN, and co-founder, with Junauda Petrus, of an experimental arts collective called Free Black Dirt. She is the producer of film projects, including Small Business Revolution, which explored challenges and opportunities for Black-owned businesses in the Twin Cities in the summer of 2021. Sharkey has received fellowships and residencies from the Loft Mentor Series, VONA/Voices, the Givens Foundation, Penumbra Theatre, Coffee House Press, the Bell Museum of Natural History, Black Visions, Headwaters Foundation, and the Jerome Foundation. She has an MFA in creative writing from Hamline University and teaches with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop.
Davi Gray (she/they) is a queer, trans, nonbinary poet, writer, performer, artist, activist, and abolitionist. They live in Minneapolis (Bde Óta Othúŋwe), within Mni Sóta Makoce, unceded lands of the Dakota and Ojibwe. Gray’s poetry collection This Body, This Fruit was a finalist for the 2025 Louise Bogan Award (Trio House Press), 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.
* 5×5 format inspired by the 555 Reads series, developed by Elizabeth R. Tannen.