ISSUE 298 September 2021
A L W A Y S
F R E E
FAR OUTTA THERE Dock Ellis’s long, strange trip inspires a new CR play
Dostoyevsky turns 200
Inside ‘Storm Lake’
Maquoketa caving
A short story in Spanish & English
PLUS:
New books to read from a pile of leaves
2 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 3
4 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
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NEWS & CULTURE FROM IOWA CITY Since 2001 littlevillagemag.com
10 - Top Stories 12 - Advertising Partners 14 - Interactions 17 - Cortado 19 - Brock About Town 24 - En Español 26 - Dostoevsky at 200 28 - Book Excerpts 32 - Fall Book Releases 34 - Prairie Pop 36 - Bread & Butter 40 - A-List 46 - Events Calendar 61 - Dear Kiki 63 - Astrology 65 - Album Reviews Dostoevsky in prison, 1874
73 - Book Reviews 75 - Crossword
26
Suffering Together
IC revels in crime, punishment and all things Dostoevsky.
34
The Art of Journalism
Storm Lake’s Pulizer-winning newsman gets a documentary.
40
POWERED BY CAFE DEL SOL ROASTING
One Hit, No-Hitter
SAVE, SHARE OR RECYCLE
Mirrorbox Theatre explores Dock Ellis beyond his infamous LSD trip.
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September 12, noon-5 Bookmobile • Crafts • Birthday Cake
featuring
The Dandelion Stompers with
Troy Peters Magician Big Bang Bubble Stations
IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY - Celebrating 125 years (319)356-5200
icpl.org
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NEWS & CULTURE FROM IOWA CITY Since 2001 littlevillagemag.com
EDITORIAL
SOCIAL MEDIA
Publisher
Facebook @LittleVillageMag
Issue 298, Volume 30
Arts Editor
Instagram @LittleVillageMag
September 2021
Genevieve Trainor
Twitter @LittleVillage Cover by Sam Locke Ward
genevieve@littlevillagemag.com PRODUCTION
There’s no crying in baseball, but
Managing Editor
Web Developer
sometimes there’s psychedelics.
Emma McClatchey
Adith Rai
In this issue, LV spotlights a
emma@littlevillagemag.com
adith@littlevillagemag.com
trippy new play, a celebration of
News Director
Digital Director
brewery (and very old caves), a
Paul Brennan
Drew Bulman
new Art Cullen doc, a short story
paul@littlevillagemag.com
drewb@littlevillagemag.com
from Angela Pico, fall book and
Art Director
Videographer
Jordan Sellergren
Jason Smith
jordan@littlevillagemag.com
jason@littlevillagemag.com
Staff Writer & Editor
Marketing Analytics Coordinator
Izabela Zaluska
Malcolm MacDougall
Jon Burke is a University of
Melanie Hanson’s just trying to
izabela@littlevillagemag.com
malcolm@littlevillagemag.com
Iowa graduate living in the
get her shite right and let it all
Twin Cities who writes about
go meow.
Dostoevsky, Maquoketa’s new
album releases and more.
Meet this month’s guest contributors:
Multimedia Journalist
SALES & ADMINISTRATION
Adria Carpenter
President, Little Village, LLC
adria@littlevillagemag.com
Matthew Steele
Rob Cline is a writer and critic
Little Village columnist and
matt@littlevillagemag.com
who would gleefully give
the chair of Communications
the current state of things a
Studies at the University of
negative review.
Iowa.
Sarah Conrad is a live music
Angela Pico is a bilingual writer
fanatic who is constantly tired
for children and adults. She currently lives in Iowa City.
Copy Editor Celine Robins
Marketing Director & Copywriter
celine@littlevillagemag.com
Celine Robins celine@littlevillagemag.com
Events Editor, Design Assistant
music, film and pop culture. Kembrew McLeod is a founding
Sid Peterson
Advertising
and loves to throw herself into
sid@littlevillagemag.com
Nolan Petersen, Matthew Steele
new creative projects.
ads@littlevillagemag.com Spanish Language Editor
Michael Roeder is a selfNicholas Dolan’s favorite
declared Music Savant. When
Creative Services
Dostoevsky characters are
he isn’t writing for Little Village
Website design, Email marketing,
Nastasya Filipovna of The
he blogs at playbsides.com.
Calendar/Event Listings
E-commerce, Videography
Idiot and Kirillov of Demons.
calendar@littlevillagemag.com
creative@littlevillagemag.com
Contact him at nmdlan97@
Dana Telsrow is a musician-
gmail.com.
cum-artist specializing in diet
Angela Pico
Corrections
CIRCULATION
editor@littlevillagemag.com
Distribution Manager
Sarah Elgatian is a writer,
Joseph Servey
activist and educator living
September Contributors
joseph@littlevillagemag.com
in Iowa. She likes dark
Sam Locke Ward is a cartoonist
Audrey Brock, Jon Burke, Lev Can-
Distribution
coffee, bright colors and
and musician from Iowa City.
toral, W. Alex Choquemamani, Rob
Terrance Banks, Charlie Cacciatore
long sentences. She dislikes
He self publishes the comic
Cline, Sarah Conrad, Tim D’Avis, Nick
distro@littlevillagemag.com
meanness.
zines Voyage Into Misery and
Avery Gregurich, Melanie Hanson,
OFFICES
Avery Gregurich is a writer
over 50 music albums. In 2020
David Lee, John Martinek, Kembrew
Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St
living and writing at the edge
his “Futile Wrath” strip for Little
McLeod, Zak Neumann, Angela Pico,
Iowa City, IA 52240
of the Iowa River in Marengo.
Village won the Association of
prog and gently elongated portraiture in Iowa City.
’93 Grind Out and has put out
Dolan, Sarah Elgatian, Cheryl Graham,
Alternative Newsmedia’s award
Amir Prellburg, Trey Reis, Michael Roeder, Mark Schaefer, Dana Telsrow,
Little Village Creative Services
Tom Tomorrow, Sam Locke Ward
132 1/2 E Washington Suite 5
for cartoon of the year.
Iowa City, IA 52240, (319) 855-1474 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 7
MOST COMMENDABLE COVID—19 MITIGATION GAME • BEST DEFENDER OF SCIENCE • BEST PANDEMIC REMODEL • BEST PANDEMIC MOOD—BOOSTER • BEST PANDEMIC BEACON OF RATIONALITY • BEST VACCINE ADVOCATE • BEST SWITCH TO STREAMING • BEST STREAMED PERFORMANCE • BEST PRESENTED BY PANDEMIC ADAPTATION — RETAIL • WORST PANDEMIC RESPONSE BY A PUBLIC FIGURE • BEST PANDEMIC ADAPTATION—RECREATION • BEST PANDEMIC ADAPTATION—ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • BEST PANDEMIC ADAPTATION—COMMUNITY • BEST PANDEMIC ADAPTATION—GOODS AND SERVICES • BEST PANDEMIC ADAPTATION—ARTIST • BEST LOCAL BAND • BEST 2021 SONG BY LOCAL ARTIST (SINCE NOV. 1ST, 2020) • BEST 2021 ALBUM BY LOCAL ARTIST (SINCE NOV. 1ST, 2020) • BEST SONGWRITER • BEST LOCAL PODCAST • BEST OVERALL MUSICIAN • BEST ARTS PRESENTER (ORGANIZATION, VENUE OR INDIVIDUAL) • BEST LOCAL THEATER COMPANY • BEST THEATRICAL PRODUCTION OF 2021 (LIVE OR VIRTUAL) (SINCE NOV. 1ST, 2020) • BEST CONCERT OF 2021 (LIVE OR VIRTUAL) (SINCE NOV. 1ST, 2020) • BEST FESTIVAL OF 2021 (LIVE OR VIRTUAL) (SINCE NOV. 1ST, 2020) • BEST PUBLIC ART • BEST LOCAL STAND—UP COMEDIAN • BEST LOCAL AUTHOR • BEST LOCAL ARTIST • BEST PLACE TO DANCE • BEST MOVIE THEATER • BEST LOCAL RECORD LABEL • BEST LOCAL RECORDING STUDIO • BEST COMMUNITY (I.E. NON—PROFESSIONAL) MUSIC OR THEATER GROUP • BEST PLACE TO SEE LOCAL MUSIC • BEST CULTURAL EVENT • BEST DRAG PERFORMER • BEST POET/SPOKEN WORD ARTIST • BEST RADIO STATION • BEST PLACE FOR A CHEAP DATE • BEST FREE FUN • BEST PLACE FOR A KID’S BIRTHDAY PARTY • BEST LIBRARY • BEST ART GALLERY OR MUSEUM • BEST SCIENCE OR HISTORY MUSEUM • BEST HISTORIC BUILDING • BEST PLACE TO VOLUNTEER • BEST ELECTED OFFICIAL • BEST NONPROFIT DIRECTOR • BEST COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • BEST ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATE • BEST NONPROFIT FOR COMMUNITY ACCESS • BEST ARTS NONPROFIT • BEST YOUTH NONPROFIT • HARDEST FIGHTIN’ UNION • BEST TOURIST ATTRACTION • BEST YARD/GARDEN • MOST TRUSTED FUNERAL HOME • BEST SHOPPING DISTRICT • BEST VIEW • BEST PUBLIC RESTROOM • BEST LOCAL TWITTER ACCOUNT • BEST LOCAL FACEBOOK PAGE • BEST LOCAL HERO • BEST LOCAL ENTREPRENEUR • BEST LGBTQ+ HANGOUT • BEST PANDEMIC MOOD—BOOSTER • BEST PANDEMIC BEACON OF RATIONALITY • BEST RESTAURANT • BEST COCKTAIL MENU • BEST CHEF • BEST BARTENDER • BEST RESTAURANT STAFF • BEST FOOD—SCENE GAME—CHANGER • BEST GROCERY STORE • BEST PRODUCE • BEST FARMERS MARKET VENDOR • BEST CSA (COMMUNITY—SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE) • BEST LOCAL FARM • BEST littlevillagemag.com/crandic CRAFT BREWERY • BEST COFFEEHOUSE • BEST RESTAURANT FOR DELIVERY/TAKEOUT • BEST PLACE FOR A BUSINESS LUNCH • BEST RESTAURANT TO TAKE YOUR PARENTS TO • BEST RESTAURANT FOR A PRESENTED BY FIRST DATE • BEST PIZZA • BEST BURGER • BEST FRIES • BEST BAKERY • BEST COLD TREATS • BEST BREAKFAST/BRUNCH • BEST LATE—NIGHT FOOD • BEST BARBECUE • BEST SOUL FOOD • BEST LATIN/SOUTH
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LittleVillageMag.com
Top Stories Daily news updates, events, restaurant reviews and videos at LittleVillageMag.com.
‘I’m not a scientist’: Gov. Reynolds on face masks; the Iowa State Fair
The conspiracy-theory influence on Iowa’s laws and lawmakers
opens as COVID cases keep climbing By Paul Brennan, Aug. 12
By Emma McClatchey, Aug. 21
Masks are not required at the state fair, even when inside buildings. Gov.
Conservatives looking to court the Trump base are doubling down
Reynolds didn’t mention COVID-19 during her remarks at the opening
on conspiracy theories, or dipping their toes into the QAnon pool for
ceremony, but has been heavily promoting the fair, both in her capacity
the first time. This summer, Iowa’s own Republican leaders have given
as governor and as a candidate for reelection in 2022.
credibility to everything from election fraud to COVID-19 misinformation, sometimes having a direct influence on public policy.
Iowa City issues new mask mandate for schools, restaurants, UI campus
WATCH: Getting to know Iowa (and Midwest music) at
and more By Paul Brennan, Aug. 19
Grey Area festival By Adria Carpenter,
Mayor Bruce Teague declared a civil emergency and issued a face mask
video by Jason Smith, Aug. 18
mandate for Iowa City on Thursday evening, due to the ongoing surge
“Are you writing an article about Grey Area?” a woman
in COVID-19 driven by the Delta variant. The governor’s spokesperson
asked me. I told her I was with Little Village, and had just
issued a statement saying the mandate is “against the law” and “not
moved to Iowa from the South. She said the culture must
enforceable.”
feel strange. “How’s it feel to see live music again?” I asked. “Fucking great,” she said. “It nourishes the soul.”
WATCH Grey Area, August 14, 2021
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THANK YOU TO THIS ISSUE’S ADVERTISING PARTNERS This issue of Little Village is supported by: Adamantine Spine Moving (51) Arnott & Kirk (28) Artifacts (76) Ascended Electronics (29) The Art of Music School (42) Blank & McCune (60) The Club Car (75) Coralville Public Library (72) Dandy Lion (68) Deetz (4) Cedar Rapids Czech Village New Bohemia co-op (32-33) - The Daisy - NewBoCo - Parlor City Pub & Eatery - Black Earth Gallery - Goldfinch Cyclery Chomp (11) City of Iowa City (15) CIVIC (43) The Englert Theatre (41) FilmScene (49) Goodfellow Printing, Inc. (75) Greater Muscatine Chamber of
Commerce & Industry (52) Grinnell College Museum of Art (42) Honeybee Hair Parlor (46) ICCA (38) ImOn (45) Iowa City Northside Marketplace (62) - Home Ec. Workshop - Russ’ Northside Service, Inc. - John’s Grocery - R.S.V.P. - Pagliai’s Pizza - Dodge St. Tire - Marco’s Grilled Cheese - High Ground - George’s - The Haunted Bookshop - Hamburg Inn No. 2 Iowa City Downtown (17) - Yotopia - Beadology - Release Body Modification
- Record Collector - Critical Hit - The Konnexion Iowa City Public Library (6) Iowa City Burger Haul (29) Iowa Public Radio (38) Iowa Department of Public Health (25) Johnson County Health Path Clinic (53) Johnson County Public Health (45) Kim Schillig, Realtor (38) KRUI 89.7 FM (61) Leash on Life (37) Linn County Conservation (23) Martin Construction (55) Mary’s Farm Sanctuary (56) Mailboxes of Iowa City (42) Merge (44) Micky’s Irish Pub (46) Multicultural Development Center of Iowa (43)
MYEP (57) National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (2-3) New Pioneer Food Co-op (74) Nodo (29) Oasis Street Food (66) Perez Family Tacos (29) Public Space One (14) Raygun (23) Red Vespa (57) Revival (43) Ricardo Rangel, Jr., Realtor (44) Riverside Theatre (44) Shakespeare’s Pub & Grill (75) Teddy’s Bigger Burgers (68) University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art (70) Whitedog Auto (64) Wig & Pen Pizza (58) Willis Dady Homeless Services (20) Willow & Stock (31) World of Bikes (57)
Little Village magazine print readership 25,000—40,000 per issue LittleVillageMag.com readership 200,000 monthly article views 74,000 unique monthly visitors
RECENT READER SURVEY DATA MEDIAN AGE: 37 25—34: 26% 35—44: 22% 45—54: 17% 55—64: 14% 65+: 10% 18—24: 9%
AVERAGE NUMBER OF CHILDREN 1.85
MEDIAN PERSONAL INCOME: $55k 26%: $40k—60k 18%: $60k—80k 17%: $100k+ 17%: $20k—40k 12%: <$20k 11%: $80k—$100k
GENDER
EDUCATION Masters: 34% Bachelors: 31% Ph.D: 18% Some college: 9% Associates: 7%
AVERAGE NUMBER OF YEARS LIVING IN EASTERN IOWA
Female: 63% Male: 34% Nonbinary/other: 3%
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LittleVillageMag.com
Interactions 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. Gov. Kim Reynolds asks the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade (July 30) An overwhelming majority of Iowa voters support Roe v Wade. Reynolds is not representing the voters. —Craig A. She can kick rocks. —Ben S. Retired Admiral Michael Franken says he will run for Senate (Aug. 2) YES—this man I will back as he can beat Grassley and I know he could have beaten Ernst too had Dems endorsed him. Crossing my fingers. Thanks for running again, Admiral Franken! —Margaret B.
Cedar Rapids requires mask wearing in city-owned buildings (Aug. 3) I am pleased that the city is being proactive and I am happy to comply. I now [wear] my mask more places because there is so little social distancing taking place now. I will do it in hopes that we don’t have to close down again! —Tarrill A. In memoriam: John Rapson, 1953—2021 (Aug. 3) This is quite the loss for the jazz community of Iowa City. A hell of a
F U T I L E W R AT H
S A M LO C K E WA R D
HAVE AN OPINION? Better write about it! Send letters to: Editor@LittleVillageMag.com
gentleman, teacher, and performer. —Rich L. Book Review: ‘Nightbitch’ by Rachel Yoder (Aug. 4) Yep people you need to read this book. Read someone who has the imagination and the language to write about the rage and desperation we all feel. —Xixuan C. I adore this local review in @LittleVillage. “Nightbitch is about identity and aging and the meaning of life in a body.” Thank you, @rahthesungod! —@RachelYoder on Twitter The Hall Mall is dead, long live the Hall Mall! (Aug. 6) It was a destination for the younger generation when I was a teen. We drove
Find out when the leaf vacuum will be in your neighborhood. Visit icgov.org/
leafvacuum or call 319-356-5181 VENMO @littlevillagemag PAYPAL lv@littlevillagemag.com
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 15
STRESS FRACTURES
JOHN MARTINEK
I N T E R AC T I O N S 2hrs on 2 lane rds just to shop there. —Mickey C. Got my 1st tattoo in the Hall Mall. I think I still have an infection. Love you, Hall Mall! —Kevin R.C. My first purchase in Iowa City, when I first arrived here was a handmade purse in one of the shops of the Hall Mall. —Katya B. Oh man. Phat A$$ Record$ rented out a spot back in ’09, dubbed it “the practice pad,” primary used for ILLTH rehearsal. In fact we credit our sessions at the pad to our “getting good.” I also got my ears pierced up there around that time... ha! Then the guy was at the illth show at Gabe’s that October! Lol good times. —Mike V. Hall Mall was my first stop when I’d hit IC in the late ’80s, early ’90s. Got patchouli oil, got a hair wrap, checked out all the crystal and bead shops. It was so taboo to go there. I miss that place. Now I’m old and almost a grandpa. Life flies by. —Mike B.
LITTLE VILLAGE
A Y S A L W
E F R E c. Nov. 4–DE ISSU E 288
GIVE GUIDE
A special issue spotlighting local retailers and nonprofit organizations for the holiday season. Participation includes print, web, email and social media promotion through month of November
Spotlight Local Nonprofit and Retail
Y S A L W A
F R E E
Friendship community Project creates a ‘family’ of English language learners. pg. 12
Nonprofit dance, counseling and Iowa one2019 helped groups 5–DEc. 3, socialISSUE 274 Nov. city teen beat the odds. pg. 22
DEADLINE APPROACHING Reserve your position by 9/13/21 Contact ads@littlevillagemag.com 16 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
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ail spotlight nprofit & ret 2019 local no
cSPS, NcSML and AAMI join forces to bring new public art to cedar Rapids. pg. 36
IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN
Community
Cortado Un año Cortado POR W. ALEX CHOQUEMAMANI
E
millions of live & active cultures
that’s a lot of culture, even by iowa city standards
Get 10% off when you mention Little Village
Always buying & selling quality vinyl records, CDs & turntables.
116 S Linn St (319) 337-5029
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!
115 S. Linn Street (by the Public Library), Iowa City Tel: 319-333-1260; Email: chg@criticalhitgames.net www.criticalhitgames.net @criticalhitgamesiowacity
CLOSED Tuesdays www.recordcollector.co
l mes pasado (agosto) esta columna llamada Cortado cumplió un año en Little Village. Y no hace mucho también esta revista cumplió veinte años difundiendo cultura en Iowa. Como ven, hay muchos motivos para celebrar. Una forma de hacerlo es destacando algunos acontecimientos que marcaron el 2020, y las columnas que dedicamos a los mismos. La pandemia del Covid-19. De lejos, lo más difícil que nos tocó vivir en todo el sentido de la palabra (médico, laboral, emocional, social, familiar). Y a pesar de haber comenzado hace más de un año, aún no salimos del todo de ella (hoy expertos de la salud recomiendan seguir usando máscaras, especialmente en lugares cerrados). Sobre el impacto de la pandemia en la población inmigrante de los Estados Unidos, escribimos la columna: La vida de los indocumentados importa. Otro acontecimiento igual de impactante que el anterior, pero en cierto modo más esperanzador fue el movimiento Black Lives Matter. Cierto que hubo mucha rabia e indignación por la muerte de George Floyd. Y al mismo tiempo también hubo críticas precisas: una de ellas, poner fin a la represión policial ejercida sobre la población afroamericana. Nosotros escribimos algo al respecto desde la mirada de un inmigrante latino (La pregunta sobre BLM que persiguió casi dos meses). Y entre pandemia y protestas, también hablamos un poco de música (La jukebox del Fox Head, y ¡Por favor, pongan cumbia!). La mayor parte de nuestras crónicas y columnas tienen como fondo la ciudad de Iowa City. Vivimos, y nos gusta en Iowa City. Sin embargo, hace poco nos ronda por la cabeza la idea de dejar nuestra comodidad citadina para salir a buscar historias en otros lugares. Sí, lo haremos las veces que podamos, y siempre será con ánimo curioso y con muchas ganas de conversar con gente nueva en torno a una historia o anécdota, que es lo que al final nos interesa. Finalmente, agradecer a nuestros lectores interesados en la lectura de esta columna en español. A los editores de esta revista por la confianza depositada todo este tiempo. Y también a los amigos y amigas que leyeron y comentaron una versión previa de estas columnas. A todos y todas, gracias totales.
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 17
I N T E R A C T I O N S up there too, all sweaty crusty punks watching piled in the corner…. —Karle J.M.
Rich Dana
Had some of my artwork up there, years ago. Don’t remember selling anything, but felt good, to “have” it somewhere! Sad to see, but will always have that memory. — Josh H.
In the mid eighties I was in grade school in Coralville. Our sitter would occasionally take us on trips into IC to City Park, the Ped Mall, etc. One of our stops at the Ped Mall was Hall Mall. That was quite an experience for a little kid. I seem to recall picking up a sailor hat at one of the shops… —Jacob C. The Hall Mall was my JAM in the ’90s… the smell that started right at the entrance…. intoxicating. Have 2 tattoos and many memories. I remember seeing bands gig
When I had a shop there in 1986 John Schneider still kept an office way in the back, he was in his 90s. Ivy had a clothes shop, Mark Simmons had a balloon delivery business, Steve Carlson had a 45RPM shop. It was a great alternative space where people could try something out. —Mark S. I still wear clothes from Red Rose. —Jane L.M. My mom and I were frequent suppliers for Red Rose, she used to find the BEST fur coats and other vintage clothing. —Julianne V.M.
My mom Helen WORKED at Red Rose. She says she got my name in a dream, but I’m pretty sure it sprang from hippie retail therapy! —Rose I. Many memories of the Hall Mall. Piercings. Vintage clothes. Tattoos…well not for me on that one, but ya know. —Becca M. I miss that huge round white chair and antique cigarette thing you could put the ends in. I miss all the hippie shops. —Lisa D.B. I hate the changes in Iowa City. It’s just not the same. I moved here ten years ago just because I loved it here. With every ugly high rise hotel or condo or shop/ bar/restaurant that’s gone I am more and more ready to leave. Not to mention the transit system no longer servicing the people. —Dina A.S. Nothing can hurt me again like losing the
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DAILY LOVE LETTERS FROM LV: LittleVillageMag.com/Subscribe
LittleVillageMag.com tobacco bowl. —Zach J. ‘It all feels like a dream’: Cookies & Dreams opens location in Coralville (Aug. 9) Amazing cookies!! Probably the best I’ve ever had. —Mayela P. Free speech v. industrial farms: Iowa’s ag gag laws go to federal court (Aug. 11) I don’t know. If I run a business that undercover investigations have exposed multiple examples of heinous mistreatment of animals, me trying to block those investigations kind of tacitly acknowledges those things will still be happening. —Ben S. ‘I’m not a scientist’: Gov. Reynolds on face masks; the Iowa State Fair opens as COVID cases keep climbing “I’m not a scientist” is probably one of
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AUDREY BROCK
Last weekend, I took my boyfriend to Cedar Rapids to meet the home folks. It was a beautiful afternoon, so we rolled the windows down as we passed through the scenic downtown area, and then he instantly rolled them back up. Now, I’ll be honest: I lived in Cedar Rapids for so long, I hardly notice the supposed assault on the olfactory organs being perpetrated by the Quaker Oats corporation. (Except Crunchberry day. I look forward to that shit for weeks.) Mostly, I think the whole “City of Five Smells” joke is more of a meme than an actual observation being made by the people who won’t shut up about it. After all, every town smells like something, right? Why is Cedar Rapids getting singled out in all this? And that got me thinking: if Iowa City had five iconic, defining smells, what would they be? • The ginkgo trees on the Pentacrest, which, particularly in the summer, reek of… well, you know. Or, if you don’t, ask your big sister. • A townie bar: slightly dank, redolent of spilled PBR and stale French fries, with hints of the cigarette smoke wafting in through the front door. Yum. • A brand-new book from the self-help section of Prairie Lights, being huffed by a freshman creative writing major who thinks the fact that paper smells good is the kind of brilliant insight that’s going to get her that Pulitzer. • The vaguely comforting, extremely crunchy aroma of the vitamin aisle at the New Pioneer Co-op, and also most of the people who buy their vitamins there. • That particular way in which Victoria’s Secret Love Spell mingles with the coffee smell at the Clinton Street Starbucks to create a sort of basic miasma. We’re definitely going to need our own candle.
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W O R T H
R E P E AT I N G
“Oh, listen, I’m not a scientist, so I have to take—I have to do the best that I can do with the information that I received, but really what I think I need to do is, I don’t know.” —Gov. Kim Reynolds on her decision not to act on new COVID-19 guidance from the CDC “I’m turning over every stone to make sure our elections are secure!” — Iowa Rep. Sandy Salmon from Mike Lindell’s Cyber Symposium, which did not, in fact, lead to the overturning of the 2020 presidential election results “If we want every learner’s future ready, we need our students in school. Suspending them and arresting them is not the answer. We need to shift our focus to other forms of consequences that remediate, provide support, restore and change the narrative for our students.” —CRCSD Deputy Superintendent Nicole Kooiker, discussing the decision to remove police officers from Cedar Rapids middle schools “We are in this together, and the City of Iowa City, the councilors and the staff stand in full solidarity in saying, ‘Please follow this order of wearing a mask.” — Mayor Bruce Teague, announcing Iowa City’s second mask mandate
“I am so grateful to you—Iowa City in concept as well as the actual people—for bearing with me for over a decade and offering me space and opportunity to help Zak Neumann shape our cultural future. You gave me license to experiment, seek new heights, to envision what our collective dream might look like. This has been a fantastic journey.” —Andre Perry in a letter announcing his resignation as Englert Theatre’s executive director “You know we’re going to be back. Oh, we definitely will be back.” —Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene at the Iowa State Fair, joined by Sen. Matt Gaetz “Obviously no one saw 2016 coming back in 2011, so no one knows what future via CRCSD alignments are going to hold. That’s the challenge for redistricting: not just knowing what’s going to work for the next midterm, but down the road.” —Cory McCartan, winner of Dave Wasserman’s 2021 Iowa redistricting challenge
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I N T E R AC T I O N S
/LittleVillage READER POLL: Folks who have worked in both food service and retail—which was the worse experience?
Food Service 60.5%
Retail 30.2%
Neither, I loved both! 9.3%
the most insightful things she’s ever said. —Nicole M. I wish at some point she would share the data she is finding “on both sides,” because I seem to see all the data from the actual scientists and epidemiologists, which should be the only data you would need. Listen to the experts since you are not one! —Jason W.G. Not guilty: Jury acquits 18-year-old charged with assault for touching state trooper’s arm during a protest (Aug. 19) Now they should charge the state trooper with assault IMO. —Chris G. Cops are the biggest babies on planet earth. —Robin S. Gov. Reynolds condemns President Biden’s push to lift school mask ban in Iowa (Aug. 19) This country is on the cusp
Which offered better pay and/ or benefits?
Food Service 25%
Retail 35%
They were about the same 40%
of the most horrific chapter of this pandemic—children dying. How dare she accuse the current administration of “doing a disservice” and “unconscionable” actions and “kowtowing to the teachers’ unions” when masks are literally the only protection these children currently have. —Michele S. Kim, come tour UIHC and see what wearing masks is about. Educate yourself! —Connie F. Iowa City mask mandate: UI and ICCSD say they can’t require masks; Mayor Teague discusses enforcement (Aug. 20) Yes, they can! They enforce dress codes! Students can’t bring weapons to school. Why let them kill each other by prohibiting a tiny piece of cloth? —Ann D. Go Mayor Teague, public health supersedes our governor’s completely
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I N T E R A C T I O N S misguided law...COVID is getting worse in Iowa. —Nasreen S. Iowans need to stop electing extremist wing nuts to the state legislature and governor’s office. Nothing will change until that happens. These crusty old Republicans have a stranglehold on the state and they deal in vengeance politics at every turn. The school district and UI (or any state university, or any public school system) will suffer great wrath if they defy state law. Blame the voters. For the past decade this state has been turning into a freaky-right enclave ruled by old white men who now control Kim Reynolds 100 percent. It’s like living in the deep South, only with less culture and worse scenery. Have you been paying attention? I’m glad for Mayor Teague’s actions. But I largely see them as symbolic and unenforceable. —Julie E.
W E LC O M E B AC K
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Andre Perry to leave the Englert, search begins for next executive director (Aug. 24) Thanks for all of your hard work, Andre. Long live the Englert. —Matt A. Andre Perry, thanks for making Iowa City full of great things. —Tamara R. Congrats, Andre! Thanks for the (too few) conversations we’ve had over the years and excited to see what’s next. —@MarcHogan on Twitter Letter to the editor: The UI president and provost are already failing on COVID before the semester begins (Aug. 24) Don’t beg. Organize and fight! Collective action is what is needed. Unite university workers, students and faculty as a force to fight for a safe and
healthy workplace and educational environment. The state, the Regents and the university administration should not determine what health and safety measures are needed, but the workers at the university themselves based on the science. —Chris C. Federal judge rejects Iowa pork industry’s attempt to crush California law banning pork produced ‘in a cruel manner’ (Aug. 25) Very informative rundown on IA ag’s repeated failed attempts to sue CA for banning the sale of cruelly reared meat. IA has by far the most pigs of any state and the least restrictions on how they’re treated. Usually they live their whole lives in cages they can’t turn around in. —@nickfromiowa on Twitter
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Culture En Español
Minestrone POR ANGELA PICO
T
rasladaron a mi tía, que ya es coronel, de los páramos a la jungla. Un pueblo a tres horas de Bogotá. Tres horas lejos de nosotros, en un lugar donde se pega la ropa del sudor y las piernas se cubren de ronchas por los mosquitos. Cuando me dijeron que mi tía y mi primo Leo se iban a la base de la fuerza aérea en tierra caliente, me puse a llorar. Se me pasó cuando mi mamá me dijo que podíamos ir a visitarlos en vacaciones para disfrutar de la piscina de la base. Hoy voy de visita a la base, mi tía y mi primo me llevan con ellos. Y es la primera vez que voy de paseo sin mis papás. Leo está obsesionado con los aviones de juguete. Dice que va a ser piloto en la fuerza aérea cuando sea grande. Como su mamá. Cuando jugamos se pide ser piloto coronel. Yo le digo que no puede ser coronel hasta que me pase de estatura. Que él es pequeño y yo grande. Me mira desde abajo con el labio temblando y los ojos rojos, insiste que él es grande porque se toma toda la sopa y se come toda la lonchera. Siempre es lo mismo, pero es mi deber explicarle a Leo cómo son las cosas. Mi tía y Leo viven en un aparta-estudio en la base de Melgar. Me gusta estar en un lugar tan pequeño porque parece que estamos jugando. Hay dos cuartos: uno con la sala, el comedor y la cocina, y el otro con dos camas, una hamaca y los juguetes de Leo. Menos mal que le compraron una Barbie. Antes de la Barbie me tocaba ser el
cuenta las cosas que pasan en tierra caliente. Hay una mujer a la que llaman la Patasola. Y a otra la Llorona. Son como unos zombis en la jungla que persiguen a la gente. La Patasola sólo tiene una pierna con una pezuña en vez de un pie. Antes de que te agarre escuchas el golpe de SUENAN MUCHOS TRUENOS, PERO NO HAY su pata. La Llorona, nos LLUVIA EN LAS VENTANAS. EMILCE CIERRA LAS dice Emilce, PERSIANAS Y NOS DICE QUE ES PÓLVORA. mató a sus propios hijos y ahora camina Spiderman cuando jugábamos. Hoy mi tía de por la jungla y llora y llora para confundir hasta sorpresa le regaló otro Spiderman a Leo. Más que, te agarra. Suenan muchos truenos, pero no grande. Ahora somos tres en la cama cuna. Leo al hay lluvia en las ventanas. Emilce cierra las lado de la mesita de noche, el Spiderman nuevo en persianas y nos dice que es pólvora. medio y yo en contra de la pared blanca. Cuando Mi tía se demora más y más. Almorzamos sopa quiero helado, antojo a Leo en secreto y luego él de minestrone. La pólvora no para. Cenamos sopa les pide a su mamá para los dos. A Leo nunca le de minestrone. La pólvora sigue. Ahora pienso dice que no. que mi tía debió encontrar a la Patasola o a la Hoy estamos solos con Emilce, la nana de Leo, Llorona. Emilce nos calma diciendo que ellas solo porque llamaron a mi tía por radio antes de que se llevan a los niños malos. Entonces me acuerdo amaneciera. Es chistoso cuando mi tía contesta el de Daniel Vanegas, el niño que ahora se sienta radio. Ella cambia la voz y dice “sí mi general” lejos de mí en la clase porque le dije a Miss Patty después de cada frase. Se va la luz y Emilce nos que el otro día me sacó la lengua. A él se lo podría 24 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
Sarah Conrad / Little Village
llevar la Llorona. La pólvora no para. Nos vamos a dormir cuatro en la cama cuna. Emilce, Leo, el Spiderman y yo. La pólvora no para. Es tarde y mi tía no llega, entonces Leo se pone a llorar. Como siempre, chillón. Emilce nos deja levantarnos en la mitad de la noche y nos sirve cereal con Coca Cola porque no hay leche. Parece minestrone. Nos dice que así se come el cereal si te portas bien y que la Patasola no se lleva a los niños que comen bien. Me gusta el cereal así, con Coca Cola y a la medianoche. Se lo diré a mi mamá.
Minestrone BY ANGELA PICO
T
hey transferred my aunt, now a colonel, from the tundra to the jungle. It’s a small town three hours from Bogota. Three hours away from us, in a place where your sweat makes your clothes stick to yourself and your legs get covered in mosquito bites. When they told me my aunt and my cousin Leo were going to be stationed in tierra caliente, in an Air Force base,
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I started crying. I stopped when mom told me we could go visit them in the summer and swim in the Air Force pool. Today my aunt and cousin take me to visit the military base. And it’s the first time I take a trip without my parents. Leo is obsessed with toy planes. He says he’s going to be an Air Force colonel pilot when he grows up. Like his mom. When we play, he calls dibs on being the colonel. I tell him he can be the colonel when he’s taller than me, because he’s small, and I’m big. He looks at me from below, with a shaky lip and red eyes, insisting he’s big because he always finishes his soup and his school lunch. It’s never-ending, but it’s my duty to explain to Leo how life is. My aunt and Leo live in a studio apartment at the military base in Melgar. I love being in such a small place, because it’s like playtime. There are two spaces: one with the living room, the dining room and the kitchen, and the other one with two beds, a hammock and Leo’s toys. I’m glad they got him a Barbie doll. Before the Barbie, I was stuck with the Spiderman doll whenever we played. Today my aunt surprised Leo with another Spiderman. A bigger one. Now it’s the three of us
in his toddler bed. Leo next to the nightstand, the new Spiderman in the middle and me by the white wall. Whenever I want some ice cream, I secretly convince Leo he needs ice cream, and then he asks his mom for ice cream for both of us. She never says no to him. Today we’re alone with Emilce, Leo’s nanny, because they called my aunt on her radio before sunrise. It’s funny when she answers her radio. She changes her voice and says “yes sir” after every sentence. The power is out and Emilce tells us about things that happen in hot weather places like this, in tierra caliente. There’s a woman they call the Patasola. And another one they call the Llorona. They’re like these zombies in the jungle who chase people, the Patasola only has one leg with a hoof in place of a foot. You can hear her hoof’s thump before she gets you. The Llorona, Emilce tells us, killed her own children and now she wanders the jungle and cries and cries to confuse you until she gets you. We can hear thunder outside, but the windows don’t have rain on them. Emilce closes the blinds and says it’s fireworks. My aunt is taking forever to come back. We have minestrone soup for lunch. The fireworks
haven’t stopped. We have minestrone soup for dinner. The fireworks are going on. Now I’m starting to think my aunt ran into the Patasola or the Llorona. Emilce calms us down by saying these monsters only take bad children away. I think about Daniel Vanegas, the boy who now sits far from me in class, because I told Miss Patty that the other day, he had stuck his tongue out at me. The Llorona could take him away. We can still hear the fireworks. The four of us go to sleep in the toddler bed. Emilce, Leo, the new Spiderman, and me. The fireworks haven’t stopped. It’s late and my aunt is not back yet, so Leo starts crying. A crybaby, like always. Emilce wakes us up in the middle of the night and pours us cereal with Coca-Cola, there’s no milk. It looks like minestrone soup. She says if you behave, you can eat your cereal that way, and the Llorona doesn’t bother children who finish the food on their plate. I like my cereal like that, with Coke and at midnight. I’ll tell mom about it. Angela Pico is a bilingual writer who enjoys creating stories for both children and adults. The above short story is a work of fiction.
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 25
Culture and runs through Dec. 17. Dostoevsky’s life is fascinating, even independent of his literary output. Barker observes that “there is no other writer whose life is as catastrophically tragic as Dostoevsky, who was sentenced to death by firing squad and spent four years in Siberia, but there is also no other writer whose life is as transcendently luminous as Dostoevsky. The man who was sent to Siberia by [Tsar] Nicholas I became the spiritual advisor to his son’s children and became the prophetic conscience of the nation.” Taking the astounding arc of Dostoevsky’s life as its spine, the exhibition is divided into four chronological sections: “Rebel,” “Convict,” “Gambler” and “Prophet.” These cover, respectively: Dostoevsky’s youthful literary forays and utopian-socialist radicalism; his sentencing to four years of hard labor in Siberia on the basis of that radicalism; his eventual reabsorption into Iowa City prepares to honor the bicentennial of Dostoevsky and his rejection of Russian life and subsequent devastating gambling addiction; and, despite all of this, the conunquestioned authority. BY NICHOLAS DOLAN summation of his probing intellectual life and litn March 13, 2020, five days after the of 19th-century Russian literature, Fyodor erary genius in the string of five so-called “profirst confirmed COVID-19 cases in Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov (1879). phetic” novels which concluded his career. Of Iowa, Anna Barker texted UNESCO The “100 Days of The Brothers Karamazov” these last novels, Crime and Punishment is the City of Literature director John Facebook group is set to be a lively place this most widely read and The Brothers Karamazov Kenyon, with her trademark triple-exclamatory fall; the reading hasn’t started, yet the group is the dizzying crowning achievement. The philosopher Isaiah Berlin famously said enthusiasm: “Call me call me call me!!! I have has already been joined 460 times. Sales of the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation in advance of War and Peace that “there are no dark corners an AMAZING quarantine book idea!!!” Barker, a professor of Russian literature at the of the reading also led Amazon to run out of its in Tolstoy’s universe” (The Hedgehog and the University of Iowa with a broad and deep human- stock of copies for the rest of the month. This Fox, 1953). Dostoevsky’s universe, in contrast, ist streak, had devised the idea of a large-group reading has the potential to be the largest and consists almost entirely of dark corners, both material and psyreading of the Decameron by Renaissance poet chological: the tenBoccaccio. (The Decameron is an alternately A GREAT DEAL OF DOSTOEVSKY’S SUCCESS ements and hovels bawdy and tragic anthology of stories written of the Karamazovs’ during, and narrated by survivors of, the Black AS AN ARTIST IS IN THE SHEER DRAMA provincial town and Death.) Participants would read one tale each (CRITICS OFTEN THINK OF DOSTOEVSKY AS the yearning, sufferday, and convene over Facebook for discussion ing, hateful or saintand Barker’s explication and curated suppleDRAMATIZING THE FORM OF THE NOVEL, OF ly characters that mental material. TOLSTOY AS RENDERING IT EPIC) BY WHICH inhabit them. A great The “100 Days of Decameron,” sponsored HE EMBODIES MENTAL CIRCUITRIES, PATTERNS deal of Dostoevsky’s by the UNESCO City of Literature, was a success as an artist success, peaking at 311 members—not to be OF THOUGHT AND FEELING, WHICH WE is in the sheer drama sneezed at for a late medieval text running RECOGNIZE IN OUR OWN SELVES IN LESS (critics often think of 1,072 pages in the Penguin Classics edition. (HOPEFULLY LESS!) EXTREME FORM. Dostoevsky as draThrough the rest of 2020 and into 2021, other matizing the form of online readthroughs led by Barker have folthe novel, of Tolstoy lowed, so far including Paradise Lost, the Epic as rendering it epic) by which he embodies menof Gilgamesh and the entirety of Leo Tolstoy’s most ambitious yet. The online reading is complemented by a tal circuitries, patterns of thought and feeling, War and Peace, the Facebook group for which acquired nearly a thousand members from 28 new exhibition in the University of Iowa Main which we recognize in our own selves in less countries, from Iowa City to Canada and Mexico, Library Gallery curated by Barker (and coordi- (hopefully less!) extreme form. The plot of The Brothers Karamazov is perthe United Kingdom and Australia, Malaysia and nated by Sara J. Pinkham). “From Revolutionary Outcast to a Man of God: Dostoevsky at 200” haps familiar. The jacket copy of the Pevear and Pakistan, Brazil and several countries in Europe. Starting Sept. 1, Barker and the City of explores the entirety of Dostoevsky’s life and lit- Volokhonsky translation calls it a “murder mysLiterature will follow up War and Peace erary career in anticipation of his 200th birthday tery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of with a reading of that other vast masterpiece this November. The exhibition opened Aug. 16 erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs
Rebel, Convict, Gambler, Prophet
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26 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
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involving [...] Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sons.” Through these brothers—Dmitri, the sentimental party animal; Ivan, the atheist misanthrope; and saintly Alyosha—Dostoevsky navigates debates about free will, morality and the relationship of each to the existence of God. For Barker, a chief theme of Dostoevsky’s work is “what happens when a human being is overtaken by an idea.” Many of Dostoevsky’s characters, like Ivan Karamazov or Pyotr Verkhovensky in Demons, fall victim to corrosive intellectual infatuations, usually related to Russian nihilist philosophical trends of the 1860s. These ideas, which lure ambitious young minds with their apparent totalizing force and their ability to find an answer for everything, result in the subsuming of the authentic human personality to an artificial system; they make of their victims husks, shells of selves, arid cynics. A famous and terrifying passage in The Brothers Karamazov called “The Grand Inquisitor” poses the possibility that free will, and all the searching and uncertainty it entails, may ultimately prove too exhausting for most of us, and that we might cast off the burden of our humanity in relief and supplant it with the diktat of an unquestioned authority—perhaps one who maintains his power through the enforcement of a totalized intellectual system. Thus The Brothers Karamazov is a powerful antidote to false earthly certainty: sound medicine for any age but especially one of architectonic political upheavals. A great many other events will be held this fall to commemorate Dostoevsky’s bicentennial. Besides the exhibition and the Facebook reading, Barker will also teach a month-long course on The Brothers Karamazov for the UI Senior College, starting Sept. 1. (This is in addition to her university course, held in the exhibition space and open to registration by all.) FilmScene will screen a series of four Dostoevsky adaptations between Oct. 17 and 24, from Luchino
Visconti’s classic adaptation of “White Nights” (Le Notti Bianche, 1957) to The Double (2013) starring Jesse Eisenberg. In October, in conjunction with the Iowa City Book Festival, Riverside Theatre will stage The Grand Inquisitor, Marie-Hélène Estienne’s adaptation of the chapter from The Brothers Karamazov. On Oct. 7, Father Ignatius of St. Raphael Orthodox Church in Iowa City will deliver a lecture on Dostoevsky and Orthodox Christianity, and on Oct. 12 UI International Programs WorldCanvass will host an event in the exhibition space dedicated to all things Dostoevsky, organized by UI International Programs communications director Joan Kjaer. On Oct. 14, Professor Nathan Platte of the UI School of Music will lecture on two opera adaptations of Dostoevsky. A birthday party for Dostoevsky, featuring Russian birthday hymns performed by the St. Raphael choir, will be held Nov. 11. More events may be in the works. These varied celebrations of humanistic striving will, of course, be held as our community and the globe continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. While discussing the completed reading of War and Peace, Barker reflected that “to have this book going through so many permutations of what it means to be a human being had a therapeutic effect” for those reading it. “I hope this sense of an intellectual community that sticks together in spite of unprecedented human dislocation will continue with our reading of Brothers Karamazov,” Barker said. “We were not meant to suffer apart, we were meant to suffer together.”
Just Announced New Conversations on African Art University of Iowa Stanley Museum, Online via Zoom, Saturday, Oct. 2, 10 a.m., Thursdays Oct. 21 and Nov. 11, 7 p.m.
The University of Iowa Stanley Museum isn’t opening its physical doors until next year, but the staff is still hard at work bringing events to the Iowa City community, including a symposium this fall. Conceived by Cory Gundlach, the Stanley’s curator of African arts, this series will explore the artistic canon of Africa and the African diaspora, new ideas in art history and the way African art is studied (including evolving trends in crafts and performance arts) and the role that a museum has in bringing these new approaches to fruition. Gundlach will moderate the panel discussions that end each of the three online sessions. The speakers include practitioners and academics from across the country and around the world. The events are free; registration is required.
Nicholas Dolan recently moved back to Iowa City, where he is beginning a teacher training program with the university. His favorite Dostoevsky characters are Nastasya Filipovna of The Idiot and Kirillov of Demons. He can be reached at nmdlan97@gmail.com.
Bana Guili, Dibul kouan (Woman’s beaded apron), mid 20th Century, Beads, cotton fiber, shells, 6 x 44 x 3/8 in. (15.2 x 111.8 x 1 cm), University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art, Museum of Art African Collection Fund with support from J. Randolph Lewis, M.D. and Linda Lewis, 2003.31
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Book Excerpts Take a peek inside two new releases from local authors Chuy Renteria and Larry Baker. Excerpt from the story
Lessons in B-boying
Courtesy of University of Iowa Press from We Heard it When We Were Young by Chuy Renteria. Forthcoming November 2021. Copyright University of Iowa Press. Used with permission.
A
aron and Justin were both blond-haired, blue-eyed kids who lived in the country outside of West Liberty. After school I’d join them as they went to hang in a house of miscreants by the high school. We’d mill around as Aaron’s and Justin’s older brothers and their friends smoked weed and talked shit about their teachers. They were all either seniors in high school or recently graduated with nothing better to do. They were a group of rough, poor white guys with time to kill and younger brothers to make impressions on. If we weren’t hanging out at the riffraff house by the school, we were spending time at Aaron’s house in the country. Aaron’s family were victims of one of West Liberty’s great tragedies. A couple of years before I started to hang out with him, his dad killed his mom
and committed suicide afterward. This isn’t the only horrific murder in the town’s history. In fact, it’s not even the West Liberty murder that warranted a two-hour episode of NBC’s Dateline. That episode was about a cold case in ’92 where somebody bludgeoned a guy in his house. No, Aaron’s parents’ case was open and shut, a tragic footnote in our town’s history. Aaron never talked about it and I never asked him about it. One time a girl messed up and called him a son of a bitch and he shut down. We all understood she didn’t mean it like that, but we got why Aaron would react the way he did, too. When I say we spent time at Aaron’s house, I should say we spent time at Aaron’s grandma’s house. She was the sweetest lady.
Warm and unsuspecting of the shit her grandsons got into. Aaron, Justin, and I were angry and looking for something to do. One question best sets up the destruction we wrought. Aaron and Justin had heard legends of our hoodlumizing escapades at the Shack. Our mailbox feud with the woodshop. Our clandestine drinking sessions with our parents’ alcohol. One night after I talked about some of the things we did, Aaron asked, “Well, what’s the worst thing you guys ever did?” I didn’t have to think long. “I guess it’d be the time that we shot out the window of this van.” Aaron’s smile revealed deep dimples in his rosy cheeks. “Oh, we can do way worse than that!” And we did. Aaron and Justin would spend the night at my place and we’d terrorize West Liberty. Or we’d stay at Justin’s place in the nearby tiny town of Atalissa and go to work there. We took bats and smashed all the windows of targeted cars at night. Slashed tires. Pissed on the door handles of the cars we didn’t destroy. It was all a different feel from the hoodlumizing days with the old gang. I can look back at most of those excursions at the Shack with a hint of whimsy. With a bit of romanticism. Yeah, we messed with that woodshop guy proper, but we weren’t trying to hurt anybody. With Aaron and Justin, it was senseless. It wasn’t about a sense of adventure but rather this dull, angry cynicism. We’d have Aaron’s sweet
old grandma take us to Walmart or Target. While she shopped, we’d go to the watch and jewelry section. I’d go up and browse one section, and while eyes were on the brown kid, the two all-American white kids would be snatching as many watches as they could fit in their Starter jackets. We accumulated thousands of dollars in stolen goods. This racial bait and switch gets at an interesting side of my relationship with Aaron and Justin. Hanging with them and their brothers in the house by the school was a unique experience because it was the first time I was the minority in West Liberty. They were all white. I had never felt that before in town. Not at the bailes at the community center or even hanging with the Laotians in the trailer park. We were all variations of brown. It was weird being the token Mexican among these rough white kids. Aaron and Justin fed into that. They exoticized me and my stories about the Shack. This relationship fueled our vandalizing and one-upping of my past deeds. One day we scoured Aaron’s older brother’s bedroom. He had old car magazines and gore-filled comic books that we would take turns gawking at. A Trapper Keeper filled with printed-out pictures caught me off guard. Aaron’s brother had printed them on those old graph papers with the margins you’d have to tear off. There were White Zombie and Marilyn Manson logos. But I hid my emotion when I came across a small run of Nazi
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imagery. There were cherub-proportioned Klansmen drawn in this rounded cutesy style, heiling Hitler in front of swastika-adorned banners. Aaron spoke before I could say anything. “He’s fucking dumb. I keep on telling him that white power shit is stupid.” I stuffed the pile of papers back into the Trapper Keeper. I didn’t know how to take the images. Or what they meant about how my new friends’ older brothers felt toward me. Tokenism aside, Aaron and Justin genuinely liked me. But I knew deep down that there was something toxic about my relationship with them. That together we were worse than the sum of our parts. I wish I could say that after I saw those pictures I made a fuss. That I did something like gave Aaron an ultimatum to renounce his brother and those fucked-up drawings. But I didn’t. I was a lonely, confused kid who needed something to hang onto. If I had to put those drawings back in the Trapper Keeper and pretend I never saw them, that’s what I had to do. It would take something bigger to get me to distance myself from this path.
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Excerpt from the story
Sonny Meets an Angel Courtesy of Ice Cube Press from Wyman and the Florida Knights by Larry Baker. Forthcoming
THANKS TO LAST MONTH’S NEW SUPPORTERS: Crystal Sherman Nick Dallege Brooke McInroy Peter Zevenbergen Lisa Spellman William Iverson 30 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
November 2021. Copyright Ice Cube Press. Used with permission.
“Y
ou’re fucking me.” “Stranger things have happened, Sonny Honey.” “No, no, I mean you’re fucking with me, right?” “So, first I’m fucking you, and now it’s a joint effort?” Sonny was falling in love and would never understand that she was smarter than he was. Drugs
and alcohol might have explained his confusion at that moment, but she had been doped up hours before she had offered him his first line of cocaine. She was now making a carnal and linguistic distinction, but he missed it. “No, no, I mean … I mean your name. You’re just fucking me around with that name, right? That’s just your club name, right?” Sonny felt her hand rubbing his groin as she straddled him, then she settled her own exposed groin snugly on top of his lap, took her hands and put one on each side of his face and leaned down to kiss him ever so slowly and wetly as the warm center of her body took control of his future. “I get off in two hours. If you’re still here, and you have another hundred, I’ll show you my driver’s license. If my name is not Angel Darling, you can fuck me … any way you want. Deal?” “I’ll give you two hundred, regardless. Forget the name thing.” Sonny had firm standards when it came to sex. He had never, would never, pay for it. At least, not directly. He knew the rules. A man always paid for it in some way, somehow. His first wife had made him pay dearly. But only desperate men paid direct, men who had no other chance, no other appeal to women, ugly and old and loser men. Sonny was none of those things, but this Angel … whose perfect breasts were real and whose downy blond pubic hair matched the mane of her head … this Angel turned Sonny
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Knight into everything he feared about his future. He could not offer her his soul, since he was sure he had none, but he began desperately offering the only thing he valued … the coin of the Knight realm. “Five hundred for the night.” “Sonny, honey.” She whispered in his ear, “You can’t afford me. But stick around. My offer still stands. Two hours.” Sonny had been to the club dozens of times. Atlanta was only a seven-hour drive from Knightville, and he loved to drive his new Lincoln on long trips anyway. The first club he had gone to, as soon as he turned twenty-one, eventually bored him. Too small, no real privacy, and the women were always the same. But then he found the Pony Tail, his home away from home. Three stages, like a three-ring circus, walls of mirrors, each stage with its own lighting system, and dozens of young women every night. Through a curtain in the back was the private lounge. Watching the dancers was free, visiting the private lounge was a fifty-dollar minimum, everything else behind the curtain was negotiable. Two hours later, the Pony Tail began to close. The crowd had dwindled to a few men who had negotiated escorts back to their hotels or homes. Sonny was still in limbo, waiting for his license exam, when the stage lights dimmed and the ceiling lights came on. Sonny blinked as the Pony Tail became a pony stable. The most jarring adjustment was his sense of smell. In the dark, the Pony Tail was dopamine and norepinephrine, compounded by estrogen and testosterone, the air soaked in perfume and pulsating with waves of music from overhead speakers. With the lights on, the Pony Tail was cigarette smoke, spilt beer, rancid sweat, and clanging metal chairs being stacked. Two large black women were sweeping floors and wiping tables. Within a few seconds Sonny could taste the smell of the room. He felt light-headed, then nauseous, and wanted to find a place to puke. But her voice saved him.
“Hey, Sonny Boy, you wanna buy a girl breakfast at the Waffle House?” Sonny opened his eyes and the Pony Tail was dark again, just him and her and the perfumed music. She was wearing tight red sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt with a Georgia Bulldog logo. Her blond hair was piled on top of her head, and her face only had traces of her working-girl makeup. Sonny was helpless. How could she be even more beautiful than she had been two hours earlier? “The Waffle House? I have a room at the Hilton. It has twentyfour-hour room service.” She rolled her eyes and exhaled a laugh. “I had higher hopes for you, Sonny. But I’m going to give you one last chance.” She had her driver’s license out of her purse in a flash and held it a few inches away from his face. Sonny stared at the plastic card and remembered her offer: If her name was not Angel Darling, he could fuck her. He stared at the card. The photo was her for sure. The name on the card was Elizabeth Susan Monroe. He blinked and looked again. He then tried to not look directly at her. But a quick glance at her face gave her away. She had the look of a woman about to receive bad news. Years later, he could still never explain to her or himself why he quickly said, “Dammit to hell, I guess I’m out of luck, Angel. It would have been fun, but a deal is a deal. But I’d still like to buy you that breakfast at the Waffle House.” She put her right hand on the side of his face. He could see that she might laugh or she might cry, but all she did was softly stroke his face and gently pull him toward her. “Sonny, you’re either smarter than you look, or luckier than you have been anytime in your rich-boy life.” “So, we’re good for the Waffle House?” “Maybe next time. For now, I’ve been told that the Hilton has great room service.”
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More fall releases by Iowan and Iowaconnected authors CURATED BY PRAIRIE LIGHTS BOOKSTORE
Martita, I Remember You Sandra Cisneros fiction Sept. 7
The Lost Notebook of Édouard Manet Maureen Gibbon fiction Sept. 7
Talk to Me T.C. Boyle fiction Sept. 14
The Ninth Decade Carl H. Klaus memoir Sept. 15
Letter to a Stranger ed. Colleen Kinder (includes Iowa contributors) essays Oct. 5
The Days of Afrekete Asali Solomon fiction Oct. 19
Mothertrucker Amy Butcher travel/memoir Nov. 1
The Art of Revision Peter Ho Davies reference Nov. 2
CEDAR RAPIDS CZECH VILLAGE NEW BOHEMIA Come work with us
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Meatpacking America Kristy NabhanWarren sociology/faith Sept. 21
As If By Design Edward A. Wasserman psychology Sept. 23
A Calling for Charlie Barnes Joshua Ferris fiction Sept. 28
The Return of the Pharaoh Nicholas Meyer fiction Nov. 9
These Precious Days Ann Patchett essays Nov. 23
The Sisters Sweet Elizabeth Weiss fiction Nov. 30
Springer Mountain Wyatt Williams philosophy Sept. 28
I Need Music AnaÏs Duplan poetry Oct. 1
American Parables Daniel Khalastchi poetry Oct. 5
Kelli Ebensberger / Little Village
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Art’s Point of View A new documentary zooms in on the Cullens, Storm Lake’s intrepid family of journalists. BY KEMBREW MCLEOD
A
rt Cullen’s storied career in journalism began when he was a young man stumbling his way through school. “I flunked accounting,” he said, “and realized the only requirement to get into the journalism program at the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul was the ability to type 25 words per minute. It was 1975, post-Watergate. Woodward and Bernstein inspired me.” Forty-two years later, he joined the ranks of his heroes when he won a Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing after unearthing a conspiracy between Big Agriculture and local county officials in Northern Iowa. Art’s family newspaper, The Storm Lake Times, was founded in 1990 by his older brother John, who is now semi-retired and does the books. The two brothers are joined by John’s wife Mary, the food columnist, and Art’s wife Dolores, a photographer and culture reporter, and their son Tom works as the lead reporter. In sum, the Cullens comprise half of The Storm Lake Times’ 10-person staff. “I try to remember that John and Dolores are really the bosses,” Art told me. “I try not to be hard on Tom but often fail.” The Cullen family is a team united around the goal of cranking out a community newspaper every Tuesday and Thursday that their neighbors will want to read, and each member plays a key role in accomplishing their mission. Dolores works the human interest beat, taking photos and writing profiles of everyday people, like an Iowa Pork Producers “Pork Queen” who visited a second grade class with a piglet in hand. (“It’s really important for us to make sure that [pigs] have everything that they need so they can grow fastly and efficiently,” the young Pork Queen explained to students. “That’s what the pork industry is all about.”) Art is the paper’s driving force, and his shock of wavy white hair gives off a Mark Twain vibe that complements the newspaper man’s sharp intelligence, livewire energy and biting wit. As a liberal voice in a conservative district, he is used to stirring up controversy and getting on people’s nerves—which only means that he’s doing his job correctly. “No dissent is not interesting,” Art said. “I read The Wall Street Journal editorials because they are diametrically opposed to my point of 34 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
Dana Telsrow / Little Village
view. I find that interesting. Ultimately, I hope that an honest point of view is salable.” The Storm Lake Times eventually attracted the attention of Jerry Risius, a North Iowan filmmaker who grew up on a hog farm in Buffalo Center, graduated from the University of Iowa and now teaches at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. “Art is compelling in many ways,” Risius said, “but it is his pursuit of the truth with a local boy’s connection to the community that makes him so compelling. He is relentless in his pursuits of local issues so that the town of Storm Lake is informed and can make decisions about their community based on his and his family’s
Storm Lake Opening Night Screening and Conversation, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Friday, Sept. 17, 7 p.m., $7—11
reporting.” After reading about the Pulitzer in The New York Times, he emailed The Storm Lake Times and followed up with a phone call asking if he could hang around for a few days and shoot in their office. “Of course, we agreed,” Art said. “He used that to tease an experienced producer, Beth
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a Midwestern aesthetic provided by indie-folk artist Andrew Bird. When Levison and Risius were cutting the film, they used his songs as “temp” music, and after interviewing potential composers and telling them that they were looking for an “Andrew Birdian” sound, they decided to approach the artist himself, who signed on. “I think we felt that his work both elevated the film and worked to unify its many scenes through a spirit of authenticity,” Levison said. “Andrew is not an East Coast or West Coast composer trying to interpret a Midwest sound. He has Iowa in his blood and could just channel it into his music. We really did want this film to feel of its time, place and people as much as it could and we think that Andrew’s music really helped us to achieve that. Also, there’s some whim“ART’S NORTH STAR IS THE TRUTH,” LEVISON sy in his music and the SAID, “AND IN THIS DAY AND AGE, IT Cullens have a sense of that, too.” FELT INCREDIBLY EXCITING TO FOLLOW Storm Lake’s story is SOMEONE WHO IS SO IN PURSUIT OF THAT. rooted in the pillars of WHAT MAKES THE CULLENS SO COMPELLING family, community and the kind of old school IS THAT THEY ARE MEMBERS OF THE STORM fact-based journalism that LAKE COMMUNITY, LIKE SO MANY OTHERS.” is sadly in decline. Over the past 20 years, nearly 2,000 local papers have that matter most to their local community, from shut down, and with each passing month, The a largely Mexican population trying to make Storm Lake Times continues to walk a precarious Storm Lake their home to farmers struggling to financial tightrope as their profits shrink and expenses balloon. earn a living wage. “I am committed to the community of Storm “Jerry Risius, the co-director and cinematographer, is an Iowa boy who needed no learning curve Lake,” Art said. “Journalism is vital to the commuin the issues of rural communities,” Art said. “We nity. So I can never quit. I am trying to raise monimmediately became friends, and I felt like we were ey for the Western Iowa Journalism Foundation to reporting the same story together, which was cool.” help save independent family newspapers.” Through The Storm Lake Times, the Cullens Art and the rest of the Cullens are invested in representing their community as best and accu- reflect an accurate picture of their community to rately as they can, which inspired the filmmakers’ its readers—which is one of the cornerstones of storytelling style when editing Storm Lake. They a functioning democracy. Unfortunately, theirs is wanted the film to feel as authentic to the Cullens one of the few remaining newspapers in America and their community as the Cullens are with their that is dedicated to exclusively covering the local affairs, because The New York Times certainly local reportage. “Art’s North Star is the truth,” Levison said, isn’t going to cover Storm Lake, and the same is “and in this day and age, it felt incredibly excit- largely true even for The Des Moines Register. “Nobody cares about Storm Lake the way The ing to follow someone who is so in pursuit of that. What makes the Cullens so compelling is that they Times does,” Cullen said. “Nobody cares about are members of the Storm Lake community, like Iowa City like Little Village, because it is locally owned and vested in the community. That is where so many others.” After the family watched Storm Lake for the journalism begins, in being rooted in your comfirst time, Dolores exclaimed with on-brand munity. Nobody can report on Storm Lake like Midwestern modesty, “But we’re just regular peo- The Times because we have chosen it as home.” ple!” As for Art Cullen, he observed, “It’s overwhelming to watch the movie, and humbling.” Kembrew McLeod is celebrating his 20th year as Storm Lake’s soundtrack is also steeped in a founding columnist for Little Village. Levison, to co-direct. Jerry is a master of soft manipulation, which makes him a great photographer.” When Levison saw Risius’ footage, she was immediately drawn in by Art Cullen’s voice and clear point of view, and the rest of his family further sucked her in. “We both felt that their story—of a small paper in a small town—had the ability to reflect an unfolding national story about the struggle of local news, of farmers in the Midwest, of immigrants to our country and of communities on the precipice, fighting to stay whole.” Their co-directed film, Storm Lake, documents the Cullen family as they tirelessly produce a newspaper that wrestles with the issues
Iowa-Centered Documentaries Next up for film in Iowa: 2021 Iowa Independent Film Festival, Mason City & Clear Lake, Sept. 9-11, $20-30 The Iowa Derecho: In Their Own Words Iowa’s News Now, February 2021 A real-time documentary of the devastating August 2020 derecho Gridshock Vanessa McNeal, April 2019 A film about sex trafficking in Iowa Stout Hearted: George Stout and the Guardians of Art New Mile Media Arts, March 2019; A look at Winterset, Iowa’s art conservation pioneer and the real-life Monuments Men Saving Brinton Barn Owl Pictures, June 2017; Chronicling the efforts of Iowan Mike Zahs to preserve the century-old film collection of William Franklin Brinton Cheryl Iowa Public Television, September 1970 The story of the first Black Miss America contestant: Miss Iowa 1970, Cheryl Browne LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 35
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LV Recommends
Spelunk Beer, caves and medieval fantasy in Maquoketa. BY EMMA MCCLATCHEY
“S
aid Gawain, gay of cheer, ‘Whether fate be foul or fair, Why falter I or fear? What should man do but dare?’” —‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,’ late 14th century poem “The green girdle stays on during sex.” —Sir Gawain (paraphrased), ‘The Green Knight,’ 2021 film
When I was a 10-year-old Girl Scout on a field trip to Maquoketa Caves, I joined a small fellowship of brave Juniors who decided to go as deep into one of the caves as we could. This wasn’t the gaping maw of the Dancehall Cave, but a smaller cavern (I think it was the Wye Cave) that got narrower and narrower the further we spelunked. Our headlamps lit orange-brown stalactites and stalagmites—“The ’mites go up and the ’tites come down,” we recited over and over—the walls slick and crusted with minerals. We could see only about 10 feet ahead of us, had no idea how far we’d crawled and, more importantly, how much further the cave went, how much tighter it would get and if there even was an opening at the end. Turning around didn’t feel like an option, until suddenly it was—until, at some random point, one
Fat Man’s Misery beckons at Maquoketa Caves State Park. Emma McClatchey / Little Village. Emma McClatchey / Little Village
of us admitted to a bit of claustrophobia and fear that we could, well, literally die if our dimming flashlights decided to burn out in the bowels of this old Iowa hill. I remember crying as we turned around, crawling for an hour in the direction we’d already come when, in theory, an exit could have been just 20 more feet ahead of us. We just didn’t know, and sometimes you have to make the choice you know is safe, however annoying or boring. But when we finally reemerged into the daylight and soft green forest canopy, it felt like a birth. We joined our fellow, wiser scouts in sliding down a muddy hill over and over until it was time to wrap ourselves in garbage bags, load up the minivans and transport our bruised bodies back to
Be famous. (Kinda.) Little Village is looking for writers. Contact: Editor@LittleVillageMag.com 36 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
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STEPPING ONTO THE TRAILS IN MAQUOKETA CAVES STATE PARK, I FELT TRANSPORTED INTO THE WORLD OF THE GREEN KNIGHT, A TRIPPY INTERPRETATION OF THE MEDIEVAL POEM SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT. Eric Zachanowich/A24 Films
The OQW IPA and Apple Pie cider, served in a flight at Maquoketa’s only craft brewery. Emma McClatchey / Little Village
Iowa City. A few birthdays and bat fungus outbreaks later, Maquoketa Caves and I reunited this summer for the first time since the Bush administration. I brought my friend Katelyn and my dog Goldie, both of whom resented me for doing so at various points in the journey. Maquoketa, a diamond stud in the nose of eastern Iowa, is a small Jackson County town in the far southern edge of the Driftless Area, a landscape shaped by ice age glaciers and characterized by forested ridges, deep river valleys, cold trout streams and subterranean drainage systems that have carved caves and sinkholes in limestone, dolomite, gypsum and other soluble rock over the centuries. Stepping onto the trails in Maquoketa Caves State Park, I felt transported into the world of The Green Knight, a new A24 joint I’d seen in theaters the week before. A trippy interpretation of the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the film finds King Arthur’s nephew Gawain (played by a dashing Dev Patel) chopping the head off the titular knight in a quick bid at some greatness and glory. But the Green Knight doesn’t die, and he tells Gawain that he will return the blow a year hence, miles away in his Green Chapel. After nearly a year of drinking, partying and generally enjoying his newfound fame, Gawain gets the lecture from King Arthur that he must go meet his destiny. Full of self-doubt and surrounded by fantastical forces, Gawain embarks on a journey over countrysides, battlefields, woodlands and giant-inhabited mountains to face off with his foe. Before I started my trek through the woods, Katelyn and I did some imbibing of our own. Maquoketa Brewing is the town’s first brewery since Prohibition, and it’s a positive sign of progress after Maquoketa’s Main Street was devastated in a 2008 fire. Indeed, co-owner Mark Lyon said he read a magazine article listing a craft brewery as one of 11 indicators of a thriving city, and pitched the idea of opening one to his wife Judy. Judy agreed on two conditions: they serve cider on tap and install purse hooks in the taproom. Maquoketa Brewing launched in January at 110 S Main St. I’ve never been a fan of sweet or sour LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 37
MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES ARE STILL ATTRACTIVE. Maquoketa Brewing, 110 S Main St Suite A, Maquoketa, features an inviting bar, staff and atmosphere. Emma McClatchey / Little Village
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beverages, so I don’t often drink ciders. But when I picked out the brews that would fill the five spots on my Iowa-shaped beer flight, I decided to tack on one of the two ciders featured at Maquoketa Brewing: the Jacked UP: Apple Pie, brewed by Crimson Sunset Cidery in Cascade. It was by far the most delicious cider I’d ever tasted—a perfect balance of tart, sweet, spiced and sparkling. I confidently declared, “Fall has arrived” after the second sip, and ordered a growler to go. But there were many great supporting players among the beers we sampled. The Lemon Drop pale ale was surprisingly subtle with light, citrusy hops, and the Belgian Tripel had all the body of a classic Oktoberfest. Katelyn, an avid sour beer fan, gushed over the Orange Sour, which she nicknamed the Beermosa. I was fascinated by the London Calling, an English bitter that combines the style’s signature English hops and malts with marshmallow and caramel notes to create a reddish beer worth savoring. The atmosphere inside was clean and stylish, with a dozen large Edison bulbs dangling above the bar to create an eyecatching industrial chandelier. But we sat on the small patio space out front with Goldie to drink and watch trucks drive through town hauling old beat-up sports cars, no doubt fodder for a nearby demolition derby. Two hours later, fully sober but already a bit dizzy from the humidity in Maquoketa Caves State Park, I fancied myself Gawain at the precipice of the Green Chapel as I walked through a moss-covered slot of rocks called Fat Man’s Misery. Towing a dog and feeling more like a miserable fat man than the lithe Girl Scout I was 18 years ago, I didn’t explore the Wye Cave or any of Maquoketa’s small, jagged crawl spaces. But I did take the time to enjoy its enormity, sheer drops, ancient rocks and landscape that looked both alien to Iowa and very Iowan. I stared in curious awe at flitting bats and balancing boulders and
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mouse-sized people from the Upper Dancehall Cave. We took the photos everyone takes, sweating in the custard-thick air. Goldie lapped up some cave stream water, probably doubling her body’s magnesium, and boldly conquered stepping stones and slippery floors that I thought I’d need to carry her over. We greeted fellow park-goers diverse in age, size, race and idea of appropriate spelunking attire. We closed the fitness circle thing on Katelyn’s Apple Watch three times over, meaning we’d walked lots of steps, I guess. We’d seen creeks, stone halls, giants, townsfolk, cave creatures, a green chapel of sorts. And we were lost. My Nissan Rogue became a big red X on our mental treasure maps as we hiked a mile on a gradual incline, realizing with each step we were not on the trail we thought we were and that there may be no way to go but back the way we came. An old injury flared in Katelyn’s knee. I was panting worse than Goldie. Hark, a family in yonder wood! We crossed paths with a pair of young girls, walking ahead of their parents, and asked if the parking lot was up ahead. “No, that’s the prairie,” one said. “We made the same mistake. You’re gonna have to go back that way.” She pointed to the trail behind us. I was ready to concede defeat, but Katelyn told me she couldn’t face that path again, so we pressed forward, A trail map showed us just how off-course we were. But in our incompetence, we experienced a hike we didn’t expect—in lighter air, on soft and forgiving grass, past hundreds of purple prairie flowers and butterflies. I opened Google Maps on a phone with 13 percent battery life, and stared at our little blue circle in a sea of green, trying to orient myself like I was reading a compass. I realized we’d have to walk along a gravel country road for about a half mile and reenter the park from the campground entrance to reach the parking lot. So we did. We kicked up dust on a road cut between looming August cornstalks, feeling like we’d gone from the rainforest to a meadow to a desert, when we finally saw the campground sign over the hill. Phew. Things were feeling a little dire for a second there. The first vehicle we saw when we reentered the park: my Nissan Rogue. An apparition of great beauty, a brilliant unicorn, a sleeping nymph, the lady of the lake, Gandalf the White. We cranked up the air conditioning and breathed out laughs, glad neither of us lost our heads. Emma McClatchey is Little Village’s managing editor and misadventurer.
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Docked and Loaded Mirrorbox Theatre throws a curveball with a surreal take on America’s pastime. BY ROB CLINE
I
spoke with Cavan Hallman, Curtis Jackson and Caleb Rainey—the writer, director and lead performer of the forthcoming play This Is Not a Game of Baseball—the morning following Major League Baseball’s Field of Dreams game. That beloved movie and the W.P. Kinsella novel, Shoeless Joe, on which it is based both celebrate a certain vision of baseball and its role in American mythology. Hallman, Jackson (who lives in Chicago and has worked with Mirrobox and Riverside Theatre in recent years) and Rainey (a writer, spoken word artist and actor) will be stepping into the batter’s box with a significantly different kind of story to tell. This Is Not a Game of Baseball takes as its jumping off point the no-hitter thrown by Pittsburgh Pirates righthander Dock Ellis on June 12, 1970. Ellis accomplished this impressive feat (one of only four that season) under the influence of LSD. He himself could hardly remember the game at all. That game, as the play will illustrate, was hardly the end-all-be-all of Ellis’s life. There is a much more complex and human story to bring to life for audiences—baseball fans or not. Mirrorbox Theatre’s premiere production of This Is Not A Game of Baseball: The Far-Out Story of Baseball’s Most Revolutionary Pitcher will run from Sept. 17 to 26 and will be performed outdoors at Allen’s Orchard in Marion. “Mirrorbox was really happy with the results of our first adventure into outdoor theater when we did The Parking Lot last summer at CSPS,” Hallman explained. That was very much a response to the pandemic and a response to necessity. But sometimes necessity shows you things that can work outside of necessity. And so I was really excited about continuing the use of site specific and outdoor theater as something we could do to bring our mission forward, to keep doing contemporary plays in Iowa.” Hallman got what he called a “wild hair,” and decided the company should produce a baseball play. Failing to find the right one—and given that he is a playwright himself—he decided to write it. The story of Dock Ellis was of a piece with much of his recent work delving into memory and creative adaptations of history. “For me, the thing that really locked me into this story was when I started thinking about the 40 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
Sam Locke Ward / Little Village
tragedy of this amazing man whose legacy, if it’s remembered, is often reduced down to a novelty. And the other side of that with memory is that arguably his greatest professional achievement is something he could barely remember because he was high.” The play centers around Ellis, but other historical figures are also part of the play, serving a purpose traceable back to the earliest days of drama.
Mirrorbox Theatre Presents: This Is Not a Game of Baseball, Allen’s Orchard, Marion, Friday, Sept. 17-Sunday, Sept. 26, 6 p.m., $20
“I went into this thinking structurally that I was interested in creating something that felt
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Queer/ Dialogue September 7– December 12, 2021 Curated by Daniel Strong, associate director, and Greg Manuel, guest curator
SCAN THE CODE FOR AN EXHIBITION PREVIEW
GCMoA presents eight artists whose works enable dialogue at the intersections of identity expression — race, gender, individuality and otherness, equity within differences — with a focus on the body as expressive terrain.
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Culture
like a solo with a Greek chorus,” Hallman said. “Somebody who is really connecting directly with the audience and telling a story but that also has that theatrical support of that ensemble that’s providing texture and character and kind of a scope to it.” Jackson and Hallman decided early on that a traditional approach to casting this “chorus”— which would make most of the cast white and male—would not serve this story or production well. “I wouldn’t call this a ‘colorblind casting’ play,” Jackson said. “It’s a little more specific
“DOCK ELLIS IS SO MUCH MORE THAN WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING HE IS, SO I’M EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO PLAY WITH THAT COMPLEXITY AND MAYBE PUSH BOUNDARIES IN TERMS OF WHO I THINK HE IS AND WHO THE PLAY SAYS HE IS AND WHO THE WORLD THINKS HE IS. IT’S THE IDEA OF WORKING TO BRING THE ENTIRETY OF A PERSON TO LIFE THAT DREW RAINEY TO THE PLAY. THAT’S WHAT EXCITES ME THE MOST.” —CALEB RAINEY
For information about the exhibition and related in-person and virtual programming, visit: grinnell.edu/museum. Minors under age 18 need to be accompanied by an adult. Grinnell College is not responsible for minors on campus or at College sponsored events.
than that. But the way that we were able to open the net in casting to allow other performers, other actors to get a chance to tackle these characters was super, super interesting to me. I mean, how do you have Bill Mazeroski, who is a white male Major Leaguer, how do we have Bill Mazeroski who comes back later, possibly as Dock’s mother, who is an African-American woman played by a Latinx actor? That to me was not only challenging, but exciting, and I think it will definitely work. I think it’s something that just adds to the flavor of American baseball as we know it.” In the end, Jackson was simply looking for a great ensemble. “I need strong actors who work well together and rely on each other. They know how to lead when they need to lead and they know how to follow when they need to follow.” The actors will be doing their work of leading
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and following and collaborating in a huge field in an apple orchard—a setting that is, arguably, in tension with the story the play has to tell. Hallman put it this way: “I think the setting will give it an appropriately nostalgic feel—that we’ll then immediately start to mess with through Dock Ellis’s acid trip.” Hallman wrote the part of Dock Ellis with Rainey in mind, noting the convergence of the two men as great storytellers with big hearts and big consciences. For his part, Rainey was quick to note that the convergence does not entail a shared skill for pitching. But pitching is, of course, just part of Ellis’s story. “Dock Ellis is so much more than what people are saying he is, so I’m excited to be able to play with that complexity and maybe push boundaries in terms of who I think he is and who the play says he is and who the world thinks he is.” It’s the idea of working to bring the entirety of a person to life that drew Rainey to the play. “That’s what excites me the most. He’s very clearly a flawed man, but there’s merit to him also. How do you grapple with that? This is a very real person—both in the play and in real life.” Ellis’s real life story is not one that many people know, and that appeals to Jackson. His notion of the ways in which the play can accentuate the rich “flavor” of baseball seems of a piece with the idea that baseball players, like all of us, contain multitudes. A longtime fan like myself might be able to rattle off a player’s stats or debate their credentials as potential Hall of Famers, but those things hardly stir the waters of the richness of a person’s internal life on the field—let alone off of it. Jackson is interested in the ways in which this story can, perhaps, break through a monolithic conception of baseball (and of America) in general and of Ellis in particular. “I find it fascinating for Americans to learn history that is just not the mainstream—even though it deals with very, very iconic mainstream things such as baseball,” he said. “A lot of people, I found, don’t know about Dock Ellis. Or if they do, they know right off the bat about him wearing curlers and being fined. They don’t know so much about his civil rights activism, they don’t know so much about the fact that he continued to play baseball even after he left the Major Leagues. And they don’t know very much—I don’t want to give too much away—about how his life ended.” Hallman believes Ellis’s story lends itself to exploring the conflicts and struggles that underpin powerful dramas. “Dock Ellis has set out for himself an impossible struggle in this play which is to remember something that he can’t remember.” It may be here that all the threads of
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mythology—the American mythos, the allegorical uses to which baseball is frequently put and the myth-making magic of a contemporary Greek chorus—come to be woven together. This Is Not a Game of Baseball is, potentially, a mythic corrective to the overly simple stories we often tell ourselves that emphasize the tidy and pastoral rather than the complex and chaotic. All three artists hope that the play sparks conversation and reflection. “I do think that we are currently in a moment—certainly heightened and accelerated by George Floyd’s murder—where the reckoning with our national mythology is something that a lot people are doing intentionally and purposefully,” Hallman said. “And so I would hope that through one person’s perspective—starting with my perspective as the writer, but then ultimately being owned by Curtis as the director, by Caleb as the performer, by the whole ensemble—that it ultimately is an opportunity for all of us to reckon with national mythology and to say what we want to say about it through this story. … This is an opportunity with us to wrestle with the meaning of baseball as a mythical, cultural object. And ‘wrestle with it’ doesn’t mean to tear down to bits. It doesn’t mean to obliterate it. Wrestling can be done with love, too.” Mixed sports metaphor aside, Hallman’s point is a good one. Even the most avid baseball fans (and I certainly count myself among them) can benefit from looking at baseball—and by extension, America—through clear eyes. And this play centered on a man who accomplished something amazing while he was not wholly (or even partially) clear-eyed may well provide an opportunity. “I hope the audience is inspired,” Jackson said, “to learn more about what really happened or about other players who were not broadcast in the media, learn more about the ensemble of these teams and how they all had to work together to win their championships and how they were all very complex people. They were all struggling with their own demons and battles and America during that time and the time of them growing up. I feel like there is reflection in that because no matter how old or how young you are, living in America you are battling America’s battles. We have issues.” Rob Cline believes Orel Hershiser should be in the Hall of Fame. He may have seen Dock Ellis pitch on TV in 1971 when he was an infant and his mother was fervently rooting for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series.
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EDITORS’ PICKS: September 2021
EVENTS:September September 2021 Planning an event? Submit event info to calendar@littlevillagemag. com. Include event name, date, time, venue, street address, admission price and a brief description (no all-caps, exclamation points or advertising verbiage, please). To find more events, visit littlevillagemag.com/calendar. Please check venue listing in case details have changed.
FRIDAY,
SEPT. 3, Ben
SchmidtSwartz w/ Dropbear,
Public Space One, Iowa City, 8 p.m., Free
Celebrate the return of the iHearIC performance series with an evening of horns presented by Public Space One’s Media Arts Co-op. The wildly eclectic monthly shows have been on hiatus since the start of the pandemic. This performance features Chicago tenor player Ben Schmidt-Swartz and an acoustic set from the Iowa City duo Dropbear (bassoonist Gabi Vanek and saxophonist Justin K. Comer). The show is free; donations will be accepted to support SchmidtSwartz’s Midwest tour.
via the artist
AWARDED BEST PUB 2015, 2016 & 2018
Meander to the music Friday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m.
Rock the Block 2021: Lowdown
Brucemorchestra XIV: An Evening
Brass Band, NewBo City Market,
of Rogers and Hammerstein
Cedar Rapids, Free
w/ Revival Theatre Company, Brucemore, Cedar Rapids, Free-$20
Monday, Sept. 13 at 6:30 p.m. Feed Me Weird Things and
Saturday, Sept. 25 at 1 p.m.
Record Collector present: Mind
Longfellow Front Porch Music
Maintenance w/ Ross Clowser,
Festival, Longfellow Neighborhood,
Trumpet Blossom Cafe, $10-15
Iowa City, Free Saturday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. The Negotiators, Raven Wolf
KITCHEN NOW OPEN UNTIL 1AM THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY 46 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
Productions, Williamsburg, $5
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OPEN CALLS! Lincoln Highway Arts Festival is returning for 2021. Apply by Sept. 10 to the Mount Vernon Area Arts Council. A $75 fee gets space for a 10 x 10 tent; two artists may share a tent at no additional cost. Dreamwell Theatre is accepting submissions from actors, singers, storytellers and more through Sept. 10 for QueertopIA, a revue of queer voices scheduled for Oct. 1. Half of all proceeds from the event will go to Iowa City Pride. Acts should be 5-10 minutes long. Contact Madonna Smith at president@dreamwell. com with submissions or questions. Public Space One’s open call for 2022 exhibitions and projects is open now through Sept. 26. Applicants are highly encouraged to submit proposals that speak to the mission of PS1, the unique character of its spaces and/or Iowa City/regional communities.
Jason Smith / Little Village
dancers, puppeteers, comedians,
SUNDAY, SEPT. 12, Big
Birthday Bash,
Grove ’Brary
Big Grove Brewery, Iowa City, 12 p.m., Free
Celebrate the Iowa City Public Library’s 125th anniversary (that’s quasquicentennial in case you’re curious) with an afternoon of music and magic at Big Grove. You can dance to the Dandelion Stompers, wonder at the illusions of Troy Peters and even get your very own library card (or freshen up your old one; they’re redesigned!) at the Bookmobile. Big Grove is donating 10% of all food sales to the Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation, and the library will be offering giveaways for all ages to add to the fun.
Proposals for satellite spaces are also welcome. Form available
Plug in to your community!
online; questions to info@publicspaceone.com.
Friday, Sept. 3 at 9 a.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.
FRYfest, Iowa River Landing, Coralville, Free-$5
Trans Health & Medical Care: Where We Are,
Iowa City Community Theatre
Where We Came From, obermann.uiowa.edu,
is seeking director proposals
Monday, Sept. 5 at 1 p.m.
for their 2022-23 season. They
Coralville Fall Pride Festival, Iowa River
will be accepting submissions
Landing, Coralville, Free
through Oct. 4. Performances for
Free (registration required) Monday, Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. Bill Nye, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City, Free
the 67th season will take place
Sunday, Sept. 12 at 9 a.m.
in September 2022, October/
Festival Latino of Cedar Rapids, McGrath
November 2022, December 2022,
Amphitheatre, Cedar Rapids, Free
January/February 2023, March
(registration required) Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m. Gretchen Rubin: The Happiness Project,
2023 and April/May 2023. The
Saturday, Sept. 18 at 10 a.m.
Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City, Free (registra-
director submission form is avail-
NCSML Building Dedication 25th Anniversary
tion required)
able on their website; questions
Celebration, National Czech & Slovak Museum
may be directed to pds@iowaci-
& Library, Cedar Rapids, Free-$100
tycommunitytheatre.com.
Saturday, Oct. 2 at 9 a.m. The Crunch Berry Run Murals & More Fundraiser, 2nd Ave Bridge, Cedar Rapids, $30 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 47
AROUND THE CRANDIC
David Lee / HBO
EDITORS’ PICKS: September 2021
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 15, ‘David
Byrne’s American Utopia,’
FilmScene at the Chauncey, Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., $9.50-12 When modern legends combine, a new mythology can be born. In this 2020 concert
film, director and producer Spike Lee turns his talents to documenting a live performance on Broadway of a version of David Byrne’s 2018 album, American Utopia. The production, choreographed by Annie-B Parson, features a dozen musicians, including Byrne, all on wireless or portable equipment. The version screening at FilmScene includes newly released footage and a special introduction by Byrne. The film was originally broadcast on HBO, putting it in the running for this month’s Prime Time Emmy Awards; an Emmy would put Byrne three-quarters of the way to becoming an EGOT (he has an Oscar from 1988 and Grammys from 1989 and 2010).
Flights of filmed fancy Wednesday, Sept. 1 at 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 8 at 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 22 at 10 p.m.
Late Shift at the Grindhouse: The Way of the
Late Shift at the Grindhouse: Spirit Animal,
Late Shift at the Grindhouse: Scary Movie,
Dragon, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Iowa City,
FilmScene at the Chauncey, Iowa City, $7
FilmScene Chauncey, Iowa City, $7
$7 Thursday, Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m.
FilmScene in the Park: Love & Basketball,
Seeing Asian American Life through the Video
Bijou Film Forum: Memento, FilmScene at the
Chauncey Swan Park, Iowa City, Free
Essay Screening and Panel w/ Kevin B. Lee, obermann.uiowa.edu, Free (registration re-
Chauncey, Iowa City, $8 Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2 at 7:45 p.m.
Late Shift at the Grindhouse: Game of Death,
FilmScene in the Park: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,
FilmScene at the Chauncey, Iowa City, $7
quired) Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. FilmScene in the Park: To Wong Foo Thanks
Chauncey Swan Park, Iowa City, Free Wednesday, Sept. 22 at 7:15 p.m.
for Everything, Julie Newmar, Chauncey Swan
Saturday, Sept. 4 at 10 p.m.
FilmScene in the Park: The Falconer, Chauncey
Park, Iowa City, Free
Bijou After Hours: Columbus, FilmScene at the
Swan Park, Iowa City, Free
Chauncey, Iowa City, $8 48 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
Community and cinema come together under the stars! FilmScene in the Park is presented in partnership with the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department and made possible by the transformative Strengthen • Grow • Evolve campaign.
Check out the full slate of fun fal films coming this fall!
SEPTEMBER 2
E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL
SEPTEMBER 9
LOVE & BASKETBALL
Presented in partnership with The Iowa City Johnson County Senior Center to celebrate the 40th anniversary
Presented in partnership with the University of Iowa Panhellenic Council, the National Panhellenic Council, and the Bijou Film Board
SEPTEMBER 29
OCTOBER 14
TO WONG FOO THANKS FOR EVERYTHING JULIE NEWMAR Presented in partnership with Iowa City Pride to celebrate the 50th Anniversary
THE GLEANERS AND I Presented in partnership with the New Pioneer Food Co-op to celebrate the 50th anniversary
SEPTEMBER 22
THE FALCONER
Presented in partnership with the Iowa City Climate Fest with a post-screening panel discussion
OCTOBER 29
HOCUS POCUS
Presented in partnership with the City of Iowa City
LEARN MORE AT ICFILMSCENE.ORG LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 49
PLUS: THE PED MALL RETURNS THIS FALL! MORE INFO COMING SOON.
AROUND THE CRANDIC
Fred Easker, July Near Lycurgis oil on canvas
EDITORS’ PICKS: September 2021
FRIDAY, SEPT. 17, Reception:
Metcalf,
Fred Easker and Stephen
Gilded Pear Gallery, Cedar Rapids, 5 p.m., Free Gilded Pear is holding a joint opening reception for two exhibits currently showing at their Cedar Rapids gallery. COVID-19 precautions in place. Both opened Aug. 20 and will be in the space through Oct. 2. “Meditations on Moments in the Landscape” is a solo exhibition from Cedar Rapids landscape artist Fred Easker. Easker’s inspiration for the works in this show stems from a passion with the Driftless Region of Northeast Iowa. “The Promise of Life” is a posthumus exhibit of selected recent oil paintings and early work of Stephen Metcalf, who passed away in August of 2020. The gallery notes that this is a celebration of and homage to Metcalf, but not a full retrospective of his output. A concurrent exhibition of Metcalf’s work will be on display at Olson-Larsen Gallery in Des Moines, Sept. 10–Oct. 2. Astouding arts Friday, Sept. 3 at 4 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 3 at 5 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 12 at 12 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 1 at 5 p.m.
Opening Reception: Mary Moye-
Opening Reception: “Data
Art For Animals, Mary’s Farm
Opening Reception: Dana Telsrow
Rowley “Progress in Pastel,” Iowa
Figures,” Public Space One, Iowa
Sanctuary, Iowa City, Free
“The Consummate Modernity,” The
Artisan’s Gallery, Iowa City, Free
City, Free
Knit Hole, Iowa City, Free
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50 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
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Little Village is distributed free of charge in the following areas: • Iowa City/Coralville/North Liberty • Cedar Rapids/Marion • Cedar Falls/Waterloo • Solon/Mt Vernon • West Liberty/West Branch • Hills/Washington • Riverside/Fairfield • Quad Cities To request copies in your area, or to add your business as a distribution location, contact distro@littlevillagemag.com today! LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 51
EDITORS’ PICKS: September 2021
AROUND THE CRANDIC Titillate your taste buds! Friday, Sept. 10 at 5:30 p.m. Global Community Dinner, Coralville Public Library, Free Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m.
via Millstream Brewing Co.
History on Tap: The Science of Brewing, Lion Bridge Brewing Company, Cedar Rapids, Free (registration required)
SUNDAY, SEPT. 5, Iowa
Friday, Sept. 17 at
Craft Beer Bash,
5:30 p.m. BrewNost, National
Millstream Brewing Co., Amana, 1 p.m., $5-70 Sip to your heart’s content with unlimited tasting from more
Czech & Slovak
than 50 Iowa breweries! Designated drivers get in the door for just $5; general admission tasting tickets are $45; $70 gets you in the gate an hour early at 12 p.m. You’ll get a souvenir sample glass, food trucks will be available and Cedar Rapids surf rock legends the Surf Zombies will set the musical mood. A portion of the proceeds from this 21+ event will go to support the Iowa Children’s Cancer Connection and the Iowa Brewers’ Guild.
uscatine
Museum & Library, Cedar Rapids, $50125
SEPTEMBER 3 & 4
A 2 day music, art and food festival along the Mississippi River!
WEEKEND
SEPTEMBER 18
Food Truck Fight® is a family friendly food truck competition where you choose the winner! Food trucks, cold beverages, live music and entertainment for the whole family!
SEPTEMBER 23
Live music, food trucks, beverage tent and fun for the whole family along Muscatine’s beautiful Riverfront!
, atine
musc
SEPTEMBER 25
Check out our calendar for event details! 52 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
An amazing collection of Midwest breweries, food and music on Muscatine's Mighty Mississippi! Friendly competitions like brat eating and beer stein holding contests!
IA
OCTOBER 9
The market will feature vintage and handmade goods along with live music and food trucks! This is a free, family-friendly event!
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 53
EDITORS’ PICKS: September 2021
AROUND THE CRANDIC LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM Theatrical thrills Thursday-Sunday, Sept. 2-12 Willow Creek Theatre Co. Presents: Melancholy Play, The Treehouse, Iowa City, $15-25 Friday-Sunday, Sept. 3-12 at 6:30 p.m. Theatre Cedar Rapids Presents: A Year with
Jacob Andrew Iwinski
Frog and Toad, Peggy Boyle Whitworth Amphitheater, Cedar Rapids, $13-23 Friday-Sunday, Sept. 17-
SATURDAY, SEPT. 11, Step
Drumfolk,
26 at 6 p.m.
Afrika! Presents:
Mirrorbox Theatre Presents: This Is Not a Game of Baseball, Allen’s
Hancher Auditorium, 7:30 p.m., $10-50 In September of 1739, the largest slave revolt
in the southern colonies occurred along the Stono River near Charleston, South Carolina. Between 35 and 50 Africans died, along with 25 colonists. Among the reverbrances from the event was the banning of drums for enslaved Africans. Step Afrika!, the first professional dance company in the U.S. dedicated to stepping, has been exploring the Stono Rebellion through art, thanks in part to commissioning support from Hancher Auditorium. This September, they present Drumfolk, a new Hancher co-commision exploring those events, examining the ties between the heartbeat and the drumbeat.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 21, Mary
Jo Bang in conversation w/ Timothy Donnelly,
7 p.m., prairielights.com/live, Free (registration required) Prairie Lights presents a conver-
sation with Mary Jo Bang to celebrate the release this summer of her translation of Dante Alighieri’s Purgatorio. Adorned again with art by Henrick Drescher, this second volume in Bang’s Divine Comedy translation promises as many insights and echoes as did her 2013 Inferno translation. In that volume, Bang conveyed the spirit as well as the language of the 14th century epic, bringing her own considerable poetic chops to bear on the artistry contained therein. She is less translating Dante than channeling him, bringing the 21st century into conversation with his Renaissance philosophies.
Orchard, Marion, $20 Sunday, Sept. 19 at 1 p.m. Art in the Afternoon | Let’s Dance, ArtiFactory Alley, Iowa City, Free
Literary luxuries Thursday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. LaTanya McQueen in conversation w/ Rachel Yoder, prairielights.com/live, Free (registration required) Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. Alicia Dill in conversation w/ Sara Maniscalco Robinson, prairielights.com/ live, Free (registration required) Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. Rachel Greenwald Smith and Lisa Wells, prairielights.com/live, Free (registration required) Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. Writers @ Grinnell: Alix Ohlin in conversation w/ Dean Bakopoulos, prairielights. com/live, Free (registration required)
Mark Schaefer
Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m Ash Davidson in conversation w/ Madhuri Vijay, prairielights.com/live, Free (registration required) 54 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
THANK
you "Best Home Improvement Company in the CRANDIC"
www.andrewmartinconstruction.com
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319.248.0561
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LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 1824 G Street, Iowa City 2021 55
EDITORS’ PICKS: September 2021
DES MOINES LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM Thursday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m. Wilco w/ Trampled by Turtles, Lauridsen Amphitheater, Des Moines, $35-99.50 Friday, Sept. 17, 7 p.m. The Dropkick Murphys w/ Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Jesse Ahern, Lauridsen Amphitheater, Des Moines,
Closet Witch, Zak Neumann / Litlte Village
$36.50-72 Tuesday, Sept. 21, 8 p.m. Rufus Wainwright and José González, Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines, $39.50-79 Friday, Sept. 24, 9:30 p.m. Thelma and the Sleaze w/ Liam Kazar, Karen Meat, Gas Lamp, Des Moines, $12-15
THURSDAY, SEPT. 9, Negative
Approach, Closet Witch, Justice Fetish,
Friday, Sept. 24, 8 p.m.
tioning Negative Approach. The Detroit-based four-piece and its members have been active in the genre for over three decades. That career started with their debut classic, Tied Down, released in 1983 via Chicago’s legendary Touch and Go Records. The band reformed in 2006 with its (mostly) original lineup and has been touring ever since. They’ll be joined at Lefty’s by instant Iowa hardcore legends Closet Witch and Des Moines’ new power-violence outfit, Justice Fetish. It’s always a bit surprising to see punk legends like Negative Approach stopping through Des Moines, but then again, the Midwest tends to take pride in its roots. The show starts at 9 p.m., and is $12 for advance tickets, $15 at the door. This event is 21+.
Saturday, Sept. 25, 8 p.m.
Lefty’s Live Music,
Paula Poundstone, Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines, $39-49
Des Moines, 9 p.m., $12-15 It’s tough to talk about the Midwest’s history of hardcore music without men-
Bad Bad Hats w/ Allegra Hernandez, xBk Live, Des Moines, $15-18 Sunday, Sept. 26, 6 p.m. Carmen Morales w/ Clifton Antoine, Antoinette Stevens,
Capitol ideas
Teehee’s Comedy Club, Des Moines, $15-55
Saturday, Sept. 4, 11 a.m.
Saturday, Sept. 4, 8:30 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 10, 8 p.m.
Riverview Music Festival, Riviera
Plack Blague w/ Traffic Death,
B. Well presents Billy: A Live
Amphitheater, Des Moines, $35
Victimized Youth, Gas Lamp, Des
Album Experience, Wooly’s, Des
Moines, $10
Moines, $20-25
56 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
—Trey Reis
INTRODUCING
YUBA BICYCLES!
FOCUSED ON CARGO + UTILITY LEAVE THE CAR AT HOME! 723 S Gilbert St Iowa City, IA 52240 (319) 351-8337 worldofbikes.com LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 57
EDITORS’ PICKS: September 2021
WATERLOO / CEDAR FALLS / QUAD CITIES
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM
Plans for the QC Friday, Sept. 3, 8-10 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 14, 8 p.m.
Ali: Fear Eats The Soul screening,
Nakatani, Rozz-Tox, Rock Island,
Rozz-Tox, Rock Island, Free
$10
Subatlantic, Tim D’Avis
Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 11-12,
Sunday, Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m.
10 a.m.
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Adler
Beaux Arts Fair, Figge Museum,
Theater, Davenport, $39-79
Davenport, Free Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 25-26
SUNDAY, SEPT. 5, Ragged
Records x Rozz-Tox Present: Laborspace Labor Day Weekend Concert,
Laborspace, Rock Island, 2 p.m., Free
A Labor Day Weekend concert featuring live music from Subatlanic, Centaur Noir and Tambourine will be showcased throughout the day for free for an all ages audience, with breaks between music sets for readings from local authors. There will also be writing crafts for youth presented by the Midwest Writing Center, refreshments sold by Rozz-Tox and access available to Ragged Records for those interested in shopping.
Saturday, Sept. 11, 11 a.m.
Quad Cities Renaissance Faire,
River Benders Cycling Group Draw
Credit Island Park, Davenport,
It You Call It Fun Ride, Ruby’s,
Free-$21
Davenport, $5 Saturday, Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12, 7:30 p.m.
Napoleon Dynamite: A
My Name is NOT Mom Comedy
Conversation with Jon Heder,
Show, Adler Theater, Davenport,
Efran Ramirez, Jon Gries, Adler
Theater, Davenport, $30 $29-59
Monday, Sept. 13, 8:30 a.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 29, 6 p.m.
Starting the Year Off Right:
Banned Books Reading with
Classroom Strategies for ALL
Midwest Writing Center (mwcqc.
Learners, East Moline Admin
org), Free —Sarah Elgatian
Building, Free
Waterloo/CF happenings Thursday, Sept. 2, 5 p.m. Moon of the Snow Blind Public Reception With Gary Kelley, Hearst Katie & the Honky-Tonks via the artists
Center for the Arts, Cedar Falls, Free Saturday, Sept. 4, 11 a.m. Waterloo’s Inaugural Food Truck Festival, Riverloop Expo Plaza, Waterloo Saturday, Sept. 11, 9 p.m. Anthony Worden, Octopus College Hill, Cedar Falls
SUNDAY, SEPT. 12, 10th
Picnic,
Annual Stone Soul
Tuesday, Sept. 14, 6 p.m. Mick Foley: Have A Nice Day Tour, Bien Venu, Cedar Falls, $25-75
12 p.m., Gateway Park, Cedar Falls, Free The Stone Soul Picnic is returning to Cedar
Falls for an in-person event, once again raising awareness for childhood hunger in Northeast Iowa. All proceeds from freewill donations will go to benefit children’s programs at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. The event will feature kids’ activities including face painting and a petting zoo, food from Blue Barn BBQ and live entertainment. Among the performers are Katie & the Honky-Tonks, the Beaker Brothers and Deja Blue. Bring your own drinks and chairs. 58 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
Friday, Sept. 17-Sunday, Sept. 26 Waterloo Community Playhouse Presents: Our Town, Waterloo Center for the Arts/Hope Martin Theatre, Waterloo, $12-22
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 59
"MOST TRUSTED REALTOR IN THE CRANDIC"
Phoebe Martin, Realtor® &
Thank you so much to everyone
Allison Hall, Realtor®
in our community for awarding
Assistant to Phoebe Martin
us with this honor for yet
Blank & McCune, the Real Estate Co. 506 E. College Street Iowa City, IA 52240 319.541.8695 phoebe@phoebemartinrealtor.com phoebemartinrealtor.com
another year. It has been an amazing first year with Blank & McCune, and we sincerely look forward to serving you all in 2021. Cheers to the New Year!
DEAR KIKI
D
ear Kiki, I separated from my ex-wife about a year ago and she’s now pregnant by the guy she left me for. I didn’t directly hear about the pregnancy but heard it through the grapevine since we were in the same social group and a lot of people know both of us, and she lives a few states away so it’s not like I’d have run
LittleVillageMag.com/DearKiki
it. Don’t indulge in small talk or casual banter just for the sake of it. She doesn’t need your congratulations; you’ve forfeited your right to her mental real estate as well. Unless she’s clinging to resentment or otherwise hanging on unhealthily, she shouldn’t be offended if you don’t mention it. She also shouldn’t feel discomfort if you do.
IF YOU’RE ANGRY, OR JEALOUS, OR BITTER, OR FRANKLY YOU DON’T REALLY CARE, THEN LEAVE IT. DON’T INDULGE IN SMALL TALK OR CASUAL BANTER JUST FOR THE SAKE OF IT. SHE DOESN’T NEED YOUR CONGRATULATIONS; YOU’VE FORFEITED YOUR RIGHT TO HER MENTAL REAL ESTATE AS WELL.
into her. I need to call her to finalize some details of the divorce, but here’s the question: Should I congratulate her? Should I mention the pregnancy at all? I know she knows I know about it; would it be weirder to not mention it? Help me, Kiki!
D
THE IOWA CITY POLICE LOG A coffee table book
ON SALE NOW LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/POLICE—LOG
ear Help, There’s no one right way to navigate a relationship with an ex, since all individuals have wildly different personalities that come into play. But one general catch-all truth is that the easiest way forward is to just be honest about everything. It’s not worth your time or energy to be deceitful toward someone who is no longer entitled to real estate in your mind. Unless you’re genuinely a compulsive liar (in which case therapy can possibly help, better than I can, at least!), lying takes energy and thought that’s simply better used elsewhere. Your calls with her should be professional. The relevant bit here is that this applies to little white lies and conversational pleasantries, too. Are you happy for her, Help? When you heard about her pregnancy did you have the same rush of compersion that you’d have if a co-worker or vague acquaintance was expecting? If so, express that. “I was so glad to hear you’re expecting; I know you’ve always wanted that!” or similar, whatever’s apt. But if you’re angry, or jealous, or bitter, or frankly you don’t really care, then leave
Remember, though, Help: Honesty does not extend to unkindness for kicks. Nine times out of 10, “brutally honest” is really just “genuine asshole.” If how you really feel is, “So I hear you got knocked up you sl*t,” then just keep it to yourself. Again, be professional. You are no longer romantic partners and, if she didn’t see fit to tell you about this herself, you are no longer even friends. If you wouldn’t say it to your boss, don’t say it. Speak your honest feelings as long as you speak kindly: It’s the common courtesy you’d give a stranger or a loved one. Not common as in found in abundance everywhere, but common as in equally true of and applied to all. xoxo, Kiki
KIKI WANTS QUESTIONS! Questions about love and sex in the Iowa City—Cedar 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. LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 61
62 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
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IOWA CITY NORTHSIDE MARKETPLACE
AST R O LO GY
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “I often wonder who I am and where is my country and where do I belong and why was I ever born at all,” wrote Virgo author Jean Rhys (1890-1979). I don’t think you will be agitated by those questions during the next eight weeks, Virgo. In fact, I suspect you will feel as secure in your identity as you have in a long time. You will enjoy prolonged clarity about your role in the world, the nature of your desires, and how you should plan your life for the next two years. If for some inexplicable reason you’re not already enjoying these developments, stop what you’re doing and meditate on the probability that I am telling you the bold truth. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Several states in the U.S. have statutes prohibiting blasphemy. Saying “God damn it” could theoretically get you fined in Massachusetts, South Carolina and Wyoming. In the coming days, it’s best to proceed carefully in places like those, since you’ve been authorized by cosmic forces to curse more often and more forcefully than usual. Why? Because you need to summon vivid and intense protests in the face of influences that may be inhibiting and infringing on your soul’s style. You have a poetic license to rebel against conventions that oppress you. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Everyone dreams at least three dreams per night. In a year, your subconscious mind generates over 1,100 dreams. About this remarkable fact, novelist Mila Kundera writes, “Dreaming is not merely an act of coded communication. It is also an aesthetic activity, a game that is a value in itself. To dream about things that have not happened is among humanity’s deepest needs.” I bring this to your attention, Scorpio, because September is Honor Your Dreams Month. To celebrate, I suggest the following experiments. 1. Every night before sleep, write down a question you’d like your dreams to respond to. 2. Keep a notebook by your bed and transcribe at least one dream each time you sleep. 3. In the morning, have fun imagining what the previous night’s dreams might be trying to communicate to you. 4. Say prayers of gratitude to your dreams, thanking them for their provocative, entertaining stories. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In her autobiography *Changing*, Sagittarian actor Liv Ullmann expresses grief about how she and a loved one failed to communicate essential truths to each other. I propose we regard her as your anti-role model for the rest of 2021. Use her error as your inspiration. Make emotionally intelligent efforts to talk about unsaid things that linger like ghostly puzzles between you and those you care about.
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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “I could do with a bit more excess,” writes author Joanne Harris. “From now on I’m going to be immoderate—and volatile,” she vows. “I shall enjoy loud music and lurid poetry. I shall be rampant.” Let me be clear, Capricorn: I’m not urging you to be immoderate, volatile, excessive and rampant every day for the rest of your long life. But I think you will generate health benefits and good fortune if you experiment with that approach in the coming weeks. Can you think of relatively sane, sensible ways to give yourself this salubrious luxury? AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): While wading through the internet’s wilder terrain, I found a provocative quote alleged to have been uttered by the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. He supposedly said, “My ultimate goal is to look totally hot, but not be unapproachable.” I confess that in the past I have sometimes been fooled by fake quotes, and I suspect this is one. Still, it’s amusing to entertain the possibility that such an august personage as Socrates, a major influencer of Western culture, might say something so cute and colloquial. Even if he didn’t actually say it, I like the idea of blending ancient wisdom with modern insights, seriousness with silliness, thoughtful analysis with good fun. In accordance with astrological omens,
By Rob Brezsny
I recommend you experiment with comparable hybrids in the coming weeks. (PS: One of your goals should be to look totally hot, but not be unapproachable.) PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “If you don’t know what you want,” writes Piscean novelist Chuck Palahniuk, “you end up with a lot you don’t.” Very true! And right now, it’s extra important to keep that in mind. During the coming weeks, you’ll be at the peak of your ability to attract what you want and need. Wouldn’t you prefer to gather influences you really desire—as opposed to those for which you have mild or zero interest? Define your wants and needs very precisely. ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries poet Anna Kamienska wrote, “I’ve learned to value failed conversations, missed connections, confusions. What remains is what’s unsaid, what’s underneath. Understanding on another level of being.” In the coming weeks, I suggest you adopt her perspective as you evaluate both past and present experiences. You’re likely to find small treasures in what you’d assumed were wastelands. You may uncover inspiring clues in plot twists that initially frustrated you. Upon further examination, interludes you dismissed as unimportant or uninteresting could reveal valuable wrinkles. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): After studying your astrological omens, I’ve decided to offer you inspiration from the ancient Roman poet Catullus. I hope the extravagant spirit of his words will free you to be greedy for the delights of love and affection. Catullus wrote, “Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred; then another thousand, then a second hundred; then yet another thousand.” I’ll add the following to Catullus’s appeal: Seek an abundance of endearing words, sweet favors and gifts, caresses and massages, help with your work, and fabulous orgasms. If there’s no one in your life to provide you with such blessings, give them to yourself. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini author Elif Batuman writes that the Old Uzbek language was rich in expressions about crying. There were “words for wanting to cry and not being able to, for loudly crying like thunder in the clouds, for crying in gasps, for weeping inwardly or secretly, for crying ceaselessly in a high voice, for crying in hiccups, and for crying while uttering the sound ‘hay hay.’” I recommend all of these to you in the coming days, as well as others you might dream up. Why? It’s prime time to seek the invigorating release and renewal that come from shedding tears generated by deep and mysterious feelings. CANCER (June 21-July 22): A blogger named MythWoven imagines an “alternate universe where I literally go to school forever (for free) so I can learn about art and literature and history and languages for 100 years. No job skills. No credit requirements. No student loans. Just learning.” I have longings like hers. There’s an eternal student within me that wants to be endlessly surprised with exciting information about interesting subjects. I would love to be continually adding fresh skills and aptitudes to my repertoire. In the coming weeks, I will give free rein to that part of me. I recommend you do the same, my fellow Cancerian. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In 2016, the International Garden Photograph of the Year depicted lush lupine flowers in New Zealand. The sea of tall purple, pink and blue blooms was praised as “an elegant symphony” and “a joy to behold.” What the judges didn’t mention is that lupine is an invasive species in New Zealand. It forces native plant species out of their habitat, which in turn drives away native animal species, including birds like the wrybill, black stilt and banded dotterel. Is there a metaphorically comparable phenomenon in your life, Leo? Problematic beauty? Some influence that’s both attractive and prickly? A wonderful thing that can also be troublesome? The coming weeks will be a favorable time to try to heal the predicament. LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 63
Iowa City auto repair for Subaru, BMW, Mini, Porsche, Audi, VW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, Saab, Honda, Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, Acura and more
64 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
LO C A L A L B U M S
ENGLISH Mona Lucy ENGLISHIOWA.BANDCAMP.COM
T
he Des Moines-based band ENGLISH began a few years ago when guitarist and vocalist Chris English assembled a group to record some songs he’d written to commemorate 25 years of remission from childhood cancer. English enlisted Justin Goes on bass, Russ Tomlinson on drums, Hans Decker on trumpet and Tommy Doggett on saxophone. Those songs became their debut album, There’s Nothing New Under the Sun, which was released in 2017. On July 30, the band released their first EP: the aptly titled Mona Lucy. The five-song set finds ENGLISH writing together as a group for the first time, and the results are a genre-bending collection of jazz-soul rockers. They’ve chosen to describe their sound as “tater-tot casserole rock,” which probably gains them automatic billing at the State Fair. As English says, “you throw in all kinds of good stuff but no two dishes are ever the same.” After listening to this EP, that seems to be as good a description as any. From the outset, the formula here is foolproof: a furious yet unrushed interplay between guitar and horns, pushed forward and tied together by a locked-in rhythm section. Mona Lucy sets its tone early with “Ouroboros,” an almost prog-metal headbanger in which English tries on his best Ronnie James Dio masquerade. It’s a traditional “rat race” tune with severe arena rock overtones throughout, both melodic and lyrical:
LittleVillageMag.com
Keep living in the reverie / the future is a memory But now this is the moment / when two contradictions collide As the name of the tune implies, it’s cyclical in nature, the horns and guitar swelling and cresting continuously back onto themselves. On the second track, “From Hell to Breakfast,” the horn charts are sweeping and provide a weighty counterpunch to English’s jazz rock riff. The duo of Decker and Doggett push the song’s intensity higher and higher, while English offers up some slacker sage advice: “Don’t lose yourself going ass over ambition.” The standout tracks on the EP are the interconnected pair of “Mona Lucy” and “Directions.” The title track begins a surf-rock suite that’s deftly driven by Tomlinson’s impossibly tight drumming. The track sort of sounds like if the Trashmen hired some disgruntled jazz players to stretch out their arrangements. It’s phenomenal, and fading into the instrumental “Directions,” it finally gives the quintet the space to stretch out. The horns are distant in the mix here, shifty, dreamy. (They sound like they were recorded one county away from the microphone.) There are a myriad of tempos and tonalities on this pair of interconnected tunes, and I can only imagine the power these must have bellowing from the stage. In fact, I bet that all of these songs are flat dangerous live, loosened up a bit and allowed to fully breathe. Mona Lucy captures ENGLISH at its purest form, which seems to be as full throttle tater-tot casserole rockers. I think that means they are best consumed live and fresh out of the oven with other hungry humans. Here’s to hoping for more chances for this band to serve it up in person, wherever they can. —Avery Gregurich
Q&A: Chris English of ENGLISH Mona Lucy will be ENGLISH’s second official release. How did this set of songs come together and get recorded during the pandemic? This record came together much differently than our debut album, where I had most of the parts written before I even recruited the band. This time around it was important that our sound wasn’t just my vision but a collective effort from the whole group, start to finish. And without breaking it down song-by-song, that’s truly how it ended up. As for recording, we actually went into Sonic Factory for our first session the week before everything started shutting down. It was then a few months before we were able to safely come back to finish tracking. We then purposely stretched out the mixing and mastering process because at the time there was still no end in sight when we might be able to do a proper release and safely play shows to support it. But this prolonged process only made us more proud of what we were putting together, and I like to think of that as a bit of a silver lining. Tell us about Lucille Ball’s influence on this EP. That one comes from my wife. She has a profound love for mid-century everything, including the shows and movies of the time. The Mona Lucy concept, though, comes from [my wife’s] experiences as a woman trying to make her way professionally in male-dominated industries. ... she [has] expressed how society still holds on to these weird ideals for women, as though they’re supposed to be viewed like the Mona Lisa, when (in her words) “they ought to be more like Lucille Ball,” a hero of hers who broke many boundaries in her lifetime. And this concept of the Mona Lisa-Lucy dual perspective really stuck with me ... I’m not trying to come across as some great feminist, but I thought it would be beneficial to write the song “Mona Lucy” as kind of the “idiot men’s guide to feminism.” Kind of a shout-out to the men who are trying to evolve and understand, but are honest with themselves that they’re going to trip over their own feet a lot along the way. The band has recently returned to playing locally. How good does it feel to finally play in front of a crowd again? It has meant everything to us. ... When we played [Des Moines] Arts Fest it started to hammer down rain and I thought, “Bummer; the crowd is going to bail.” But honestly, the opposite happened, and people stayed out there, got soaked, danced and sang. It was incredible. May we never take live music for granted. I think we all realized just what a privilege it is to have those experiences, both as a performer and a fan. —AG
Submit albums for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240 via the artists
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 65
ANNIVERSARY
Happy 50th Anniversary to New Pioneer Food Co-op.
Thank you for being the first grocery store to carry Oasis Hummus, now available in grocery stores across seven states—Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
Check New Pi shelves for price reductions on Oasis Street Food Hummus during the month of September!
319.358.7342 info@oasisstreetfood.com 206 N. Linn St. Iowa City, IA 52245
66 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
LO C A L A L B U M S
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ood Morning Midnight’s latest album is expansive. Songs of Violence is an aural road trip down county highways in an unfamiliar wood. It is a definitive Midwestern rock album. Singer-songwriter Charlie Cacciatore explained the sound over a pilsner at George’s Buffet on a recent summer afternoon: “When I started writing this album in 2017, I was playing with a band where we each lived an hour away from each other. That’s a very American thing, a very Midwestern thing. We spend a lot of time in cars. To us, Chicago’s a day trip. There’s a spread-outness that hopefully comes through in the album.” Yes. Yes, it does. The ringing lyrics of “Guernsey Street River” remind me of Ojibwa creation stories and early summer on the river and flying down the highway out of my hometown—the same highway my parents used to drive for an hour to take us to a Friday night double-feature at the drive-in movie theater two counties over. The swaying major-minor deluge of “Big Flood” is freezing rain in downtown Minneapolis, the District in Rock Island during a boil order and endless, endless cornfields. The foreboding strings of “Neon Bees” conjure the house my grandparents ordered out of a Sears catalog in 1938, currently decomposing in a teeny town in
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Northwest Iowa. Incidentally, Q&A: Charlie Cacciatore of Good Morning Midnight the strings also sound a bit like early-2000s Radiohead; this leads This seems like an obvious question: Is this a COVID album? It into early grunge-inspired guitar is not. I mean, it can be a COVID album if that’s what it means under more of Cacciatore’s spiralto somebody, but I actually started writing it in 2017 before ing vocals. I even started recording the previous album (Both Neither Bits and pieces of the singer’s Both). We were almost done recording Songs of Violence influences can be heard throughwhen the lockdowns started. The next step would have been out the album. The 23-year-old touring, but … since that wasn’t happening, I didn’t feel the musician grew up listening to ’90s radio, and I heard a little Pavement, ALL ARTISTS FEAR BECOMING JUST A some Beck (his Sea DERIVATION OF THEIR OWN FAVORITES. Change period) and THIS HYPER-AWARENESS, HOWEVER, Elliott Smith, to name a few. LEADS TO SELF-CENSORSHIP. BY “I used to hate it when ELIMINATING THAT FEAR, CACCIATORE people compared me to IS NOW ABLE TO EXPLORE THE FULL Elliott Smith,” Cacciatore said (at which point I BREADTH OF HIS CREATIVITY TO remembered the previous GIVE US WEIRD LITTLE GEMS. Good Morning Midnight project, Both Neither and Both, and a write-up I’d done in which I referred to Smith rush of a deadline anymore. And in the opening paragraph). there was all this time available in How about Tom Petty if he’d the studio. started 20 years later? “I’ll take that,” he replied, addBecause bands weren’t ing: “Actually, I leaned into it this traveling? Exactly. So I time.” used the extra time In this case, it contributes to the in the studio, and I album’s full, finished sound. All learned a lesson artists fear becoming just a deriabout taking as vation of their own favorites. This long as you want hyper-awareness, however, leads to make someto self-censorship. By eliminating thing exactthat fear, Cacciatore is now able ly the way to explore the full breadth of his you want creativity to give us weird little it. With gems like the piano that opens previous “Alone,” which seems made for albums, a Kubrickean establishing shot I thought of a deserted highway through about the Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with release before a 100-foot wall of pines on either I completed recordside of the road and no cell sering. This was the first time vice. I understood that I could have Songs of Violence, which wraps that level of intention. That I was with four (4!) bonus tracks, is out even capable of it. now on Spotify and Apple Music and on Good Morning Midnight’s What do you mean by “intention”? Every sound was deliberSoundCloud and Bandcamp. ate, and every sound mattered. I should clarify: Intentionality —Melanie Hanson has always been important in Good Morning Midnight, but Amir Prellbu
Good Morning Midnight Songs of Violence
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Songs even more so, because I had more experience and more knowledge than previously. So there’s just more depth in every direction. —MH LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 67
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LO C A L A L B U M S
Traffic Death Judas Curse of the Iron Sabbath TRAFFICDEATH.BANDCAMP.COM Plack Blague w/ Traffic Death, Victimized Youth, Saturday, Sept. 4, 8:30 p.m., Gas Lamp, Des Moines, $10
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ook, it’s no surprise to anybody that I nearly broke the internet trying to get my hands on the new Traffic Death album. I’m not going to pretend that I’m anything other than a fan. I’m also not going to pretend that Judas Curse of the Iron Sabbath is anything less than pure fire. It starts out good, and it just keeps getting better and better over the course of 23 tracks in just under 28 minutes. Of course, several of those tracks are tiny snippets of sounds, the shortest only eight seconds. This is heavy-hitting thrash at its best, coming hard and fast right out the gate with “The Fury” featuring killer speed vocals and a truly delightful guitar solo. Track two, “Too Late, Fuck You,” is exactly what you think it would be: a cathartic, rage-filled, drum-fueled rush with copious growled “fuck you”s that make you want to crank the volume and scream along. “Why do you drive like you’re going somewhere / When no one wants you to be anywhere?” the track asks. Track three, “Crushed By Corpses,” the album’s second-longest at 3:09, closes out the opening tracks that could easily be their own release. It’s still quick, but it threatens to drift into a doom-y pulsing, a tease that’s repeated multiple times over the course of
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the record, notably again in the midst of the exquisite track six, “Subconscious Grief,” ushering in a noodly guitar like a clamp on a gushing artery. Traffic Death plays with the same patient pulsing on the paired tracks five and eight, “The Horror Of Space …” and “... The Terror Of Time.” Drummer Brian Greenfield’s work on this album is incredibly varied and versatile. I hate singling anyone out in this tight, skilled ensemble, but damn it’s good. Scattered throughout the album, per the band’s trademark style, are quotes from horror and sci-fi flicks, from the classic (Christine, RoboCop, Highlander) to the obscure (1989 college slasher flick Rush Week). They add that extra touch of the surreal, inform the lyrics on many of the tracks (like the line, “When the head is severed from the body, it actually does stay alive,” from “Subconscious Grief,” which riffs off the Highlander quote in track four, “The Wolf Doth Howl”) and make the whole thing feel like a string of all-nighters, survived through sheer willpower and late-night creep shows. Album closer “Blast Overpressure” is something else entirely. It’s an instrumental coda with spacey contortions contrasted with simple piano that echoes in your mind after the last note fades. It follows the album’s longest offering, track 22, “No Recovery,” an intense, relentless number that includes lines like, “Trying to decide if I’m already dead.” “Blast Overpressure” is a weird respite that feels out of place, but necessary—one minute, 24 seconds spent staring at the embers after the fire goes out. It’s a fitting end to an album dedicated to the memory of Des Moines musician Rob Ogg, who passed away in July of last year. —Genevieve Trainor Submit albums for review:
Q&A: Nate Phillips of Traffic Death What is your role in the band, both musically and practically? I am the vocalist; I wrote almost all the lyrics. Andrew [Smeltzer] has written two songs lyrically and Brian [Greenfield] has done one, but otherwise I have handled those duties while those guys write all of the actual tunes. I also book a good deal of the shows, make fliers, handle art concepts and screen print all the shirts, patches and other goods of that nature. What’s your musical journey/history prior to Traffic Death? I was in a band called Black Market Fetus for a good while 1998-2011; we did some national tours and even a European tour in 2006 and released many split 7”s, an LP and a couple split LPs. Also spent four years singing in a pre-existing band called Catheter, but I always felt like a hired gun so after a Euro tour we did, I left the band to take a break. Traffic Death was my return to playing in a band after a couple years of feeling like there was something missing in my life. What’s been the trickiest COVID-19 reality to navigate as a band? Shows. We actually didn’t even practice for many months, I’d say eight or nine. When COVID first hit, we had just played a couple shows and had a few more runs scheduled for that spring/early summer, as well as the recording session that became the Judas Curse of the Iron Sabbath LP—but we had to cancel it until we felt it was safe for us to record. Recording is a group experience, and we all wanted to be there for it. Plus in the end I feel like we were able to add some elements and songs because of the extra time; there was no real reason to release an album during COVID, because if you aren’t playing out on it I’m not sure what the point of releasing an album is. What’s kept you going, despite the challenges of the past year? What other crap have you faced down? We love to play, hang out and make something out of nothing. There is an awful lot of nothing going on out there, but there is also cool shit too. Mostly I love digging into old movies and music; those have both kept me going. Luckily, I had already moved my work to my house and started screen printing there, so I wasn’t affected too much by the shutdowns. But I definitely missed seeing people and getting out of the house. I have a few kids, so keeping them busy and trying to explain what the hell was going on was probably the hardest thing. What’s your vision/dream for your future as a band? I would love to do a full tour of Europe, as well as Japan, Australia and some places I’ve never had a chance to go. It would be cool to get to the places in via
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the States we have yet to hit as well. I guess we will just have to see what happens with this new Delta variant and all the other stuff that happens in life, but I know we are ready and willing to get out and rip it up. —GT
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LO C A L A L B U M S
Alex Ramsey Bonsai ALEXRAMSEY.BANDCAMP.COM ALEXRAMSEY.NET
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lex Ramsey has been a mainstay of the collective of Eastern Iowa’s folk and country blues community, either as a member of the Pines (who seem to be on a sabbatical) with his brother Benson and David Huckfelt or contributing his keyboard prowess on releases from acts like Mason Jennings and Ryne Doughty, as well as Wildwood Calling, the most recent album from his father, Iowa guitar legend Bo Ramsey. Alex Ramsey’s debut solo effort, Bonsai, is a DIY affair, with Ramsey performing and recording every part at home. The album is rich with textures but at the same time is also a very intimate experience. Most of the vocals are aching, whispered and light—something this album shares with the Pines’ catalog, along with dreamy, sometimes half-heard lyrics. The focus on piano and keys can make the record boisterous and raucous in spots. As Billy Joel sings in “Piano Man,” “the piano sounds like a carnival.” Ramsey’s tendency to draw from waltzing time signatures causes often dizzying avalanches of lunging and loping piano runs in songs like “The Highest Place.” The flourishes of uncommonly heard chord changes and progressions and time recall both the complex piano-centric music of Fiona Apple and Radiohead’s more chamber-pop tendencies. The uneasy and sometimes menacing mood is delivered beautifully. In
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this, Ramsey certainly covers different ground than he explored in his time in the Pines. If there is a theme to this record, it is the narrative of a restless, wandering outsider—possibly by choice, or maybe an outcast. “The One Below” offers a lonely view from above: “I feel like a vulture, circling the sky, waiting for life below to die”; “Worlds and Dreams” follows with, “from this height Odin can see everything / he got a glimpse into her eyes / now he can’t do anything,” capturing an isolation also tangibly represented in the complexity of the music. In “The Beast You Create,” Ramsey says, “I’ve been locked out of my own house / now all I can see is the shore.” In the first track and single from the album, he’s “Crawling Out of [his] Grave,” declaring, “I was wrong, but now I see the sun.” This otherness permeates track three, “You’ll Be There With Me,” featuring plucked guitars and doubled harmony vocals drawing from the template of the Pines: With one look and you will know / I have to break my promise of returning home / But if I do, I’ll be in different form / Maybe I’m a flower falling on the pond / Who are you dying for? One interesting aspect of Alex Ramsey releasing an album outside of the Pines is that it shines a light on the individual contribution he made to that collective: the color and atmospheric wash of keys, his harmonies and musical sensibilities. But the context of the Pines is certainly not required to appreciate Bonsai—if anything, it proves that Alex Ramsey is a unique voice whose time as a solo artist has come, if possibly overdue. —Michael Roeder Submit albums for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240
Q&A: Alex Ramsey How long have you been working on this? I seem to recall talking to you back when you were opening for Pieta [Brown] during the This Land Is Your Music show and I remember talking to you about your first album. That was like 2009 or something. Wow, flashback! I have been threatening to make a solo album for a long time now. I haven’t been working on this album that whole time, except “Too Tired To Sleep”—I wrote that a long time ago. I really started working on Bonsai in late 2018. And I would work on it here and there. COVID hit right around when I started to get it mixed and so that slowed down the process, but that’s when I started making the music videos. It’s interesting to me that this album was primarily composed before COVID, but there is an overriding tone of isolation and darkness that captures some of the despair a lot of people have experienced in the last year. Yeah, it’s been fun for me too, to see the songs connect to other things that were not intended. Do you have any additional thoughts about creating the whole thing yourself vs. the work you have done in the Pines and as a sideman on other recordings? Yeah. Pines and other recordings were done in professional studios, so we had to work really fast— which is a good limitation to have. Since I did this on my own time, I had to create my own limitations. And, there’s opportunities for both approaches. Since I’m somewhat capable of playing all the parts, there’s a certain sound there that couldn’t be created with a band.
THE UNEASY AND SOMETIMES MENACING MOOD IS DELIVERED BEAUTIFULLY. IN THIS, RAMSEY CERTAINLY COVERS DIFFERENT GROUND THAN HE EXPLORED IN HIS TIME IN THE PINES. The use of waltzy time signatures really helps propel all of those odd chord progressions. Those progressions that don’t really seem to resolve in an expected way. I’ve always been drawn to the more “out there” chord progressions. To take all the same ingredients we’ve heard before and make something a little different is the craft. —MR via the artist LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298 September 2021 71
www.CoralvillePublicLibrary.org September Hours Mon-Th: 10:00 am - 7:00 pm Fri: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Sat: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Sun: 12:00 - 4:00 pm
Friday, Sept 10 5:30-7:30 pm at the Library Come taste the many food traditions of our community!
Geometric Bowl Kits Teen Craft Kit – beginning Sept. 4 Craft to Go for adults – beginning Sept. 15
1401 Fifth St. While supplies last. Coralville, IA Movie Night: BlacKKKlansman 319-248-1850 Thursday, September 23, 6:00 pm reference@coralville.org In the Library’s Lower Level 72 September 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV298
LO C A L B O O KS
Gary Kelley Moon of the Snow Blind ICE CUBE PRESS Moon of the Snow Blind Public Reception With Gary Kelley, Thursday, Sept. 2, 5 p.m., Hearst Center for the Arts, Cedar Falls, Free
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s a Midwest interloper, I’d never heard the apparently ubiquitous story of the Spirit Lake massacre before encountering this new graphic novel. Of course, we had our own legends of “terrifying savages” back in New Jersey (look up the Jenny Jump House sometime if you’re interested in such things), so I know the drill: No matter how progressive the region now, there are always some lingering tales of poor innocent white settlers and the native populations that terrorized them. It’s 2021. It’s long past time to revisit those stories—all of them— with a damn sight more perspective and grace. That’s exactly what Cedar Falls illustrator Gary Kelley does in Moon of the Snow Blind, his first graphic novel and an exploration of the history of Spirit Lake that provides more context than a simple one-sided view. Although he draws liberally, through direct quotes, from Abigail Gardner Sharp’s autobiography, History of the Spirit Lake Massacre, he also conducted a significant amount of supplemental research about the era and the region that is evident in his text. I am not Indigenous, so I do not feel confident in judging the balance of blame in the retelling. Certainly, though given backstory and clarity of motivation, Inkpaduta of the Dakota Sioux still looms large and
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villainous, and there is no minimizing of the death toll. But the white settlers are not all innocent victims; they are themselves clear interlopers in Iowa. And the unfathomable patience that Inkpaduta exhibits (and the inequities and indignities he suffers) prior to the massacre are laid out clearly as well. Kelley’s storytelling and art style go a long way toward honoring the promise of the book’s front matter (“... two sides to every story”). There is a particularly effective set of panels early on, in the chapter “June 1856, The Moon of Red Strawberries,” where Rowland Gardner, father of Abigail, is telling his family about comparisons between the Iroquois in New York and the Dakotas in Iowa. His speech and face are both broken between four panels making the top two-thirds of the page, a visual cue as to the brokenness of his logic and racism. The chapters are all named for the month they cover and the common Indigenous name for that month. Moon of the Snowblind is March 1857, the month of the massacre itself. For those unfamiliar, Inkpaduta and his followers came upon the Gardner family and the few other families that had settled near them, seeking food. The families all were killed, with the exception of Abigail, who was brought along with the Dakotas when they left. Three more white women joined her as the group traveled West in search of abundant buffalo and land free of settlers. Her return was eventually negotiated by a group of Christianized Dakotas sent by the U.S. government. She passed away in 1921. The starkness of the black and white art and the terse, tense text combine for a story that hits all the points with a minimum of moralizing. The repeated motifs of skulls and corvids convey an eerie mood and force the reader to sit with the discomfort evoked. Moon of the Snow Blind is a powerful exploration of the American “frontier” and of the compromises that made it what it is today. —Genevieve Trainor
Alicia Dill Beyond Sacrifice CIRCUIT BREAKER BOOKS Alicia Dill in conversation w/ Sara Maniscalo Robinson, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 7 p.m. prairielights.com/live, Free (registration required)
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edar Rapids author Alicia Dill will be reading from her forthcoming novel, Beyond Sacrifice, this month for Prairie Lights. The virtual event will also include a conversation with Sara Maniscalco Robinson, founder of Veterans’ Perspective. Beyond Sacrifice, Dill’s second novel, tells the story of Concepcion Chapa, a woman of many identities. Chapa is an orphan, an Army veteran and a special agent working for the FBI. She even has ties to the CIA due to her parents, both CIA agents, having been killed in the line of duty. However, when Chapa learns that her parents might still be alive and operating undercover, she forges a new identity and joins the CIA as an assassin-for-hire in order to find her parents and get the answers she needs. Chapa, similar to fellow fictitious operator Jack Reacher, does anything necessary to accomplish her goals. She fakes her own death, abandons her life and friends entirely and undergoes extensive plastic surgery in Brazil to shape herself into her deadly new identity, the globetrotting assassin Sofia Paltrini. As Sofia, Chapa transforms into a cold, killing machine, using her beauty, strength and an array of weapons to eliminate her targets. From “The Farm” in Virginia to a CIA blacksite in Kosovo to a picturesque Italian villa, Beyond
Sacrifice takes readers on a wild, bloody trip around the world as Chapa kills her way to the truth. Needless to say, Chapa’s descent into the murky, morally ambiguous underworld of espionage and political assasination is beset with shady characters and dirty deals. She can’t even trust her CIA handler, Charles, a man she loves. A quick read at 250 pages, Beyond Sacrifice offers readers enough twists and unexpected turns for a novel twice its length. Dill’s intimate familiarity with military culture, lingo and dialog serves her well in the brutal, terse world Concepcion Chapa inhabits. Dill’s experience as a woman serving in a notoriously misogynistic industry seems to have crept into Chapa’s worldview too: “In the military, the male soldiers were constantly trying to show me an easier way or a faster way to do something,” Chapa says. “The mansplaining was neverending in this line of work.” Despite its occasional feminist messages, it is worth noting that Beyond Sacrifice falls into the culture of fetishizing Special Operations Forces (operators) that, post-9/11, podcasts like Joe Rogan’s and grifters like Black Rifle Coffee have helped to sell to millions of Americans as a lifestyle. Though recent revelations about real life operators have tarnished any notions about the valorous or sexy nature of actually working for the CIA (don’t Google “SEAL Team 6” and “canoeing” with a weak stomach), Beyond Sacrifice is still an enjoyable thriller. Fans of spy thrillers or pulpy action novels will find something to love in Beyond Sacrifice and in Chapa, a feminine combination of the brutal focus of Reacher and the cunning and seduction of James Bond. Dill and Maniscalco Robinson will be in conversation about the book after the reading. Through Veterans’ Perspective, Maniscalco Robinson seeks to document and share the real stories of Iowa Veterans who served in WWII, Korea, Vietnam and subsequent conflicts. Both Dill and Maniscalco Robinson are veterans and the conversation is sure to be engaging. —Jon Burke
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37. Nicholas and Alexander, e.g. 39. Not fooled by 40. Cock partner 41. Stuck in ___ 42. Leading 43. Donna Summer—themed birthday greeting ... even though the recipient can’t go out dancing during the pandemic! 47. “Why do the French have only one egg for breakfast?” “Because one egg is an
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moderator Chuck 37. Thing dropped at a nude beach 38. Endured 39. “You can’t be serious!” 41. Like the acid used to preserve capers 42. Justin Verlander’s pride 44. One—named producer/ musician who passed away in January 2021 45. Voles and moles 46. She “Let It Go” before going “Into the Unknown” 49. Medium in a petri dish 50. Explorer who cries, “Swiper, no swiping!” 51. Biden or Harris, professionally: Abbr. 53. Perambulate 55. Intervals of curling matches (8 in recreational levels, 10 in competitive play) 56. Frozen drink with a polar bear logo 57. Smart thermostat brand 59. Airport code near the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 60. What COVID-19 is definitely not
DOWN 1. One might translate to “The mail is here” 2. Part of (the joke) 3. How many times the United States has won Olympic gold in curling 4. Queer Eye offering 5. Legolas or Buddy 6. Moved like syrup 7. “Toodles!” 8. One who attacks 9. JFK’s home 10. It’s not unusual for an expensive one to stink 11. Darling dog of children’s literature 12. Some pens 13. Language from which we get “pemmican” and “muskeg” 16. Urbanize 18. Kuwaiti monarch, e.g. 23. Pres. Biden’s home state 25. Some fancy cameras, for short LV297 ANSWERS 26. Merit badge AMY T AMP A T BON E BOO H E A RD A RGO T holder C P U E RRO L K A RMA 27. Annoyed S K A F ORG I V E N E S S N I T B I A S 28. Actress Téa A T OM E DMS CHOO L S 29. Shaped like T OW D R N O I N S E T L AW R A Y ROC K C A R Humpty Dumpty A S H B Y A L OE A V A 30. Condition that S T OR E R A ND B P R E Y A R A B K O S may cause snoring Y T UMAMA AMB I E N T 31. Pave over V E R B S C L OU T UH F E AG L E U BO L T B E E 35. Meet the Press S T E E R S A D L Y S EW
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