Little Village magazine issue 281: Mar. 18-31, 2020 by Little Village Magazine

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VOL. 29 ISSUE 281 Mar. 18–31, 2020

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PUBLISHER MATTHEW STEELE DIGITAL DIRECTOR DREW BULMAN ART DIRECTOR JORDAN SELLERGREN MANAGING EDITOR EMMA MCCLATCHEY ARTS EDITOR GENEVIEVE TRAINOR NEWS DIRECTOR PAUL BRENNAN CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ANGELA PINTO VISUAL REPORTER—PHOTO ZAK NEUMANN VISUAL REPORTER—VIDEO JASON SMITH STAFF WRITER/EDITOR IZABELA ZALUSKA FOOD & DRINK DIRECTOR

COVID-19 Complacency

At the Party With KP

Finding a New Paddle

Iowans can weather a storm, but beating a pandemic takes more than mettle.

Black Belt Eagle Scout harmonizes Native American music with rock.

Mission Creek Festival organizers on their decision to call off the 2020 fest.

JESSICA CARNEY

KEMBREW MCLEOD

GENEVIEVE TRAINOR

4 - Letters 6 - Brock About Town 8 - Interactions 12 - Community 14 - CommUnity

16 - En Español 20 - Bread & Butter 24 - Prairie Pop 28 - A-List 30 - Pandemic Playlist

39 - Dear Kiki 41 - Astrology 43 - Local Albums 44 - Local Authors 47 - Crossword

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Little Village is an independent, community-supported news and culture publication based in Iowa City. Through journalism, essays and events, we work to improve our community in the Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids area according to a few core values: environmental sustainability, affordability and access, economic and labor justice, racial justice, gender equity, quality healthcare, quality education and critical culture. Letters to the editor(s) are always welcome. We reserve the right to fact check and edit for length and clarity. Please send letters, comments or corrections to editor@littlevillagemag.com. Little Village is always free; all contents are the licensed work of the contributor and of the publication. If you would like to reprint or collaborate on new content, reach us at lv@littlevillagemag.com. To browse back issues, visit us at 623 S Dubuque St, Iowa City, or online at issuu.com/littlevillage. Jav Ducker

STAY HEALTHY, STAY SAFE, STOP THE SPREAD OF VIRUSES,

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LETTERS LV encourages community members, including candidates for office, to submit letters to Editor@LittleVillageMag.com. To be considered for print publication, letters should be under 500 words. Preference is given to letters that have not been published elsewhere.

Dear Reader, We have done our best to offer you a magazine filled to the brim, as always, with useful information. But, as you know, things are changing a bit fast these days. Please check our website often for up-to-date news, and please be gracious with us and with our advertisers if something is already outdated by the time you pick this up. —Little Village Staff THE ORDEAL. The impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus escalates across the nation and threatens our community. We in the arts have seen this plot countless times before on stage and on screen.

We recognize the moment of crisis that demands an extra ounce of strength to overcome

the odds. For the Iowa City Downtown Arts Alliance, that moment is now. The COVID-19 pandemic threatens our very being. We are community gathering places and connection points. On most days we offer respite from the storm of our daily lives, but now we are in the eye of the storm. We must put our community health ahead of our own financial well-being. The Iowa City Downtown Arts Alliance is a collective of non-profit arts organizations that contribute to the vitality of our downtown district—The Englert Theatre, FilmScene, Iowa CIty UNESCO City of Literature, Iowa Writers’ House, PromptPress, Public Space One, Riverside Theatre, and Summer of the Arts. Together our nonprofit arts organizations have an incredible annual impact. We host

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more than 900 events, nine multi-day festivals and 53 residencies and exhibitions serving 320,000 attendees. We employ 116 people, work with dozens of interns and offer paid opportunities to over 1,000 artists. We are open 365 days each year and create over $8 million in activity for the surrounding local economy. Now we go dark. How we emerge from this nadir is the true test of our collective mettle. Thankfully, in Iowa City, our band of heroes is not limited to those of us working in the arts—this entire community will help us overcome this ordeal. We may feel powerless in the face of such a crisis, but there are choices we can continue to make that will ensure the longevity of the necessary place of the arts in our community. Bolster your memberships. Consider applying the cost of tickets for missed shows into donations. Make plans to return to the audience. Lend your voice as an advocate for the arts in Iowa City. We need you in this moment, Iowa City, to ensure the survival of the greatest small city for the arts. During this uncertain time we will innovate our practices to share the power of artistic expression beyond our usual screens, stages, and spaces. That is our job: to adapt and find new ways to inspire our community. And when we emerge from this ordeal, we will again be the place where we laugh and cry together, where we experience a collective dream. The arts will help us heal. We stand in solidarity with all of the working artists, our arts and culture partners at the University of Iowa and all other locally-based arts efforts not currently represented in this group. Thank you, Iowa City Downtown Arts Alliance The Englert Theatre Jessica Egli, Andre Perry, Katie Roche, John Schickedanz, Sarah Shonrock FilmScene Rebecca Fons, Ross Meyer, Emily Salmonson, Andrew Sherburne Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature Rachael Carlson, John Kenyon Iowa Writers’ House

Look for Census info in your mailbox mid-March. By April 1, 2020, every home will receive an invitation to participate in the 2020 Census. Beginning March 12, you can respond one of three ways:

For more info about the Census and why it matters, visit

2020CENSUS.GOV

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NEWS YOU CAN TRUST.

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Alisha Jeddeloh, Andrea Wilson PromptPress Jennifer Colville, Nina Lohman, Elizabeth Munger, Kalmia Strong Public Space One John Engelbrecht, Emily Jalinsky, Kalmia Strong Riverside Theatre Adam Knight, Kate Markham, Irena Sarić Summer of the Arts Lisa Barnes, Terri Reeve, Andrea Truitt IN A PLAGUED WORLD, EVERYONE SUFFERS. Some more than others, of course.

Outside of the direct impact of illness, the economy will be hit hard. And then there’s the rest of us. We will lose touch with each other. First, the schools: Online courses mean less discussion, less engagement, less academic fulfillment. We seem to be on the cusp of closing our elementary, middle and high schools on top of the college closures. No visits to Grampa and Grandma. That

spring break trip is canceled. Sunday brunches with friends and family, board game nights, movie nights, taco dinners—COVID-19 has hit pause on the things we do to keep ourselves sane within the normal humdrum life stressors that are already difficult to bear on a regular basis. We risk forgetting what it’s like not to be alone. We might forget that the people we don’t see anymore are real, like us. So, what can we do now to hold out against that? Making art is a cathartic exercise and it is a place to put the pieces of our soul that we’re not able to express for whatever reason. But I’m a theater artist at heart. It’s not just the making, it’s the sharing, too. Every show process is different, but there are commonalities: surprise tech issues, financial fears, last-minute changes. The biggest commonality, though, is that every show also reveals a family not recognized until they come together and jump the hurdles together—supporting, respecting and enjoying each other, creating something beautiful.

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CORONA TIME I don’t really want to talk about the coronavirus, but I think I kind of have to. The 17 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state of Iowa have turned our peaceful quasi-city upside down. The university is suspending inperson classes until at least April 4, and perversely, I’m slightly jealous of the current students. We didn’t have a global pandemic when I was your age! Unfortunately, Mission Creek Festival, LV’s annual obsession, has also been canceled, hopefully to be rescheduled at some point in the future. Clearly, this is an emotional time for everyone. This morning, I had a 45-minute phone conversation with my mother, wherein she listed all the people we know and ranked them in order of who she thinks is most likely to die. She also asked if I’d be interested in moving home for a few weeks, so we can “spend our last moments together.” This kind of pessimism from the woman who has numerous 10-gallon drums of dehydrated food in her basement in case of apocalypse is a little disheartening. I asked one of my friends if she’d be interested in coming over for dinner, and she said yes, provided she can take my temperature upon her arrival. I don’t mean to sound dismissive, but I think some people are being a little dramatic about this. This morning, I made the terrible mistake of walking down the paper products aisle at Hy-Vee, where a hollow-eyed stockboy cut me off. “We don’t have any more toilet paper,” he said, flinching as though I was going to strike him. In a tone one might use on a spooked horse, I replied, “That’s OK. I was looking for paper towels.” So replied this teenage grocery professional, “You’re not supposed to flush those down the toilet.” The fact that he even feels the need to say that means that maybe we need to calm down. So, what is the appropriate response? Wash your hands thoroughly for 20 seconds at all the usual times and whenever you’ve exited a public place (personally, I like to sing the first couple of verses of Right Said Fred’s hit 1991 song “I’m Too Sexy,” but do whatever’s fun for you), keep your hands away from your face as much as possible and avoid the elderly people in your life like, um, the plague. And try to stay calm. Hyperventilating spreads germs that much faster.

Theater is alive. Literally alive, with the reactions and expectations of cast, crew, audience. No two performances are ever the same. Each show has its own soul, no matter if you loved or hated it: It was built to share and engage and enliven and consider and love. And that is what we must do as a community. No matter the reason for or form taken by your art, these are the things that can save humanity. We recently canceled the three remaining performances of a project through which I had discovered a family. A lot of theaters are shuttering, and it’s not irresponsible by any means. They’re doing it out of care. And it’s at extraordinary cost to the presenting organizations. Theaters rely on ticket sales to survive, and they’re not going to see even a fraction of these over the next few months. I think things will get

pretty rough for the majority of them. But we need them. We need them to be places of congregation where we can reconnect once the worst of this is behind us. We need to celebrate our humanity together again. To reconnect with each other. Tell stories that matter and maybe some that don’t. Laugh together. Cry. Feel. We will need to reinstate the idea that we all are important and that we all matter. Theater reminds us that we are all a family waiting to happen. We need you to help us share the important art we create together. Please consider a donation to local theater companies. Or refuse a refund for tickets you have purchased. Or pre-purchase a season pass for 2020-21. Theaters will need our help. And we’re really gonna need theirs. —Rachel Korach Howell

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LETTERS & INTERACTIONS JOE BIDEN WILL BE the Democratic Party nominee for president. This is now as clear as it’s been since the first candidates started pandering to Iowans on hay bales in town halls more than a year ago. As Biden has surged—and racked up states, delegates and endorsements in the process—I’ve noticed more and more moderate Democrats who seem perplexed as to why progressive Democrats are so forlorn at the prospect. When subsequent arguments are made espousing the virtues of Bernie Sanders and the need for a progressive platform, the reaction from moderates is one of incredulousness. The puzzled expression is usually accompanied by this question: “Don’t you want to beat Trump?” This letter isn’t about Donald Trump. In fact, it isn’t even about Joe Biden. Or Bernie Sanders. This is focused on a profound disappointment in the stunted potential of America. Progressive Democrats possess a certain brand of idealism that borders on mysticism to many; the same brand that purportedly helped give root to the very idea of a United States of America and inspired the liberties so many people hold so

close to their patriotic hearts. That ideal, put as simply as possible within this framework, is that America can and should lead the way as an example of freedom, humanity and peace. America’s recurrent problem, though, has been this: We are arguably the greatest nation in world history at articulating ideals, but we are perpetually dysfunctional at bringing those ideals to fruition. This creates a sort of revolving hypocrisy that spirals toward inaction and inequality. The above summation is why progressives frequently show reverence for the acronyms FDR, JFK, LBJ, MLK. These figures, to an extent, showed progressivism in action; the tangible application of ideals. It’s a core reason why Bernie Sanders resonates with so many progressives. The tangible application of ideals in politics is something we’re seeing less and less these days, unless you’re the Republican Party using evangelical ideals in an attempt to outlaw a woman’s right to choose and demonize members of the LGBTQ community. What happened to the Democratic Party that touted itself as a pillar of true progress? We now

/LittleVillage READER POLL: If you should need to self-quarantine for COVID-19 exposure, what would be your biggest concern?

25% Lost work hours

22.2% Caring for family

22.2% The disease itself

25% Health care costs/access

hear lectures casting single-payer health care, comprehensive prison reform and immediate climate change action as “radical ideas.” We’re repeatedly told that compromise gets things done, but does it get enough done? Many people see dire issues that don’t have time to wait for compromise to lumber toward a watered-down

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A sign reading, “As a preventative measure of the spread of COVID-19 we are stopping sales of bulk goods” at the Hy-Vee Lantern Park in Coralville “Okay on the one hand I understand and support this, but on the other hand could we maybe not make temporarily closing the bulk food aisles look like a memorial service for the Brach’s Pick-AMix.” Photo and caption by Lindsay Elliott

solution. Doesn’t true change come from an approach where you continue to push until you force the door open? It seems like we need less moderation and, in the words of Malcolm X, more “by any means necessary.”

The truth, in 2020, is that many progressives find themselves in the same place they were in 2016: forced to support a banal candidate in order to hopefully avoid the election of an explicitly dangerous candidate. That forced support in the face of an abhorrent alternative is why the Democratic Party continues to default to moderate, establishment candidates; they’re banking on the conscience of progressives to eventually come around to the “lesser of two evils.” The “lesser of two evils” is a tortuous predicament. It’s maddeningly frustrating, far from ideal and anything but progressive. Progressives have made the climb with the hope of uncovering the “city upon a hill,” only to find a picked-over rummage sale. Don’t be surprised when they’re not excited by the discovery. —Chad Cooper

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condemnation [at Veritas Church, Cedar Rapids] Had this same experience at another supposedly accepting church. I was sitting in church one day when a guest pastor said marriage is between a man and a woman. I audibly said, “Ugh,” embarrassing my niece who was with me. That was the last time I attended. Also found out they were telling my niece in Sunday School that suicide is a sin. We had a long talk after that about what really causes suicide and where the failings come from... I have to do enough damage control due to our racist, sexist, bigoted society I won’t do it on behalf of any church. —Lisa G. The 1st Amendment gives churches and other religious institutions the freedom to preach whatever they want, just as it gives you the freedom to reject those religious institutions and believe something else. Also, it’s not the responsibility of any religious institution to tell you what you want to hear on the subject of sex. —John F.M.

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INTERACTIONS It’s not the responsibility of any writer to write what you want to read on the subject of churches preaching about sex.—Paul G. Studio Visit: Artist Hannah Givler ‘collaborates’ with her materials to create architectural sculptures Hannah is an excellent teacher. I was spooked by the large table saw and she talked me through sawing up boards for our class assignment. —Jeanne S. Hy-Vee is replacing its Market Grilles with Wahlburgers BOOOOOO. If you were going to replace it, it should’ve been with a not ridiculous chain which is also NOT Midwest-based. Or with something with HEALTHIER options. —Kori M.

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To distract from laying off career employees. There’s a ladder climbing smile in every aisle. —Richard W. OMG, this excites me! If [Mark Wahlberg] shows up in Iowa City, I will die! —Sarah W. Should’ve gone with Marky Market Grille. —Joe B. Question: What is the best, actually useful, pro-social advice you have received regarding coronavirus?

everyone. - Supporting small businesses on social media with likes, reviews, referrals. - Ordering take-out from local restaurants - Purchasing products from local businesses online. - Supporting one another, [such as] offering to watch kiddos should school cancel, delivering food to seniors who are home-bound - Get outside and walk a trail - Don’t judge others for how they are handling the pandemic. Everyone copes in different ways. —Brook E. Buy a gift card from your favorite restaurant. —Kay S. Blood drives are being cancelled—go to your local LifeServe and donate! —Susan P.P. Donate cash, or some of that hand sanitizer or toilet paper you’re hoarding to Domestic Violence Intervention Program. Because not everyone is safe at home. —Georgia C. If you were planning to eat out...do take out. Some CR businesses are suggesting take-out. Even though they don’t usually do it. —Susan L.A. Prepare for if you have the virus, not just how to prevent it. Tylenol, Mucinex, etc. —Delta R.

Electronics are a wonderful tool for communicating. Support small Wash your hands often, be business and buy a gift card online. cautious, stay upbeat and trust this Check on your friends-make sure will pass! —Michael S. they are doing OK. Get used to the idea of a “staycation.” —Megan K. Don’t buy and hoard more supplies than you reasonably need. The A person in my neighborhood empty shelves at stores fuel panic offered to help people in our and leave people without access to neighborhood on Nextdoor with essentials. —Jade P. gathering groceries and taking care of things that might not super Social isolation. —Carlos V.W. doable for everyone right now. I hope it becomes a neighborhood Donating to the food bank! group of volunteers. —Mary P. —Katie R. DON’T PANIC. Best advice. - Checking on the mental health of —Lala L.

COMMUNITY

‘We’re Going to Be Fine.’ The realities of the coronavirus are coming in conflict with Midwest resoluteness. BY JESSICA CARNEY

oronavirus officially arrived in Iowa in mid-March, and within a week of this news breaking, everyone I know tried to fend it off with a healthy dose of Midwest heartiness. “It’s like the flu. It’ll be fine,” I’ve heard coworkers, fellow yoga class attendees and friends say, despite heavily reported statistics to the contrary. (The World Health Organization has estimated the COVID-19 mortality rate between 3 and 4 percent, while the flu sits under 1 percent). “Whatever, if you’re gonna get it, you’re gonna get it,” one friend said after they were shown the numbers. Another brave (if a little misguided) soul I know said, “I’d rather just get it and get it over with.” It’s not surprising that Midwesterners are giving one collective shrug: Presenting a tough exterior is part of our culture. When a giant snowstorm hits, we tend to still go wherever we planned on going, because if it’s gonna snow, it’s gonna snow. When I side-eye potluck food left out for hours, my mom will, without fail, say, “Oh, it’s fine,” while piling another heaping portion on my plate. “Rub some dirt in it” is my husband’s favorite, only-half-joking thing to say when I get a cut. In his hilarious 2006 book, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, Bill Bryson tells stories of growing up in Iowa in the 1950s during the Cold War, and how surprisingly little the adults in his life were bothered by the threat of being blown off the face of the earth. “Danger was something that happened in far away places like Matsu and Quemoy and the Belgian Congo, places so distant that nobody was really quite sure where they were,” Bryson wrote. If they had Facebook then, Iowans might’ve been the ones sharing sayings like, “You know what cures radiation? Wine.” Mona McCalley-Whitters, Ph.D., executive director of the Linn County Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, described Iowans’ stoic response to coronavirus as part defensive mechanism, part denial.

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It will be important to check in and connect with your elderly family members,” she said. Ripple effects like this, in addition to the immediate impacts on people’s health, make individuals brushing off the situation sound a little cold and callous. Dr. Alan Whitters, psychiatrist with Mercy THE PROBLEM ISN’T THAT WE’RE AN Family Counseling in UNFEELING PEOPLE; IT’S JUST HARD FOR Cedar Rapids, said the problem isn’t that we’re ANYONE TO WRAP THEIR HEAD AROUND A an unfeeling people; it’s THREAT THEY’VE NEVER EXPERIENCED. just hard for anyone to wrap their head around a threat they’ve never experienced. cerned about vulnerable populations, like the “The lack of concrete information that elderly and the homeless populations in the people have makes them feel like other things area, who, for one thing, might not have acin their life are more pressing,” he said. Plus, cess to hand-washing stations. there are few first-hand experiences to comShe’s also worried about a secondary pare it to. “No one alive experienced the 1918 problem coronavirus might cause—social Spanish flu.” isolation for those advised to stay home. Whitters said it isn’t surprising that people “Loneliness is not good for mental health. “We’re a sturdy stock, and we believe in an independent, proud lifestyle,” she said. “I think we’re going to see a growing sense of urgency as it reaches more places.” McCalley-Whitters is particularly con-

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are distancing themselves from the threat, even though (as of this writing) it’s reached three counties in Iowa. “People might think of it as a big city problem, or in any case, as a problem that will happen to someone else,” he said. With estimates pouring in about the number of people who could eventually be infected, we’re likely going to need to let down our tough exteriors and admit that we aren’t entirely prepared. We may even need to admit that we’re a little bit scared. “In spite of our sturdy stock, you or your neighbor will probably be impacted,” McCalley-Whitters said.

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Jessica Carney writes about her family, life in Iowa and all the crazy jobs she’s had (like working backstage at concerts). She’s currently working on her first nonfiction book. You can find more at jessicacarneywriter.com. READ IT

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Katherine Anne Porter Pale Horse, Pale Rider, 1939 In 1918, the writer Katherine Anne Porter was working as a reporter in Denver when the flu pandemic hit. She fell ill and almost died. Twenty years later, Porter shaped that experience into Pale Horse, Pale Rider. Miranda, a young reporter, almost dies during Denver’s 1918 pandemic. Feverish in bed, Miranda loses herself in a blend of memories and nightmares, and after recovering, she realizes her world has permanently changed. Contemporaries praised the “purity and precision” of Porter’s language, and this short novel may be her best work.

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n the 50 years since it was founded, CommUnity Crisis Services and Foodbank has never faced a challenge like the COVID-19 pandemic. But the challenges it has faced in the past, and still does on a daily basis, have helped it prepare for the major disruptions COVID-19 will likely bring. The flood of 2008 forced the nonprofit—then known as the Crisis Center of Johnson County— to temporarily abandon its building, so its workers had to find new ways to provide services. “We learned a lot, and we have continued to have multiple practices in place to be able to operate in all sorts of disruptions, and offer crisis intervention,” said Sarah Witry, director of services for CommUnity. The community service organization grew out of the efforts of two University of Iowa freshmen, Kathy Szymoniak Keeley and Carolyn Hock, whose roommate attempted suicide in 1969. After realizing there were no crisis counseling services available in the Johnson County area, the two decided to do something about it. Working with other members of the community, they opened the Crisis Center of Johnson County in 1970. Crisis intervention is still a major focus of the organization. Trained crisis counselors can be reached at any time of the day by calling (855-325-4296). There are also options for people who are more comfortable talking via text (also 855-325-4296) or prefer an online chat (iowacrisischat.org). According to Witry, in the first five days following the discovery of a COVID-19 case in Iowa, crisis counselors received over 30 calls about the disease. “Every day we are getting people concerned about the virus,” she said. “We know that people are experiencing anxiety about this. They’re also feeling anxiety about how their lives will continue to function in the midst of disruptions to their work, and to services they rely on.” “We know that a lot of things that are happening to try to prevent the spread of disease

IN CRISIS?

are creating less work for quite a few people who are already vulnerable to food insecurity, or are having trouble paying their bills,” Witry continued. “So we know that we are needed more than ever to provide help with food and financial assistance and more.” The nonprofit opened its food bank in 1978, and last year, CommUnity provided more than two million pounds of food to people in need. The food bank already has procedures in place that should help as people self-quarantine or try to engage in social distancing, Witry said. A client can designate someone to pick up food for them. Also, pre-made bags of food are available that can be brought out to clients who prefer not to come inside the food bank. “But it is better if people come in and shop for themselves,” Witry said. “Research shows there’s less food waste that way, because with pre-made bags people can get items they don’t need or won’t—or cannot—eat.” The food bank already takes precautions to limit personal contact between shoppers and volunteers and otherwise help prevent the spread of more common diseases, such as the flu. Those procedures are applicable to the coronavirus as well. Witry said CommUnity also anticipates increased demand for its Basic Needs Program, which can provide financial help to people experiencing difficulty paying for such things as rent, utilities and prescription medicines. (builtbycommunity.org/basicneeds) There is, of course, never a good time for a pandemic to occur, but March already is already a difficult time for nonprofits.The first four months of the year are typically the slowest time of the year for donations, CommUnity’s Director of External Relations Michelle Cole explained. Most people make their donations during November and December, and during the first part of the year a certain level of donor fatigue is expected. “If people are willing and able to financially support our efforts, we can take that funding, stretch it and maximize what we can achieve with it,” Cole said. “But with the uncertainty of the whole environment really causing anxiety, the most important thing for people to know is we’re here for you,” she added. “We have these services available. Please reach out to us.” Paul Brennan is Little Village’s new director.

CALL: 855-325-4296 TEXT: 855-325-4296 CHAT ONLINE: IOWACRISISCHAT.ORG

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Tres escritores POR ANGELA PINTO

staba previsto que Mélanie Márquez Adams, Javier Hernández Feris y Gabriel Villarroel participaran en el evento Subtituladxs Lit Walk de Mission Creek Festival el 3 de abril, antes de la cancelación del evento. Subtituladxs es una serie de lecturas que destaca a los estudiantes del MFA de escritura creativa en español de la Universidad de Iowa. Mientras que el escritor lee su trabajo en español, se proyectan traducciones en inglés en una pantalla detrás.

¿Qué te inspira para escribir?

Mélanie Márquez Adams: Ciertas imágenes y cosas que escucho se quedan conmigo dándome vueltas en la cabeza y en algún momento se unen a un recuerdo personal, a una anécdota. Entonces aparece una historia. Javier Hernández Feris: Lo que me inspira es, la madrugada Entre las medianoche y 6 de la mañana. Algo chiquito, siempre son cosas chiquitas. Es una imagen que veo, como aguita dentro de una raja entre dos placas en la acera—no sé, una vaina así. O alguna cosa que alguna persona haya dicho. Gabriel Villarroel: La inspiración, para mí, es moldear una emoción de la mejor forma posible. Es decir, expresarla con palabras precisas, que en muchos casos pueden venir de uno mismo, pero también de otro autor o alguna canción escuchada. ¿Qué significa poder escribir en español en Estados Unidos?

M: Es un privilegio. Muchas personas en este país son discriminadas y agredidas por expresarse en español. Por eso me tomo muy en serio esta oportunidad y en todo momento busco apoyar e impulsar la creación literaria en español dentro de EE. UU.

una lengua desprestigiada, rara vez asociada con las artes. ¿Qué piensas de las lecturas públicas comparado con tu trabajo como escritor?

M: Escribir es un acto solitario en el que mi audiencia es solamente una persona. Leer y compartir mis textos produce una vulnerabilidad, una energía que me hace sentir parte del universo y que me conecta con algo más allá de la palabra. J: Cuando estoy escribiendo, me siento más seguro que cuando estoy leyendo algo frente a un público. Siento que mis cuentos son más para ser leídos mentalmente que en voz alta. Lo que siento cuando leo es que el tiempo corre. Al minuto paro de temblar y el resto de las palabras sale súper rápido. Como cuando comienzas a manejar y manejaste a donde tenias que llegar y no recuerdas absolutamente nada de como llegaste a donde llegaste y fue como piloto automático. G: En lo personal, no me gustan tanto las lecturas. Pero mi parte preferida es la reacción inmediata del público; notar si las palabras logran un efecto que sólo se podía conjeturar cuando se escribieron en soledad.

She is a 2018-19 Iowa Arts Fellow, and recipient of an International Latino Book Award. Nominated for Best Small Fictions and Best of the Net, her work has appeared in Laurel Review, storySouth, Hong Kong Review, Asterix Journal and elsewhere.

Javier Hernández Feris holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Universidad

¿Qué palabras te gustan en español y en inglés?

journalist in Cartagena for local newspaper

M: Español: querencia; inglés: thunderstorm

of chronicles. Javier is currently working on

J: En español no tengo palabras favoritas, mis estudiantes me preguntaron eso el otro día y no sabía que decirles. Y todavía no sé. Me gusta la palabra verde—bueno me gusta más el color verde que la palabra. Pero si tengo que leer una palabra supongo que sería eso. Pero preferiría que no. Y en inglés, flabbergasted, porque cuando estaba en el colegio en la clase de inglés, nos dieron una lista de palabras y yo nunca la había visto. Fue una de las poquitas que logré aprenderme porque eran palabras bien raras. Me da risa.

J: Para mi significa poder escribir. Más que Estados Unidos es Iowa, es esta ciudad, rodeado de escritores y saber que mi tarea es escribir.

G: En inglés me gusta mucho la palabra “brouhaha,” especialmente por su música, aunque nunca la puedo utilizar. En español, se me ocurre ahora “anacronismo.”

G: Significa hablar desde el punto de vista de

English Translation >> on pg. 18

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Melanie Márquez Adams is the author of Mariposas Negras, a short story collection.

del Norte, Barranquilla. He worked as a El Universal, where he published a number his first book, a collection of short stories.

Gabriel Villarroel holds a Ph.D. in Spanish Literature from Georgetown University. He worked as a journalist and also received an honorable mention in the Short Story National Award: Cámara de Comercio de Montería-El Túnel, and the VI Short Story National Award: La Cueva. He is currently working on his first novel.

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Tres escritores WRITTEN AND TRANSLATED BY ANGELA PINTO

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élanie Márquez Adams, Javier Hernández Feris and Gabriel Villarroel were scheduled to participate in Mission Creek Festival’s Subtituladxs Lit Walk on April 3, before the festival was postponed. Subtituladxs is a reading series spotlighting students in the University of Iowa’s Spanish Creative Writing MFA program. As the writer reads their work in Spanish, English translations are projected on a screen behind them. What inspires you to write?

Mélanie Márquez Adams: Certain images and things I hear stay in my head, going ’round and ’round, and at some point they join with a personal memory, with an anecdote. So then, a story appears. Javier Hernández Feris: What inspires me is early morning, between midnight and 6 in the morning. Something small, it’s always small things. It’s a picture I see, like water inside a crack between two plates on the sidewalk—I don’t know, something like that. Or something someone has said. Gabriel Villarroel: Inspiration, for me, is shaping a feeling in the best possible way. What I mean is, expressing it with precise words, which oftentimes come from yourself, but also from another author or a song you heard. What does it mean to be able to write in Spanish in the United States?

MMA: It’s a privilege. Many people in this country are discriminated against and attacked if they speak Spanish. That is why I take this opportunity very seriously and whenever possible I try to support and encourage literary creation in Spanish in the U.S.A. 18 Mar. 18–31, 2020 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV281

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JHF: To me, it means to be able to write. More so than the United States, it’s Iowa, it’s this city, being surrounded by writers and knowing my task is to write. GV: It means speaking from the perspective of an invalidated tongue, rarely associated with the arts. What do you think about public readings in comparison to your work as a writer?

MMA: Writing is a solitary act in which my audience is only one person. Reading and sharing my texts creates a certain vulnerability, an energy that makes me feel part of the universe and connects me to something beyond the word. JHF: When I’m writing, I feel safer than when I’m reading out loud in front of an audience. I feel that my stories are meant more to be read in your head than out loud. What I feel when I read is that time is running. A minute later I’ll stop trembling and the rest of the words come out really fast. Like when you start driving and you drive to where you were supposed to go, and you don’t remember anything about how you got there, and it was like you were on autopilot. GV: Personally, I don’t really like readings. But my favorite part is the audience’s immediate reaction; to see if my words can create a certain effect, only before imaginable as they were written in solitude. What words do you like in Spanish and English?

MMA: In Spanish, “querencia,” and in English, “thunderstorm.” JHF: In Spanish, I don’t have any favorite words. I like the word “verde”—well, I think I like the color green more so than the word. So, if I had to choose, I guess it’d be that, but I’d rather not. And in English, “flabbergasted,” because when I was in school in my English class, they gave us a list of words and I had never seen it. It makes me laugh. GV: In English, I like the word “brouhaha” a lot, especially because of its music, even though I can never use it. In Spanish, I can only think of the word “anacronismo.” Angela Pinto is Little Village’s En Español editor. LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV281 Mar. 18–31, 2020 19

BREAD & BUTTER

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Preview:

A Taste of Bread & Butter

Little Village’s 2020 dining guide will hit shelves this spring. Here’s a peek at five foods and drinks featured in the new magazine. Mushrooms This year’s Bread & Butter cover star is a blooming cluster of oyster mushrooms grown by Rot’s Bounty, an Iowa City business founded by Michael Mahoney. Rot’s Bounty, along with Midwest Mushrooms in Cedar Rapids, have brought locally grown gourmet ’shrooms to eastern Iowa, supplying restaurants and grocery stores with a range of mushroom varieties, including king oyster, lion’s mane, chestnut and shiitake. Their homegrown fungi are germinated on materials like grain, wood chips and liquids, making for a more vitamin- and protein-rich product than larger, out-of-state brands that typically grow on compost. “Mushroom growing is definitely not easy,” Mahoney said. “Anyone that tries to sell it as such is usually trying to sell you on something or the other. However, it is definitely a very rewarding and creative process.”

Zak Neumann / Little Village

and thoughtfully paired with craft beers and wines. Oysters may be a divisive food, but there’s no doubt shucking, slurping and taste-testing different varieties at a glowing oyster bar makes for a memorable meal.

Oysters Almost as trendy as farm-to-table menus right now are oyster bars. From St. Burch Tavern to LP - Street Food, the saltwater morsels are offered as appetizers or whole meals; splashed with vinegar, spicy sauces or lemon-ginger mignonette; served up raw, fried or bouillabaissed, whole or on the half-shell;

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Zak Neumann / Little Village

delivered to your door, you judged the quality of your milk by the amount of cream sitting on top of your milk,” said Sara Rissi, sales and marketing manager for Kalona SuperNatural. “We tried to replicate that with our brand and process as little as we can and just try to keep it as natural as possible.” Using milk from small family farms around Kalona, small-batch pasteurization methods and a “clean” approach to dairy, Kalona SuperNatural sells organic milks, cheeses, yogurts and more that taste like they’ve been transported from another era— boasting flavor and quality they say is worth the extra price. Plant-Based Burgers Short’s black bean burgers are practically the stuff of local legend, but they’re far from the only restaurant offering vegetarian and vegan patties that taste like more than an afterthought. From original creations (MapRoom’s and Trumpet Blossom’s veggie burgers) to thoughtful employment of popular meat alternatives (Nodo with NexVeg; 30hop with Impossible Burger), it’s getting easier to cut out meat while savoring your dinner.

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Tonic Water “I am a fan of gin, but I think that commercial tonic water is pretty blah and kind of garbage. People buy quality gin and then mix it with this really not-so-great ingredient,” said Joanna Mouming, creator of Joanna’s Premium Tonic Syrups.

Armed with fruits, spices, a “nearly perfect palate” and a giant pot called Big Betty, Mouming debuted her own tonic water brand in April 2019. Her product was first sold at the Iowa City Farmers Market, and can now be found at markets between Des Moines and Davenport, as well as local restaurants including Pullman Bar and Diner, Trumpet Blossom Cafe, Bread Garden Market and Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery. “If you have better pizza dough, you’re going to make a better pizza, and if you have a better tonic syrup, you’re going to make a lot better cocktail than with tonic water,” Mouming said. ––Emma McClatchey

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CULTURE Prairie Pop

The Dream of the ’90s Self-taught through VHS tapes of vintage Nirvana and Hole performances, Katherine Paul took those lessons in her own direction. BY KEMBREW MCLEOD

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t the Party With My Brown Friends, released last year by Omaha’s Saddle Creek label, is something of an aspirational album title. “I was just trying to think about metaphorical worlds in which I would feel the most safe. Living within Portland, Oregon, it’s a very white city,” said Katherine Paul, or KP, who records and tours as Black Belt Eagle Scout. KP was born in 1989 within the Swinomish tribe on an Indian reservation in the Puget Sound region of Northwest Washington, along the coast. She was raised by artsy parents and was involved in a lot of powwows while growing up, and her family also had a drum group that traveled around the region. Although KP maintained strong ties to her cultural roots, by middle school she began to discover 1990s alternative rock groups like Nirvana. This eventually led her into the indie rock world that Black Belt Eagle Scout inhabits—a scene that is still largely white, though she is actively working to change that. “Kind of being a little bit of a loner and having to search for community,” KP said, “it ended up being a very important thing for me to have people of color in my community and wanting to create that space for people

EVENT POSTPONED: Black Belt Eagle Scout was scheduled

of color. So, At the Party With My Brown Friends is, like, ‘We’re at this metaphorical party where I want to have my brown friends there with me. I want to have people of color. I want to have my non-black people of color there with me, my indigenous people there with me.’ I want to uplift those people so that

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spaces can be more harmonious.” KP started getting into grunge and riot grrrl music as a young teenager, something that was a constant presence for someone growing up in the Northwest. “I was like, ‘Ooh,

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I really like this kind of music,’ and so I got really into the angry, emotional, political side of music. I started listening to Nirvana, and so I was at this age where I just was like, ‘I need this music. I need this angry music.’ And so it started this domino effect. Then I found out about Bikini Kill, and I found out about riot grrrl, and I found out about the DIY music.” She already had a solid foundation in music growing up around Native American music—which was like the air she breathed— something that made her comfortable enough to start playing rock music. In 2004, around the 10th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death,

“THAT’S GONNA BE MY BAND, AND I’M GONNA WRITE ALL OF THE SONGS AND I’M GOING TO HAVE MY FRIENDS PLAY WITH ME. I’LL TEACH THEM THE PARTS.” MTV had been airing vintage Nirvana performances that she taped on a VHS recorder, which she watched again and again. “It was at the time I’d been wanting to play guitar and wanting to figure out how to learn guitar, but I wasn’t sure where to start. I hadn’t had any lessons though, and I was, like, ‘Well, how do I learn how do I play?’” KP returned to the VHS tapes she made of Nirvana, Hole and other bands and carefully studied the screen with her guitar in hand. “So I would pause the tape and then look at how their fingers were placed, and then that’s how I learned the first kind of chords that I played—by watching on TV.” Having already played percussion since she was young, KP started as the drummer in a local Portland band. After they broke up, she began playing guitar in another band she started with a friend until finally hitting a wall. “It got to a point where I felt like I wasn’t being creatively fulfilled,” KP said. “I felt like I could do more within music, and I wanted to have more control over my creativity. I like being collaborative with people, but sometimes I feel like I just want the freedom to do whatever I want. So with Black Belt Eagle Scout, I was like, ‘Oh, I can make these decisions and I can have creative control over this, I can be an autonomous person,

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CULTURE I can be independent.’” Starting out as a solo project, Black Belt Eagle Scout stayed on KP’s backburner until she decided to quit that other band and strike out on her own. “That’s gonna be my band,” she recalled thinking, “and I’m gonna write all of the songs and I’m going to have my friends play with me. I’ll teach them the parts.” Not only did KP take charge of her own creative direction, she is also heavily invested in working to alter the largely white, heteronormative orientation of indie rock. For instance, although she personally knows many indigenous queer musicians on the scene, most of them do not have access to a publicist, booking agent or indie label. Pointing to the Asian women who front Jay Som and Japanese Breakfast, KP acknowledges that this is changing, slowly, but she hopes to speed up the pace by actively working with trans, queer and non-binary indigenous artists on music videos and other creative projects. “Within marginalized groups,” she said, “if there is somebody with a platform that can open doors for other people, that just makes it better. If there are more voices that can be heard, and there’s more diversity, then people can get to know one another. I want there to be space where other people can feel like they can step up and be like, ‘Oh, yeah, I can. I can do this. I have this opportunity.’” “I think that that comes from the dominant society telling queer, indigenous people that this world wasn’t built for you,” she added. “So it’s a resistance to that, where I’m trying to try to balance things out a little bit more.” It’s the end of the world as we know it, and Kembrew feels fine.

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CULTURE

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Mission Creek is Postponed (Long Live Mission Creek) Iowa City’s long-running festival fell victim to coronavirus fears, but it’s down, not out. BY GENEVIEVE TRAINOR

n Thursday, March 12, just three days before this issue was due to go to print, Iowa City’s Mission Creek Festival made the announcement Jenny Lewis performing at Mission Creek Festival, April 2019. Zak Neumann / Little Village that it wouldn’t be holding its much-anticipated April 1-4 fest. It was six days after the cancellaeveryone.” tion of Austin’s SXSW festival had shaken the “People are really concerned and nervous Schickendanz said that the festival should film and music worlds, the first clue that this about the current situation,” Schickedanz wrote. know more about what the new vision will look not-then-pandemic that originated in China was “Community support for the decision has been like in the next few weeks. going to have a significant impact on the arts overwhelming. We understand that this is obMission Creek Festival wasn’t the first event here in the United States. viously an inconvenience for patrons who have in the Iowa City area to shutter, but it’s possibly This issue of Little Village (and the next) purchased tickets so it’s humbling to see such a the most significant. Now in its 15th year, the normally focuses on all things Mission Creek. positive response.” festival is a favorite for patrons and artists both Our all-hands-on-deck efforts at LVHQ to If the cancellation of Mission Creek, and in town and throughout the region, providing a rethink and reorganize this magazine felt hercuthe dominoes that fell after (Riverside Theatre, chance to spend the early days of spring wanlean from the inside, but we’re well aware that Iowa City Community Theatre, Public Space dering around downtown Iowa City to the fest’s they are only a fraction of the efforts going on One and the Iowa City Public Library are scattered venues. And other arts presenters in the city, state, national and global level to try among the other orgs that have canceled events the area may take their cues from the decisions and craft a new normal for the arts in a time of since) can help the public comprehend the seriof an event this big. social distancing. ousness of what the World Health Organization Rather than canceling completely, Mission officially declared a Creek decided on a pseudo-postponement. It pandemic on March 11, won’t be possible to wrangle all of the same then it will have served a “WE DO KNOW THAT WE DON’T KNOW talent scheduled for the expansive music, litervital role. WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN GOING ature, film and art fest, but organizers are doing “Over the course of FORWARD, BUT WE CAN HOPE THAT THERE’S their best to bring as many folks together as the week there was a possible on a yet-to-be-determined date later deeper understanding A TIME WHEN THE SITUATION DIES DOWN A this year, for an event that may not match the of what communities, LITTLE BIT. WHEN THAT TIME COMES, WE’RE original, but will surely capture the same pasfestivals, artists needed REALLY GOING TO THINK HARD ABOUT HOW sion and fascination that the community is used to do to ensure a better to reveling in. situation for communiCAN WE CELEBRATE THAT.” —ANDRE PERRY “We’re postponing as much of the festival ties across our country,” as possible, and working with individual artists Perry said. “Everyone “These are effects that are being felt across to identify their availability,” said Marketing was a little bit shell-shocked this week, but at the board, certainly in the states, and in our Director John Schickedanz in an email. “When the same time the decisions I don’t think were small community here,” said Andre Perry, the community faces a crisis, it’s the arts that difficult.” Mission Creek Festival founder and executive remind us of our humanity and allow an escape Perry has had to reconsider events of his own director of the Englert Theatre, which presents from the everyday. We want to make sure that as he continues to promote his recent book, the festival. “I think when you see a music feswe continue to grow the arts in our community Some of Us Are Very Hungry Now. tival go down … those things are a little more to allow people that release. We also understand There’s also the challenge of finding ways to in the public eye. People might see those first. that canceling the festival would affect the support the other professionals associated with There was probably a big shock when South downtown economy and artists. We’ve considpresenting a festival: artists, managers, agents, by Southwest got canceled, to be followed by ered patrons, artists and the downtown commuvendors. “They’re all just miniature-to-moderCoachella. It’s just so public.” nity and feel that our current plan is the best for ate economies of their own,” he said. 28 Mar. 18–31, 2020 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV281

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CULTURE The real trick, though, “was more the logistics of figuring out, ‘What do we do from here?’, to ensure we’re bringing amazing experiences to our communities and perhaps at a time when we need, even more than we needed before, might need positive interactions with each other.” “We do know that we don’t know what’s going to happen going forward,” Perry continued, “but we can hope that there’s a time when the situation dies down a little bit in terms of being dangerous, and it’s not a public health crisis anymore. When that time comes, we’re really going to think hard about how can we celebrate that.” “I have been in conversation with staff members at other arts organizations around town … We’re in ongoing conversations about who we are and how we can best deliver our mission together,” Perry said of the glimmer of hope that he sees in these challenges. “I think the COVID-19 situation has accelerated how we think about our partnership and how we might stand in solidarity to better support the place that we live in. We’ve had some really intense conversations … about not only, what do each of our individual organizations need to do to move forward, but, how do we move forward together. And I think that’s good—for us, and for the cultural community in downtown Iowa City.” In the meantime, there are numerous, crucial ways to support Mission Creek Festival and other artists and organizations throughout the area. Mission Creek has suspended sales of their event merchandise (which is too bad, because I still really want one of those T-shirts!), but their website welcomes donations through the Friends of the Englert program. More generally, said Schickedanz, “Nonprofit arts orgs often survive on meager margins. Consider the true cost of a show you really enjoy and donate a few extra dollars to the venue. If you’re able, set up recurring donations so that arts organizations can count on your support. … Talk to your friends about art, buy merch, consider applying the cost of tickets to canceled shows to donations and when things are back to normal, support your local arts orgs by coming out in force.” Genevieve Trainor washes her hands for 20 seconds by singing the intro to They Might Be Giants’ Flood. Which is kind of ironic considering the last major challenge to the arts communities in eastern Iowa. 30 Mar. 18–31, 2020 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV281

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SOCIAL DISTANCING EDITION JANUARY 8-21, 2020

The very first Little Village print calendar, issue 1, July 2001

For the first time since the very first issue of Little Village, we’re not running a print calendar. The situation regarding COVID-19 in our area, in the country, and in the world is changing on a moment-to-moment basis. We initially pulled together a list of events, as usual, but within a couple days, many of them had been canceled; there was no doubt even more would be by the time this magazine went to print. We didn’t feel that it was fair to you, the reader, to be faced with pages of culture you couldn’t consume. To be sure, there are events still happening, though they are few and far between. You can always find the most up-todate information we have on our app or online calendar. But we also didn’t feel it was right to actively encourage you to leave your homes. As such, we’ve compiled lists of artists you can support from your couches, and other ways to consume, engage and stay active in the community, even while practicing social distancing.

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Mama Bear Dares Who: Leslie Klipsch and Tesi Klipsch LISTEN ON: APPLE, SPOTIFY, STITCHER

Sisters-in-law Leslie and Tesi Klipsch met when they married two brothers, and soon found deep similarities between their philosophies in life. On this podcast, they interview women who, they say, “are determined to see love, compassion and justice win.” Where the Eye Meets the Pyramid Reverend Charles Lee Pagan and DJ Crystal Daze

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Iowan Podcasts to Stream While you’re busy socially distancing yourself from friends and neighbors, a familiar voice can help you make it through the day. Here are five podcasts recorded here in Iowa to open your mind, without stepping outside your front door. Stuck in the Middle Fat Boi & Crunk Chocolate LISTEN ON: APPLE, BUZZSPROUT, SPOTIFY

Recorded in Davenport at the Underground Economy, Stuck in the Middle is hosted by Royce Barnett, a.k.a. Crunk Chocolate, and Eric Dickerson, a.k.a. Fat Boi. They discuss movies, music, life and more from a Midwestern, black perspective, with great tunes sprinkled throughout. Nursing Uncensored Adrianne Behning, BSN RN LISTEN ON: APPLE, SPOTIFY, STITCHER

Iowa City night nurse Adrianne Behning has been walking the walk since 2016 and talking the talk since not long after. Behning engages other nurses in (frequently NSFW, always HIPAA-compliant) conversations about life as a nurse in the U.S., championing education and advocacy.

LISTEN ON: APPLE, BUZZSPROUT, STITCHER

Occasional “medicine show” events spinning at Gabe’s Iowa City anchor this pair in what passes for the real world, but whether in person or in podcast, this program exists to defy reality with deep dives into the best of psychedelic music, “from the far ago, to the now and beyond.”

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Hippies & Cowboys Garrett McKie and Mike Hart LISTEN ON: APPLE, SPOTIFY

This bi-national country music podcast (McKie is in Alberta, Canada; Hart is here in Iowa) aims to “fight the battle against pop country” by shining a light on some of the best country artists active today (Little Village’s own Brian Johannesen was on a recent episode). BONUS!

Making Space for Yourself Daniel Boscaljon LISTEN ON: APPLE, STITCHER

While not a podcast, strictly speaking, this series of 10 meditations from frequent LV contributor Daniel Boscaljon is perfect if you want to sink into, rather than escape, yourself with all your downtime. It explores three different angles on the concept of space: absence, presence and potentiality—or, holding space, taking up space and, ultimately, making space.

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Mission Creek Artists

Here’s how you can listen and support artists who lost their shows when the festival was called off to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

ven though Mission Creek Festival has been canceled, you can still enjoy the fantastic local and regional musicians who were slated to perform—and they could definitely use the love! You can listen to them at the Bandcamp links provided (we’ve suggested great jumping-off points into their respective ouvres), and you may purchase their work there as well. You can also give them a listen on this Spotify playlist: tinyurl.com/LV-MCF-local-love. Every listen drops a few pennies in their jar, but grabbing that full album or other merch does a lot more good.

Hadiza.

Dan Padley

Penny Peach, Jr.

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These dreamy vocals have been a must-see locally for a while now. Thankfully, there’s now an album to enjoy at home. Check out 2019’s Shadow Weight.

Check out Dan’s 2020 single “Johanna” or 2019’s Perfectly Whelmed. The LV review said of the album that “each song is imbued with his personality, in turns whimsical and moody.”

She’s partnered with Elizabeth Moen and stood out as one of Anthony Worden’s Illiterati; her debut single, “bangz,” is a gift to us all, friends.

Pink Neighbor

Pulsing

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The LV review of 2019’s Time Beach Universe called it “a perfect pastiche of the full variety of 1960s party pop.” It opens with the perfect exhortation for our times: “Welcome to the party, let’s put our minds together and off we go, my friend!”

2019’s “Am Happy” EP is the most fun you will ever have with a chiptune album, and that’s saying a lot. Wild, weird and wonderful.

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Jim Swim ITSJIMSWIM.BANDCAMP.COM

Just prior to dropping Sad Girls With Bible Names as Tall Doozy (with Mary Bozaan), the 2020 single “What’s The Move?” feat ADE and Tyler Stuck landed smooth as silk.

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Purcha$e

Elizabeth Moen

Aseethe

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Take some time and let 2019’s R wash over you. You’ll be grateful you did.

The LV review of her latest album, A Million Miles Away, notes that “While Moen has always possessed a certain sage sound, her junior album ups the stakes—her tone has matured in its cascading depths.” Also don’t miss her 2019 single “Ex’s House Party.”

The LV review of 2019’s Throes argues that “Aseethe uses what power they have, both culturally and sonically, to gather up space and hold it open. Their anger is a gift, and it feels like a weapon we can wield.” Use it well.

White Batzzz WHITEBATZZZ.BANDCAMP.COM

“Dizzy Head” (2017) is the chill side of witch house, but with an eerie tinge that will leave you wanting more.

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2020’s I Was Born Swimming was a much-anticipated release from the now-Bostonian artist. It was worth the wait.

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“The huge reverb on [2019’s Villains] implies a church-sized room without sacrificing the intimate nature of the songs,” the LV review states.

LOOKING FOR TIPS ON HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT THE ARTS DURING THE PANDEMIC?

Father Christmas Patience pays off with 2019’s 20-minute noise delight “Cowboy.”

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Lily DeTaeye LILYDETAEYE.BANDCAMP.COM

DeTaeye’s full, powerful voice is in fine form on 2019’s Bite Back.

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Magic the Gathering. Video Games. Warhammer. Warmachine. RPGs. Board Games. X-Wing. Dice. LotR. HeroClix. Miniatures. GoT. Blood Bowl. L5R. Pokemon. Yu-Gi-Oh. Kidrobot Vinyl. Retro toys. Pop vinyl & plushies. Gaming & collectible supplies. Huge Magic singles inventory plus we buy/trade MtG cards. Weekly drafts, FNM, league play, and frequent tourneys. Now buying/selling/trading video games & toys! Bring in your Nintendo Gameboy, NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Sega, WiiU, Xbox 360, PS1-2-3, & other used games, consoles, action figures, and toys for cash or trade credit! Fun atmosphere and great customer service!

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DEAR KIKI

ear Kiki, My partner and I have recently opened up our marriage and TBH I’ve been super excited about getting started after pushing the idea for years. Of course there’s an international contagious disease crisis as soon as we finally agree to give it a try. Are we putting ourselves at risk by sleeping around? Should we consider closing up shop till the CDC says the coast is clear? ––Love in the Time of Coronavirus Dear Love in the Time, You might need to take some. Time, that is. But the degree of caution you choose to exercise is entirely on you and your partner. I have yet to see specific recommendations against casual dating, and that’s all the typical open marriage entails. If we weren’t in the middle of a pandemic, I’d still recommend against going out on a first date (or a date night with your spouse, for that matter) if you were feeling under the weather. This should be no different. Know your body, isolate if ill and expect that your potential paramours do the same. Honestly, it’s a little nice knowing that you can use the pandemic as an excuse to be a bit more explicit about that expectation. There are some caveats, of course. For one thing, lots of places are closed and more are closing every day. You probably aren’t going to the theater. You won’t be headed out to a concert. Many cities are prohibiting all gatherings over a certain number. Your options are limited, and so it might seem that a nice, quiet night in is the best date idea. Here’s why that’s risky: 1) If you’re on the apps, you’re talking about someone you might not even know. Whether it’s your place or theirs in consideration, I’m gonna have to ask you to

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NOPE right out of that situation, pandemic or no. 2) Even if you are already acquainted with this person, no matter how excited you are to take things outside the marriage, the pressure of sex on a first date can make you feel like a teenager again, and not in all the many possible good ways. Since you’re just diving into this, you might not be as ready as you think you are, and a tense situation may make it difficult to say no, even if your date isn’t overtly applying pressure. Here’s the other thing: Are you or your partner over the age of 60? Immunocompromised? Please, don’t open yourself up to risk, no matter how small, if you’re in a group that’s higher risk already. I know you don’t want to live in fear or isolate yourself if you’re healthy, but better safe than sorry. You need to make the call, but really, I’d tell you not to ride public transportation, too. These aren’t hard “no” answers. These are just things to keep very sincerely in mind. But don’t worry, I do have a couple of hard “no” situations! Is your open marriage taking the form of swinging, where you go out together to a crowded party and maybe even have some fun in a group situation? HARD NO! You see the problem terms there, right? “Crowded party”? “Group situation”? Skip ’em. Social distancing is your friend. It doesn’t have to mean total isolation, but it does mean that a large group of probable strangers is contraindicated for a good time. I would be hopeful that such parties would be canceled under the circumstances, but you never know. The more people, the more chances there are for an undetected virus to spread.

Have either you or your partner been to a high-risk country in the last few weeks? Any exposure to folks who’ve, say, just returned from a cruise? Shit, sweetie, I’m really sorry, but even if you’re not feeling any symptoms: HARD NO! I get that you’re the one writing in, so your health should be my first concern—but don’t be an asshole. Don’t let your start in this game be one of putting potential partners at risk. It’s not good form. All of this naysaying and doom-and-gloom aside, this is not an entirely untenable situation for you. Think of it this way: If you would feel safe meeting a friend for lunch, then why would it matter if that friend happens to be someone that you’re interested in cultivating a deeper relationship with? We’re not on lockdown. We’re not all in isolation yet. (If you are in isolation, don’t leave your house, and don’t invite people over. I think that’s understood.) Bottom line: Don’t snog anyone who you don’t trust to make your health a higher priority than getting some, and make sure you’re making the same call for others. And remember: Chatting online or on the phone can be quite pleasurable as well, and (if you’re looking to develop relationships, not just find sex partners) a great way to get to know someone better. Your open marriage doesn’t have to involve in-person dalliances. Have fun! xoxo, Kiki

KIKI WANTS QUESTIONS!

Questions about love and sex in the Iowa CityCedar Rapids area can be submitted to dearkiki@littlevillagemag.com, or anonymously at littlevillagemag.com/dearkiki. Questions may be edited for clarity and length, and may appear either in print or online at littlevillagemag.com.

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ASTROLOGY

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BY ROB BREZSNEY

We interrupt your regularly scheduled horoscopes to offer insights about the virus-driven turning point that the whole world is now experiencing. As you’ve probably guessed, all of us are being invited to re-evaluate everything we think we know about what it means to be human. I refer to this unprecedented juncture as The Tumultuous Upgrade or The Disruptive Cure. It’s fraught with danger and potential opportunities, crisis and possible breakthroughs. And while the coronavirus is the main driving force, it won’t be the only factor. We must be ready for more Rough, Tough Healings disguised as Bumpy Challenges in the coming months. Here’s the astrological lowdown: Throughout 2020, there’s a rare confluence of three planets in Capricorn: Pluto, Saturn and Jupiter. They are synergizing each other’s impacts in ways that confound us and rattle us. In the best-case scenario, they’ll also energize us to initiate brave transformations in our own personal lives as well as in our communities. Below is a profile of each planet’s meaning. When we are in intense and intimate relationship with Pluto—as we are now—we’re invited to dive down deeper: to see life from the soul’s perspective rather than from the ego’s; to seek wealth and meaning not as they’re defined by the material world but as they’re understood by the part of us that’s eternal. Descending into the mysterious Plutonian depths can be disruptive to our conscious beliefs and intentions, but may ultimately be profoundly regenerative. When we are in intense and intimate relationship with Saturn, we’re invited to get more serious and focused; to register the fact that we don’t have unlimited time and energy, but must firmly decide what’s important and what’s not. We’re asked to be ruthlessly honest about the roles that are most likely to bring out the best in us. When we are in intense and intimate relationship with Jupiter, we’re invited to risk growth and expansion; to take proactive responsibility for seeking the rich experiences that our souls long for; to aggressively enhance our lust for life. Now I invite you to meditate on the potent mix of Plutonian, Saturnian and Jupiterian energies. I encourage you to respond to the convulsion by deepening your understanding of how profoundly interconnected we all are and upgrading the way you take care of yourself, the people you love and our natural world. In the horoscopes below, I suggest personal shifts that will be available to you during this once-in-a-lifetime blend of planetary energies. ARIES (March 21-April 19): Possible crises in the coming months: 1. Your power spot may be challenged or compromised. 2. Your master plan might unravel. 3. There could be disruptions in your ability to wield your influence. Potential opportunities: 1. You’ll be motivated to find an even more suitable power spot. 2. A revised master plan will coalesce. 3. You’ll be resourceful as you discover novel ways to wield your influence.

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TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Possible crises in the coming months: 1. Your vision of the big picture of your life may dissipate. 2. Old reliable approaches to learning crucial lessons and expanding your mind could lose their effectiveness. Potential opportunities: 1. You’ll be inspired to develop an updated vision of the big picture of your life. 2. Creative new strategies for learning and expanding your mind will invigorate your personal growth. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Possible crises in the coming months: 1. There may be breakdowns in communication with people you care about. 2. Contracts and agreements could fray. 3. Sexual challenges might complicate love. Potential opportunities: 1. You’ll be inspired to reinvent the ways you communicate and connect. 2. Your willingness to revise agreements and contracts could make them work better for all concerned. 3. Sexual healing will be available. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Possible crises in the coming months: 1. Friends and associates could change in ways that

are uncomfortable for you. 2. Images and expectations that people have of you may not match your own images and expectations. Potential opportunities: 1. If you’re intelligent and compassionate as you deal with the transformations in your friends and associates, your relationships could be rejuvenated. 2. You might become braver and more forceful in expressing who you are and what you want. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Possible crises in the coming months: 1. Your job may not suit you as well as you wish. 2. A health issue could demand more of your attention than you’d like. Potential opportunities: 1. You’ll take innovative action to make your job work better for you. 2. In your efforts to solve a specific health issue, you’ll upgrade your entire approach to staying healthy long-term. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Possible crises in the coming months: 1. Love may feel confusing or unpredictable. 2. You may come up against a block to your creativity. Potential opportunities: 1. You’ll be energized to generate new understandings about how to ensure that love works well for you. 2. Your frustration with a creative block will motivate you to uncover previously hidden keys to accessing creative inspiration. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Possible crises in the coming months: 1. You may experience disturbances in your relationships with home and family. 2. You may falter in your ability to maintain a strong foundation. Potential opportunities: 1. Domestic disorder could inspire you to reinvent your approach to home and family, changing your life for the better. 2. Responding to a downturn in your stability and security, you’ll build a much stronger foundation. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Possible crises in the coming months: 1. There may be carelessness or a lack of skill in the ways you and your associates communicate and cultivate connectivity. 2. You may have problems blending elements that really need to be blended. Potential opportunities: 1. You’ll resolve to communicate and cultivate connectivity with a renewed panache and vigor. 2. You’ll dream up fresh approaches to blending elements that need to be blended. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Possible crises in the coming months: 1. Money may be problematic. 2. Your personal integrity might undergo a challenge. 3. You could get lax about translating your noble ideas into practical actions. Potential opportunities: 1. You’ll find inventive solutions for boosting your wealth. 2. You’ll take steps to ensure your ethical code is impeccable. 3. You’ll renew your commitment to translating your noble ideals into practical action. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Possible predicament during the coming months: You may have an identity crisis. Who are you, anyway? What do you really want? What are your true intentions? Potential opportunity: You’ll purge self-doubts and fuzzy self-images. You’ll rise up with a fierce determination to define yourself with clarity and intensity and creativity. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Possible crises in the coming months: 1. You’ll be at risk for botched endings. 2. You may be tempted to avoid solving long-term problems whose time is up. Potential opportunities: 1. You’ll make sure all endings are as graceful and complete as possible. 2. You’ll dive in and finally resolve long-term problems whose time is up. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Possible crises in the coming months: 1. Due to worries about your self-worth, you may not accept the help and support that are available. 2. Due to worries about your self-worth, you might fail to bravely take advantage of chances to reach a new level of success. Potential opportunities: 1. You’ll take dramatic action to enhance your sense of self-worth, empowering you to welcome the help and support you’re offered and take advantage of chances to reach a new level of success. LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV281 Mar. 18–31, 2020 41

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LOCAL ALBUMS

Barry Phipps The Exuberance Phase WWW.BARRYPHIPPS.COM

hen Iowa City-based multimedia artist Barry Phipps posted to Facebook that he had just released a new album, I headed to my favorite streaming service right away. I am an admirer of Phipps’ book of photography, Between Gravity and What Cheer: Iowa Photographs, and aware of his history as a musician, which included membership in the Coctails. So I was eager to hear what his latest artistic endeavor might sound like. I was delighted by what I discovered. The Exuberance Phase: Selected Modular Works features 25 tracks that Phipps composed on an analog modular synth. For me, the music immediately called to mind the work of minimalist composers like Philip Glass with its repeated figures and variations. The album also reflects Phipps’ deep admiration for electronic music pioneers and innovators (his website lists Raymond Scott, Roedelius, Neu!, Brian Eno, Sam Prekop and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith as inspirations). The album was not created via a traditional compositional process. Instead, this music is drawn from several hours of early recordings that were not necessarily intended for public consumption. In his notes on the record, Phipps writes: “The Exuberance Phase is a collection of music I made while learning how to use a modular synthesizer. I began

Submit albums for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240

buying modules one at a time until I learned how to use them. I recorded stuff as I went along. Over time, I become more confident and proficient. Later, I went through these early recordings and had no memory of how I made them. ... It’s the only music I’ve ever made that I can listen to without hearing me in the music. These are my favorite selections from over three hours of recorded compositions.” For me, this collection of music is of a piece with Phipps’ photographs in From Gravity to What Cheer. When I spoke with him about the photography collection, he noted the ways in which the photos he was shooting seemed to build on one another. “A lot of the towns had this consistent architecture and history, and they also have the same state of decay ... I found that the texture and the accumulation of layers of culture were consistent from town to town. It was like the discovery of different iterations of the same thing over and over. But as a photographer who has a background studying painting, my photography is really about color, line, texture and form ... It was like I was going from town to town to find the palette I was working from to compose these images.” The music on The Exuberance Phase could also, I think, be accurately described as “different iterations of the same thing over and over” and made up of variations in “color, line, texture and form.” The record also lives up to its name. There is something energizing—exuberant—about these compositions. They reward close listening, but also serve as aural support when you need to concentrate. The album serves, for example, as an excellent soundtrack for writing a review about itself. —Rob Cline

The Uniphonics The Uniphonics THEUNIPHONICS.COM

he Uniphonics have been long-time members of the constellation of bands who spearheaded the Iowa City funk and world beat scene in the late-’90s and early-2000s, along with brothers in backbeat Public Property and Euforquestra. While the formula of blending rap with live instrumentation has been done before, the electric jazz and funk of the Uniphonics is a fresh take on it—even given the fact that they’ve been doing it for over 11 years now, and it has been 10 years since their last album, Crawl. In those 10 years, the original members of the Uniphonics have had time to stretch their creative legs with other projects, and it shows in the polish and complexity of the new music. While it is still recognizable as a Uniphonics record—rap blended with jazz and funk, with the blunted flow of MC Animosity—the addition of more singing and harmony makes the album fall neatly in the R&B pocket. The addition of Bethann Heidgerken (Candymakers, BEEs) on vocals and rap is a key part of the fit and finish. Her harmonies with Nassor Cooper and Animosity elevate this record and deliver hooks for days. But it’s when she drops rhymes that the listener is really blown back in their seat. We’re treated to that on the first track on the record, “The

Struggle.” Built up of vignettes of people who turn to the creation of music as a way to elevate themselves beyond their downtrodden station in life, Heidgerken’s turn at the mic on “The Struggle” is a laid-back rhyme that recalls another MCband pairing, Bahamadia with Morcheeba. The biggest sign of the distances to which the Uniphonics are pushing the sound of the band is on the totally retro, new jack R&B of track eight, “Truly Yours.” The smokey sax over the chiming guitar with the snaps helps deliver the lyrical testimony. “You know that I’m down, make sure that it’s understood, you know that I’m down, give you all the time in the world.” The soaring harmonies of the chorus make it sound like it dropped right off of an Ashford and Simpson album. “Truly with me, right here, right now/Finally the waiting is o-over!” Is the world ready for a resurgence of ’80s R&B? This song is an argument that it needs to get ready. With the self-titled release from the Uniphonics we’re reminded how fun and funky their recipe for jazz and rap gumbo is. They spawned during a time when there were more bands experimenting with this combination, and there aren’t many left on the scene. It’s for this reason that the record seems so fresh in a landscape with so many mushmouthed MCs and retread, formulaic beats. On “Anybody Out There?” Animosity raps, “I hear the new brothers rapping and they sound the same—is it going to be lame?” Uniphonics, with their real musicians and smart MCs, are the star in the funky stellar cluster that should inspire and lead the way to a return to form that’s anything but lame. —Michael Roeder

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV281 Mar. 18–31, 2020 43

LOCAL BOOKS

Local Authors A

wide selection of area writers were slated to read at Mission Creek Festival; here’s a list of those with recent books available that you can purchase online or check out of the library digitally to read on your own. Several are available for purchase on Bookshop.org (Iowa City’s Haunted Bookshop is an affiliate) or indiebound.org, which allow you to order online and receive at your door while still supporting local stores. (If you’re feeling bold, or just making that last desperate supply run, you can of course find them physically in libraries and bookstores throughout the area.)

Garth Greenwell Cleanness

Anna Bruno Ordinary Hazards

Julie Hanson Unbeknownst

AVAILABLE THROUGH:

ICPL (E-BOOK, E-AUDIO),

BOOKSHOP, INDIEBOUND, SIMON

BOOKSHOP, INDIEBOUND, UI

BOOKSHOP, INDIEBOUND, MACMILLAN

The LV review said of Cleanness, “The evolution of forms of cleanness becomes a through line that the title provides: It suggests a way to navigate being human.” Exactly what we need right now.

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& SCHUSTER

PRESS

This first novel from University of Iowa Tippie College of Business teacher Bruno explores the entanglement of history and home and the complex questions of inheritance and grief, ultimately circling back to hope.

This Iowa Poetry Prize winner is a perfect choice for curling up and contemplating who and where we are right now.

Submit books for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240

Becca Klaver Ready For the World

Robin Hemley Borderline Citizen

Michaela Mullin Must

Loren Glass Rebel Publisher

AVAILABLE THROUGH:

INDIEBOUND

BOOKSHOP, INDIEBOUND, SPD

BOOKSHOP, INDIEBOUND,

BOOKSHOP, INDIEBOUND, SEVEN

Out this month on University of Nebraska Press, this part memoir, part travelogue explores the tensions between a sense of place and a sense of self.

Iowa City’s Klaver, who is the Robert P. Dana Director of the Center for the Literary Arts at Cornell College, offers “a book of poems, spells, performance scripts, and feminist fairytales” anchored in pre-#MeToo activism and centered on play and artmaking.

NOMADIC PRESS

STORIES PRESS

With illustrations by Mariela Yeregui, Des Moines poet Mullin spins a collection of collaboration and memory.

UI English professor (and occasional LV contributor) Glass opens a window onto the reign of seminal counterculture house Grove Press and its journal, The Evergreen Review.

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STACKS OF SINGLES

BY B E N TAU S I G

LittleVillageMag.com

The American Values Club Crossword is edited by Ben Tausig. 1

24 27

31 35

37 40

61 66

54 58

60 63

ACROSS 1. Routine 4. Bette’s “Divine” stage persona 9. Shaped, as Jell-O 15. Granite State sch. that held a 2016 Democratic presidential debate 16. Noted violin-making family 17. “You can’t spare three squares?” speaker 18. Mushrooms often braised in oyster sauce 20. Genre for author

62 67

68. Puzzle solver’s revelation, or how to describe the brief success of an ’80s hit song represented visually three times in this puzzle 69. Involve 70. Finish cleaning, as someone else’s mess 71. Old nutritional no. 72. Smell strongly like 73. Crew 74. Foundational punk label that shares a name with a defunct airplane

Marianne Williamson 21. Politician’s activity, after e.g. supporting stop-and-frisk forever but now they would like to be elected president, so 23. ___ smear 24. Foot curvature 25. Alternative to a plastic grocery bag 26. Super dry 27. 2016 Olympics host, casually 28. Goofy stage presence 31. “No stopping now!”

33. It might get pushed back at the airport: Abbr. 34. You might set one to get up 37. Spy, as it were 38. 1996 De La Soul album on which Mos Def broke out 42. Troll’s locale 45. Vermont ski town 48. Texas city where Hank Hill lives 49. Some RPI grads 51. One of three Spanishlanguage songs ever to reach #1 on the Billboard

Hot 100 54. Stats resulting from buckets: Abbr. 55. Vehicle in a surveillance operation 56. Covetous feeling 57. Site that sells lots of algorithmically generated T-shirts 60. Extinct flightless bird 61. Grocery magnate Zabar 62. What Jack has always been, apparently, in The Shining 66. Maori “hi”

30. Eucharist celebration 32. Oregon Trail vehicles 35. Org. that used to help cops arrest people for downloading MP3s 36. Roman Cath. title 39. Multi-level marketing company into whose fortune Betsy DeVos married 40. Menu option all the way to the right, often 41. “Suuuure ...” 43. DMVs, of licenses sometimes 44. Bad streets to turn down during car chases 45. More streamlined 46. Evidence of uneven exposure 47. Make moot 50. Show complete contempt for 52. On ___ of 53. Had crabs, say 58. Little rascal 59. Popular fantasy sports site 60. Three Gorges project 62. De La Soul, e.g. 63. Emulates De La Soul 64. Gangly ratites 65. Imbibe 67. Common tree in Central Park

DOWN 1. Money for the crosstown, say 2. Gets, as something passed down 3. Issue that might cause a dog to feel cold 4. Member of congress? 5. Shia leader 6. Rice liquor 7. One might allow you to bypass a bypass 8. Screw up 9. Teen Spirit manufacturer 10. Wedding dress designer Cassini 11. Order partner 12. What toddlers go in 13. Warning before crossing swords 14. Most philosophical LV280 ANSWERS 19. Hamburger’s J P S A R T R E OB S E S S self E S T ROGE N Z E A L O T 22. Judge in The S HOO T I NGGA L L E R Y People v. O.J. T A N S F UROR AME X SWE E P E K E D Simpson P OWE R S O F T WO 26. Obama at CH E S S BOX NOR A D the University of N E L L SWA P S R I D E Michigan B R A I N CR E E K B E D C O M P A N Y T O W N 28. Olajuwon who S HOE D A R T H leads the NBA in A L SO F L AGS L A R A career blocks B E L L Y U P T O T H E B A R AGR E E S T R I OX I D E 29. Pilsner alterBOS S E S S P R E A D EM natives

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