Little Village Central Iowa #014: May 2023

The Iowa GOP targets HIV/aIDS education

ankeny’s K-Dog destination

P. 9

Greenbelt Music Festival arrives in Clive

P. 10

STEM, rooted in the arts

P. 8

ON VIEW NOW

Homecoming is supported by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.

Glory, 1981

Museum purchase with support from the Joyce P. Summerwill Art Fund, 2022.1

Elizabeth Catlett

©2022 Catlett Mora Family Trust/Licensed by VAGA at Artist Rights Society (ARS), NY.

THANK YOU TO THIS ISSUE’S ADVERTISING PARTNERS

This issue of Little Village is supported by:

Adamantine Spine Moving (24)

Broadlawns Medical Center (24)

Catch Des Moines (20)

Des Moines Art Center (24)

Des Moines Metro Opera (22)

Des Moines Music Coalition (11)

Des Moines Playhouse (18)

Des Moines Symphony (14)

Full Court Press (8, 16, 20)

Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden (9)

Grinnell College Museum of Art (9)

House of Glass (6)

Independent Highland Park/Oak Park Neighborhood (10-11)

- Des Moines Mercantile

- Bill’s Window and Screen Repair

- The Collective

- The Slow Down

Iowa Department of Public Health (26)

Iowa Metaphyisical Fair (12)

Iowa Public Radio (24)

Nearwood Winery (16)

Don’t Say aIDS

Republican

Bluegrass & Goats

An ambitious new music festival highlights Clive’s popular Greenbelt Trail.

Little Village (ISSN 2328-3351) is an independent, community-supported news and culture publication based in Iowa City, published monthly by Little Village, LLC, 623 S Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240. Through journalism, essays and events, we work to improve our community according to core values: environmental sustainability, affordability and access, economic and labor justice, racial justice, gender equity, quality healthcare, quality education and critical culture. Letters to the editor(s) are always welcome. We reserve the right to fact check and edit for length and clarity. Please send letters, comments or corrections to editor@littlevillagemag. com. Subscriptions: lv@littlevillagemag.com. The US annual subscription price is $120. All rights reserved, reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. If you would like to reprint or collaborate on new content, reach us at lv@ littlevillagemag.com. To browse back issues, visit us online at issuu.com/littlevillage.

Issue 014 , Volume 2 May 2023

Cover by Britt Fowler

In this issue, state lawmakers work to wind the clock back to the Reagan administration, Korean corn dogs are all the buzz in Ankeny, and a new fest could mean big changes for the Horizon Events Center. Plus: local album and book reviews.

Orchestra Iowa (28)

Orchestrate Hospitality (15)

Primary Health Care (27)

Raygun (22)

Science Center of Iowa (12)

University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art (2)

Valley Junction (22)

Varsity Cinema (6)

xBk (13)

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Jav Ducker

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Letters & 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.

Under Bird, the Iowa AG office has stopped covering emergency contraception for sexual assault survivors (April 8)

What’s not appropriate use of public funds? These are rape victims. Have we sunk this low? —Dennis J.

I’m pretty sure the conclusion of her “careful evaluation” will be to punish rape victims further and deny them contraception. —Mary

Beth M.

This constituent thinks it’s absolutely an appropriate use of public funds. I mean, aren’t they trying to limit abortions anyway!? What a moron. —Krystal

L.E.

So tired of the pseudochristians using their political positions to force others to live under their beliefs. —Ricky

W.

Workers behind the scenes of Iowa’s biggest productions seek ‘voice, power and protection’ through unions (April 10)

There’s no good reason to keep stage employees (IATSE) and music artists (AGMA) separated. If they work in literally the same building for the same employer, they have the same interests. Siloing them off into their own separate labor organizations only weakens the power of organized labor. One big union y’all.

—Rickey W.

These people are huge reason our

community is as great as it is - happy to see them working towards getting the pay and benefits they deserve. —B.W.G.

Sharon Malheiro, attorney who helped win marriage equality for Iowans, has died (April 11)

What a loss. We’re so fortunate that she worked so tirelessly as an advocate and as an attorney for LGBT people in this state. We need One Iowa more than ever with our current legislature and governor. Her legacy lives on through it. —L.N.

Sharon is the primary reason Iowa won marriage equality, especially as early as we did. —Kate

I was an admin assistant at the same firm, and worked down the hall from her. I vividly remember the day the Iowa Supreme Court decided on marriage equality. She was so happy! She will be missed. —A.N.C.

I’ve known her more than half my life and I just feel like this huge vacuum suddenly took her place in my life. —Rivkah

May her memory be a blessing. —L.J Y.

Iowa Supreme Court rejects Gov. Reynolds’ attempt to have open records

Editor’s note: Ally Frame, cover artist for the April issue, was not credited in the magazine. Little Village regrets this error.

/LittleVillage READER POLL:

A Utah-based company is purchasing Kum & Go. If they decide to rebrand, what should the new name be?

Kum Don’t Kum

lawsuit thrown out (April 18)

It should be telling, and a red flag for ALL, when someone fights against oversight. It’s also incredibly odd that she has made a habit of turning down federal fundsmillions, if not more, of federal funds that would be life changing for some Iowans. Why, when she is cutting funding across the board and making getting funds much harder for those already struggling, would she then turn away millions of dollars?!

—Nicole P.

Iowa Legislature OKs Reynolds’ remaining education restrictions (April 24)

“An exemption for the Bible and other religious texts that contain descriptions of sex acts was added.” Hypocrites all.

—Ben S.

Iowa also passed a Bill at 4 am that legalized Child Labor. 14-year-old children can serve alcohol if passed. That’s why banning books and closing libraries make sense. No need for education since children must work adult jobs so Republicans can have a minority rule autocracy. —Sheila S.

Iowa Senate Republicans maintain status quo spending on state parks, water quality improvements (April 26)

“Maintaining the status quo for spending” i.e. All state funded parks and water quality improvement programs just got a budget reduction due to inflation. —P.S.

And the maintenance backlog due to prior years’ underfunding just got longer. —C.F.

Reagan again

By PaUL BRENNaN

Thirty-six years after the Reagan administration began a long-delayed public education campaign about HIV/AIDS, Gov. Kim Reynolds and Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have decided that education about HIV/AIDS is no longer needed in public schools.

One of the provisions of SF 496—a bill introduced by the governor’s office that makes major changes to Iowa’s schools—eliminates the requirement that a public school provide students with age-appropriate information about HIV/ AIDS as part of its health curriculum.

That section of the bill also ends the requirement to provide information about human papillomavirus (HPV), and the safe and effective vaccine to prevent it. HPV is spread through sexual contact and can cause cancer. The HPV vaccine became available in 2006, and the next year the Iowa Legislature mandated students receiving information about it. (In 2007, both chambers of the legislature and the governor’s office were controlled by Democrats.)

“Limiting teens and young adults from learning about this preventive approach to limit HPV infection is detrimental and illogical,” a group of public health researchers and educators said in a letter to the Gazette

“Don’t remove education on HPV/HIV from schools,” they concluded.

Gov. Reynolds has not said why she wants to remove that education, and most Republicans supporting the bill claim it doesn’t prohibit such instruction.

Of course, many conservative activist groups have objected to schools sharing information about safe sex since the 1980s. And preventing people from getting accurate information about the HPV vaccine is a top goal of the anti-vaxxer movement.

Just as the vaccine has proven effective against HPV, advances in medical research have turned HIV from an exceptionally lethal virus to a chronic, but treatable, one. But before those advances, it was public education efforts led by activist groups like the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, ACT UP and, closer to home, the Iowa Center for AIDS Resources and the AIDS Coalition of Johnson County, which were eventually joined in that work

by federal, state and local health agencies to help Americans cope more effectively with the disease.

section chief telling him. “They said, ‘Look pretty and do as little as you can.’”

In a 2012 article published in the Journal of Public Health, Dr. Donald Francis, an epidemiologist at the CDC in the 1980s, recalled how political consideration trumped public health consideration in the Reagan era.

Francis was involved with the CDC’s work on AIDS since it began in June 1981, six months after President Ronald Reagan was sworn in for his first term.

“By January 1983, the full picture had emerged. AIDS was a deadly infectious disease transmitted by sexual activity and by the sharing of blood and blood products,” Francis recalled.

As long as the people suffering and dying from AIDS were primarily gay men or IV drug users, inaction suited the personal and political prejudices of White House leaders and their supporters.

“[W]ith AIDS, the Reagan administration prevented [the CDC] from responding appropriately to what very early on was known to be an extremely dangerous transmissible disease,” Francis wrote.

Francis was put in charge of creating the nation’s first AIDS prevention program, which involved public education on how to prevent virus spread. In early 1985, his section chief at the CDC took the plan to the White House. Even though no one at the CDC expected much from the White House, Francis was still surprised by the reaction to his plan.

“Don, they rejected the plan,” he recalled his

It wasn’t until Sept. 17, 1985, four years after the start of the epidemic and seven months after the start of his second term, that President Reagan first mentioned AIDS in public. He did so in response to a reporter’s question during a news conference. Reagan said it was a “top priority” for his administration. That, of course, was a lie.

But responding to public pressure led by AIDS activists, two months after that news conference, Congress appropriated $190 million for AIDS research, almost double what the administration requested.

In 1987, the Reagan administration finally launched its first concerted effort to raise public awareness about AIDS. Things did begin to improve after Reagan’s vice president, George H.W. Bush was elected president in 1988. But the Bush administration still prioritized politics over public health, seeking to placate the conservatives and religious fundamentalists in the base of the Republican Party, many of whom embraced the superstitious belief that AIDS was divine vengeance instead of a virus.

“The elite of the Reagan administration, and later the Bush administration, had no idea of their responsibility to protect the health of the people who had elected them,” Francis wrote.

It’s understandable that the provision of SF 496 ending mandatory HIV and HPV education didn’t

Life-saving lessons from the first years of the HIV/AIDS crisis, hard won by LGBTQ advocates, are being snubbed by Iowa’s Republican leadership.

Jav Ducker / Little Village

Contact Buzz

STEaM Power

BY JOHN BUSBEE

truman’s live music

fridays 5-8 pm • sundays 2-5 pm

may 5 the snacks

may 7 geoffrey junior

may 12 tony bohnenkamp

may 14 luke farland

“Creativity is the capital of the 21st century.”

When Robert Bluestone shared this insight during his inspirational keynote for the 2010 Arts Advocacy Day in Des Moines, he was on target.

Back then, tying arts to economy and education as an integral part of a comprehensive learning process was still in a formative stage.

may 19 dustin baird

Arts and science intersect at Science Center of Iowa’s Innovation Lab workshops. Courtesy of Science Center of Iowa

One path in providing a holistic approach to education, which should always include the arts, is adopting its inclusion in the areas where America has increasingly lagged. In short, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) must complete its evolution to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math).

The roots of STEM can be traced to the Morrill Act of 1862 which granted states land to establish colleges that could promote agricultural science. After the act was signed by President Abraham Lincoln in July of 1862, Iowa became the first state legislature to accept the provisions of the act, leading directly to the creation of Iowa State University.

Officially opened in 1869 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, the institution became known as the Iowa State College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts in 1898, then Iowa State University of Science and Technology in 1959 ( which shortens to its popular name, Iowa State University).

In the early 2000s, the National Science Foundation (NSF) wanted an educational term for four educational subject disciplines; Science, Math, Engineering and Technology. A national consensus emerged that U.S. students’ achievements in these key subjects were lagging behind students in other industrialized countries. The NSF coined their focus SMET.

Thankfully, Judith Ramaley—NSF director of education and human resources—moved some words around to reach the now familiar acronym (and, arguably, better sounding), STEM.

Later, a set of NSF sponsored workshops in 2010 and 2011 led to the creation of the SEAD (Sciences, Engineering, Arts and Design) Network. This network is “a community of advocates for the importance and value of research and creative work across the arts and sciences.” The Washington

may 21 dan medeiros

may 26 kracklin

may 28 del saxman jones & keith owens

june 2 chris falcon

june 4 orphan annie

june 9 nothing special

june 11 brad seidenfeld

june 16 mike aceto

june 18 del saxman jones & keith owens

june 23 get off my lawn

june 25 david watson

june 30 tank anthony

Naughtea, a Korean corn dog and bubble tea shop located in a strip mall in quintessential suburbia, smells of fresh, high-class corn dog breading.

Rabbit imagery hangs on the walls of this Ankeny business, which debuted at the end of 2022, including bunny versions of the Mona Lisa and Girl with a Pearl Earring. A bright pink neon sign lights up the white interior, and K-pop videos play on the lone TV as customers come and go. On a Friday afternoon, it was so busy I had to wait for a booth.

The K-Dog, Naughtea’s mouth-watering take on a corn dog ($5.48-5.88), was worth the wait. Though the hot dogs inside are pretty standard for quality corn dogs, K-Dog breading is less crispy and more substantial, dressed with a range of flavors and textures (and even more add-on options for 10 cents each).

The first one I ordered was the Potato Fries K-Dog with half and half, meaning it was half filled with hot dog, half mozzarella cheese. The cheese was perfectly melted and very stringy. My Pizza Ranch palate was too weak for a sriracha dip, but after dribbling ketchup on my K-Dog, the heavens opened. The fries, breading, hot dog and

ketchup fused to make a delectable delight—like a high-class county fair corn dog.

Next up was the Hot Cheetos K-Dog, leaner than the first but still massive. The Cheetos flakes added a nice crunch to the breading, and their hot kick is sure to entice more spice-tolerant eaters. If you plan to try multiple K-Dogs, bring a friend; one K-Dog is plenty to fill the stomach.

In addition to the K-Dogs, Naughtea lives up to its name with a variety of iced teas—boba, milk, brown sugar, smoothies, slushies—with 15 topping options ranging from lychee to strawberry cheese foam. I ordered the Cookies and Cream smoothie with aloe vera jelly. It was a delicious surprise, lighter and fresher-tasting than a typical shake, and provided a perfect complement to the K-Dogs’ heaviness.

Naughtea is the only Korean corn dog joint in the state, and a bright spot in the land of similar-looking houses. At the end of the day, all their menu items and flavor combos are worth a try.

There are plenty of burger joints, fine dining restaurants and fast-food places to find in Ankeny and throughout the Metro, but there is no food establishment like Naughtea. —Sean Dengler

Goated

The new Greenbelt Music Fest wants to kick off the summer festival season in Clive for years to come.

BY MIKE KUHLENBECK

One detail that’s still being confirmed is whether or not the goats will be in attendance at the new music festival.

“A lot of people don’t know there’s a large number of goats at Clive City Hall that take care of the Greenbelt Trail and we’ll hopefully have them here as well,” said Tariq Lundy, referring to the roughly 15 goats the city hall houses to keep invasive species out of the Greenbelt. “If you look over our branding, you’ll see little goats on some of the festival posters and our website as well.”

The Greenbelt Trail is a paved surface that runs 11.3 miles long, and is sometimes referred to as “main street” but formally known as The Clive Greenbelt.

Clive has a population of about 19,000, but an estimated 75,000 people use the Greenbelt annually for running, cycling, rollerblading, walking or merely enjoying nature. However, this year, organizers at Horizon Events Center (2100 NW 100th St) hope people also use the trail to arrive at the new Greenbelt Music Festival.

“We have bluegrass, jam-grass, country, reddirt, Here Come The Mummies and so much more,” said Lundy, Horizon’s booking and operations manager. “We don’t get a lot of national bluegrass bands touring this market often, so we’re excited to bring that to Clive. We really wanted to push that family friendly event side for the community, and we want to be one of the first festivals of the year, which is why we’re doing it in May.”

The Horizon Events Center building stands adjacent to the Greenbelt Trail and will host the upcoming music festival on roughly four acres of grass field. There, festival-goers will witness what Lunday and other organizers hope will grow into a

new community tradition.

The Greenbelt Music Festival is a two-day, outdoor festival set to kick off on May 19.

The event was conceived last year by Kyle Galloway, chief financial officer for Horizon Events Center. The festival will be centered around bluegrass music, nature and community— as such, $5 of each ticket will be donated to the Clive Community Foundation for the purposes of revitalizing the Clive Greenbelt Trail.

Lundy and Horizon’s general manager, Gary DeWaard, were tasked with setting up this brand new festival. They researched other festivals and traveled to Kansas City to check out the Bluegrass in the Bottoms Festival to “learn more about bluegrass,” as Lundy told Little Village

The fruits of their studies now appear in the roster of national, regional and local acts boasted by the new festival.

Headlining the event is The Infamous Stringdusters, a band that won Best Bluegrass Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards for Laws of Gravity. The band received another nomination in the same category for their latest effort Toward the Fray, released earlier this year.

“I think a lot of people are going to come to the festival for the festival atmosphere, to get out

greenbeltmusic.com

of the house, and enjoy May, the bike trail and summertime,” Lundy said.

Longtime central Iowa residents will likely know that Horizon Events Center is in the location of the now-defunct Seven Flags Event Center, which ceased operations during the pandemic. Grievances toward the previous owners involved noise complaints, security problems for the neighbors and parking issues.

According to Lundy, those issues were all considered while organizing the Greenbelt Music Festival.

“We invited the neighbors back [to the facility] in September for Meet the Neighbors Night,” he said. “We listened to their concerns and qualms and took those into consideration when we started building the operations board and the site plan. We took that to the city council and got a unanimous vote to have the event.

“I think the biggest challenge was convincing the neighbors and the city that we’re going to be respectful about sound and time, and just getting

Greenbelt Music Festival, Horizon Events Center, Clive, May 19-20, $35 one-day pass; $65 two-day pass

via Here Come the Mummies

the word out to the community that bluegrass creates a fun atmosphere.”

Another key part of organizing the festival was reaching out to the Clive Community Foundation, a philanthropic organization founded in 2013 that raises money through donations to improve the community.

The Foundation has partnered with the City of Clive on the Greenbelt Landing Project, a multi-faceted plan to renovate the area over the next few years. There will be improvements in the area near the Aquatic Center and along the trail itself. A new festival stage is planned as well as a new community center, a kid’s playground and a nature and wetlands walk.

“Other projects include a couple of improved recreation areas along the trail, and a lot of improvements to erosion and flood control,” said Bob Forte, a member of the Clive Community Foundation Board.

Forte has served on the Foundation’s advisory board for five years now. As a member of the marketing committee, he is involved with partnerships between different agencies and organizations.

The team at Horizon first reached out to the Foundation last November. Preliminary conversations were about the festival concept, but things really started coming together as 2023 began and Horizon received city council approval.

General admission passes are available for one day or both days, as well as a VIP “G.O.A.T. pass.”

Lundy and Forte hope festival-goers take advantage of the trail, where a bike valet will be provided, to get to the festival.

“We’re really excited to highlight the City of Clive and this area because we think it’s beautiful,” Lundy said. “As long as we have a safe, family friendly event, we’re planning on having it regardless. We’re having this inaugural event with plans to have it around for a long time. Our plan is we’re not done yet, we’re just getting started.”

July 7-8 • Downtown Des Moines, Iowa

Cautious Clay · Blu DeTiger · Thumpasaurus · William Elliott Whitmore

Etran de L’Aïr · Disq · McKinley Dixon · Ax and the Hatchetmen · Lipstick Homicide · Kiss the Tiger · Ancient Posse · Annie Kemble · Us Vs Them · Emma Butterworth · Penny Peach · Hurry Up, Brothers · Allegra Hernandez · Lady Revel · Flash in a Pan · Chill Mac · Surf Zombies · Basketball Divorce Court · Zap Tura · Glass Ox · Salt Fox · Belin Quartet · The Crust Band · Lost Souls Found · Girls Rock! Des Moines

Sudan Archives · Deerhoof · Ric Wilson · Gustaf

House of Large Sizes · Elizabeth Moen · Maxilla Blue · Pictoria Vark · Tayls · Ramona and the Sometimes · Neil Anders and the Brothers Merritt · Monstrophe · Des Moines Music Coalition Summer Camps

Mike Kuhlenbeck is a freelance journalist and National Writers Union member based in Des Moines, Iowa.

LV EDITORS’ PICKS

MAY 2023

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

via

Juneteenth Comedy Jam, Teehee’s Comedy Club, Des Moines, Friday-Saturday, June 16-17, $15-30

Teehee’s Annual Juneteenth Comedy Jam is back again for 2023. The event is set to pull local comedians to the stage for four shows over the course of two days. The Kickoff Show on Friday night features Timothy Andre and Perry Thompson, among many other performers and will be followed by the Ladies Night show that same evening. Stay late to catch Ameerah Sanders, Miranda Moses, Carmela Anderson and Cece Brewer. The next day, audiences can come back for the BIAS (Black Iowa Streams) Crew Showcase with comics Bernard Bell, Perry Thompson, Clifton Antoine, Day Peace and Darius Daye. Later on Saturday night, the Grand Finale will kick off with host Bernard Bell and four comedians will take the stage to cap off the weekend. Tickets range from $15-30 per show, per night.

Theatrical Thrills

Sunday, May 7 at 7 p.m. Ahmed Al-Kadri, Teehee’s Comedy Club, Des Moines, $15-20

Thursday, May 11 at 8 p.m. Firecracker Stand-Up Comedy, Teehee’s Comedy Club, $10-15

Friday, May 12 at 10 a.m. Snow White, Des Moines Community Playhouse, $6

Opening Friday, May 12 A Bright New Boise, Stoner Theater, Des Moines, $40

Saturday, May 13 at 7 p.m. Nick Youssef, Teehee’s Comedy Club, $15-20

Wednesday, May 24 at 7 p.m. Bike and Brew Comedy Tour, Big Grove Brewery, Des Moines, $5

Teehee’s

EDITORS’ PICKS: MAY 2023

Friday, May 26 at 7 p.m. Chloe Radcliffe, Teehee’s Comedy Club, $15-20

Friday, May 26 at 8 p.m. Panic! At the Burlesque Show, xBk Live, Des Moines, $20-30

Opening Friday, June 2 Native Gardens, Des Moines Community Playhouse, $29-43

Saturday, June 3 at 7 p.m. Lanaland Drag Show, Teehee’s Comedy Club, $25-30

DES MOINES

Sunday, June 4 at 1 p.m. All Ages Drag Show, xBk Live, $10

Tuesday-Sunday, June 6-11 Dear Evan Hansen, Des Moines Civic Center, $40-139

Opening Thursday, June 8 In the Upper Room, Pyramid Theatre Company, Stoner Theater

Saturday, June 17 at 8 p.m. Nerds in Wonderland, xBk Live, $30-50

Capital City PrideFest,

Historic East Village, Des Moines, Friday-Sunday, June 9-11, Free

Des Moines’ 44th annual PrideFest arrives the second weekend of June in the city’s East Village with parades and performances galore for those in attendance. Over the course of the weekend expect to see performances from drag queens like Trixie Mattel, who’ll be putting on a DJ set, Shangela as well as musicians like Sheila E., Leslie and the LYs and Haiku Hands. This year’s entertainment is in partnership with 80/35. Among the myriad activities expect to see dozens of vendors and the Capital City Pride Stride 5k presented by DLL on June 10.

Community Connections

Tuesday, May 9 at 7 p.m. Speak Easy: A Spoken Word and Open Mic Nite, xBk Live, Des Moines, $5

Wednesday, May 10 at 7 p.m. AVid

Presents: Emily St. John Mandel, Central Library, Des Moines, Free

Thursday, May 11 at 6 p.m. Capital City Pride Speaker Series: Rutger Goethart, Temple Theater, Des Moines, Free

Thursday, May 11 at 7 p.m. Art Noir GLOWGA, Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Des Moines, $15-20

Thursday-Saturday, May 11-13 Spring Garden Festival, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, Free-$30

Friday, May 12 at 7 p.m. William Bortz, Storyhouse Bookpub, Des Moines, Free

Sid Peterson / Little Village

Wednesday, May 17 at 5:30 p.m. Let Trans Kids Thrive: Ad Screening and Fundraiser, RAYGUN, Des Moines, Free

Sunday, May 21 at 12 p.m. Vinyl Market, Big Grove Brewery, Des Moines, Free

Wednesday, May 24 at 7 p.m. AVid

Presents: Jack Carr, Central Library, Free

Thursday, May 25 at 6 p.m. Whiterock Conservancy Dinner, Big Grove Brewery, Des Moines, $125

Friday and Saturday, May 26 and 27 20th CelebrAsian, Western Gateway Park, Des Moines, Free

Thursday, June 1 at 7 p.m. Film

Screening & Q/A: Boblo Boats: A Detroit Ferry Tale, Varsity Cinema, Des Moines, $9-12

Friday, June 2 at 5 p.m. Momentum’s Take Up Space Exhibition, Mainframe Studios, Des Moines, Free

Friday, June 2 at 5 p.m.

Hyperfocused: Immersive Art Exhibit, Mainframe Studios, Des Moines, Free

Friday, June 2 at 5 p.m. Exhibition

Opening: Underneath Everything: Humility and Grandeur in Contemporary Ceramics, Des Moines Art Center, Free

Tuesday, June 6 at 7 p.m. AVid

Presents: Paul Kix, Central Library, Free

Tuesday, June 7 at 7 p.m. DSM

Ballet: Of Gravity and Light

Advance Screening, Maytag Auditorium, Johnston, Free

Thursday, June 15 at 7 p.m.

AVid Presents: Taylor Harris, Central Library, Free

Friday-Sunday, June 23-25 Des Moines Arts Festival, Western Gateway Park, Free

Pride Punk Show w/ Odd Pets, xBk Live, Des Moines, Friday, June 16 at 8 p.m., $10-15 Ready

to shift your pride celebration into overdrive? Don’t miss the high-energy QueerCore Pride Punk Show, featuring Des Moines “power duo” Odd Pets. The event will also include a drag show and dancing. It’s a 21+ show, and tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. Reach out to info@xbklive.com if you require ADA accommodations. Celebrate the radical diversity of the Des Moines queer community!

Musical Marvels

Thursday, May 11 at 7 p.m. Josh Meloy, Wooly’s, Des Moines, $21

Thursday, May 11 at 8 p.m. Daniel Rodriguez, xBk Live, Des Moines, $15-20

Thursdays, May 11, 18, 25 and June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 Summer Concert Series, Jasper Winery, Des Moines, Free

Friday, May 12 at 7 p.m. Yoke Lore, Wooly’s, $60

Friday, May 12 at 7 p.m. Adrian Ruiz & His Band, Noce, Des Moines, $18-45

Saturday, May 13 at 8 p.m. Mungion, Gas Lamp, Des Moines, $10-15

Tuesday, May 16 at 7 p.m. All Access Live: Abbie Sawyer & the Flood, xBk Live, $10

Tuesday, May 16 at 7 p.m. Giovannie & the Hired Guns, Wooly’s, $20

Friday and Saturday, May 19-20 Greenbelt Music Festival, Horizon Events Center, Clive, $35-139

Friday and Saturday, May 19-20 Karrin Allyson, Noce, $25-65

Wednesday, May 24 at 7 p.m. Wille Watson, xBk Live, $20

Tuesday-Saturday, June 6-10 Zenith Chamber Music Festival, Various Venues, Des Moines, Free

Thursday, June 8 at 8 p.m. Radkey, xBk Live, $12

Thursday-Saturday, June 8-10

DMGMC: Cages or Wings: Actions Speak Louder Than Words, Temple Theater, $31.50-51.50

Friday, June 9 at 6:30 p.m. Charles Wesley Godwin, Lauridsen Amphitheater, Des Moines, $25-40

Saturday, June 10 at 8 p.m. Andrea von Kampen, xBk Live, $17

Thursday, June 15 at 8 p.m. CupcakKe, xBk Live, $45-45

Monday, June 19 at 7:30 p.m. The Blue Stones, Wooly’s, $20

Tuesday, June 20 at 8 p.m. Chris Puerka, xBk Live, $20

Friday, June 23 at 6:30 p.m. Charley Crockett w/Myron Elkins, Lauridsen Amphitheater, $30

Wednesday, June 28 at 6 p.m. Young the Giant w/Milky Chance, Lauridsen Amphitheater, $40.50

Thursday, June 29 at 8 p.m. T3R Elemento, Wooly’s, $39.50

Saturday, July 1 at 1 p.m. Soundcheck Fest, Captain Roy’s, Des Moines, Free

Odd Pets, via the artists

ASTROLOGY

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I’ve selected a passage to serve as one of your prime themes during the rest of 2023. It comes from poet Jane Shore. She writes, “Now I feel I am learning how to grow into the space I was always meant to occupy, into a self I can know.” Dear Taurus, you will have the opportunity to grow evermore assured and self-possessed as you embody Shore’s description in the coming months. Congratulations in advance on the progress you will make to more fully activate your soul’s code.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Georges Rouault (1871-1958) was a Gemini painter who bequeathed the world over 3,000 works of art. There might have been even more. But years before he died, he burned 315 of his unfinished paintings. He felt they were imperfect, and he would never have time or be motivated to finish them. I think the coming weeks would be a good time for you to enjoy a comparable purge, Gemini. Are there things in your world that don’t mean much to you anymore and are simply taking up space? Consider the possibility of freeing yourself from their stale energy.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Britain occupied India for almost 200 years. It was a ruthless and undemocratic exploitation that steadily drained India’s wealth and resources. Mahatma Gandhi wasn’t the only leader who fought British oppression, but he was among the most effective. In 1930, he led a 24-day, 240-mile march to protest the empire’s tyrannical salt tax. This action was instrumental in energizing the Indian independence movement that ultimately culminated in India’s freedom. I vote to make Gandhi one of your inspirational role models in the coming months. Are you ready to launch a liberation project? Stage a constructive rebellion? Martial the collaborative energies of your people in a holy cause?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): As crucial as it is to take responsibility, it is also essential to recognize where our responsibilities end and what should be left for others to do. For example, we usually shouldn’t do work for other people that they can just as easily do for themselves. We shouldn’t sacrifice doing the work that only we can do and get sidetracked doing work that many people can do. To be effective and to find fulfillment in life, it’s vital for us to discover what truly needs to be within our care and what should be outside of our care. I see the coming weeks as a favorable time for you to clarify the boundary between these two.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo-born Marie Laveau (1801-1881) was a powerful Voodoo priestess, herbalist, activist and midwife in New Orleans. According to legend, she could walk on water, summon clairvoyant visions, safely suck the poison out of a snake’s jowls and cast spells to help her clients achieve their heart’s desires. There is also a wealth of more tangible evidence that she was a community activist who healed the sick, volunteered as an advocate for prisoners, provided free teachings and did rituals for needy people who couldn’t pay her. I hereby assign her to be your inspirational role model for the coming weeks. I suspect you will have extra power to help people in both mysterious and practical ways.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): What are the best methods to exorcize our personal demons, ghosts and goblins? Or at least subdue them and neutralize their ill effects? We all have such phantoms at work in our psyches, corroding our confidence and undermining our intentions. One approach I don’t recommend is to get mad at yourself for having these interlopers. Never do that. The demons’ strategy, you see, is to manipulate you into being mean and cruel to yourself. To drive them away, I suggest you shower yourself with love and kindness. That seriously reduces their ability to trick you and hurt you—and may even put them into a deep sleep. Now is an excellent time to try this approach.

By Rob Brezsny

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): As she matured, Scorpio poet Sylvia Plath wrote, “I am learning how to compromise the wild dream ideals and the necessary realities without such screaming pain.” I believe you’re ready to go even further than Plath was able to, dear Scorpio. In the coming weeks, you could do more than merely “compromise” the wild dream ideals and the necessary realities. You could synergize them and get them to collaborate in satisfying ways. Bonus: I bet you will accomplish this feat without screaming pain. In fact, you may generate surprising pleasures that delight you with their revelations.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Some primates use herbal and clay medicines to self-medicate. Great apes, chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas ingest a variety of ingredients that fight against parasitic infection and help relieve various gastrointestinal disturbances. (More info: https://tinyurl.com/ PrimatesSelfMedicate.) Our ancestors learned the same healing arts, though far more extensively. With these thoughts in mind, Sagittarius, I urge you to spend quality time in the coming weeks deepening your understanding of how to heal and nurture yourself. The kinds of “medicines” you might draw on could be herbs, and may also be music, stories, colors, scents, books, relationships and adventures.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The mythic traditions of all cultures are replete with tales of clashes and combats. If we draw on these tales to deduce what activity humans enjoy more than any other, we might conclude that it’s fighting with each other. But I hope you will avoid this normal habit as much as possible during the next three weeks, Capricorn. I am encouraging you to actively repress all inclinations to tangle. Just for now, I believe you will cast a wildly benevolent magic spell on your mental and physical health if you avoid arguments and skirmishes. Here’s a helpful tip: In each situation you’re involved in, focus on sustaining a vision of the most graceful, positive outcome.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Is there a person who could serve as your Über Mother for a while? This would be a wise and tender maternal ally who gives you the extra nurturing you need, along with steady doses of warm, crisp advice on how to weave your way through your labyrinthine decisions. Your temporary Über Mother could be any gender, really. They would love and accept you for exactly who you are, even as they stoke your confidence to pursue your sweet dreams about the future. Supportive and inspirational. Reassuring and invigorating. Championing you and consecrating you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Congratulations on acquiring the Big New Riddle! I trust it will inspire you to grow wiser and kinder and wilder over the coming months. I’ve compiled some clues to help you unravel and ultimately solve this challenging and fascinating mystery. 1. Refrain from calling on any strength that’s stingy or pinched. Ally yourself solely with generous power. 2. Avoid putting your faith in trivial and irrelevant “benefits.” Hold out for the most soulful assistance. 3. The answer to key questions may often be, “Make new connections and enhance existing connections.”

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Before forming the band called The Beatles, John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney performed under various other names: the Quarrymen, Japage 3 and Johnny and the Moondogs. I suspect you are currently at your own equivalent of the Johnny and the Moondogs phase. You’re building momentum. You’re gathering the tools and resources you need. But you have not yet found the exact title, descriptor or definition for your enterprise. I suggest you be extra alert for its arrival in the coming weeks.

Dear Kiki, I recently had to live with some family members due to being between jobs and finally got a place of my own two months ago. The problem? I left a few things that I got mailed to me in a box yesterday. Some clothes, a couple books—and a largeish vibrating strapon. No words were spoken about the strapon, though they obviously know about it, and I’m a couple states away so I haven’t seen them since I got the box. I’m planning on visiting them within the next couple of months but I’m afraid of it being weird. They aren’t like, super conservative or anything but they’re fairly repressed. Is there a way to soften the awkwardness before I arrive? Help me, Kiki!

—Did a Dil-don’t

Dear Did a Dil-don’t, The answer to this dilemma will differ from family to family, of course. If I had done something like this, I guarantee the next visit would be filled with

memories of the device (don’t, for example, ask if they have a massager you can borrow) and treat them with the same respect and kindness that I presume you did while you lived with them.

Remember, however repressed they are, they likely have aspects of their life that are private as well. Like every human being, they understand what it means to be exposed in the way you were. They’re probably having the same concerns you’re having right now, and will be trying to act in ways that ease your anxiety and awkwardness. The best thing to do is just be genuine with each other, enjoy the same activities and conversations that you always did and just value the time you get to spend in each other’s company.

If for some reason they decide that this has changed the way they see you? That’s a them problem. You can’t control their inner narrative. But you didn’t give any indication in your letter that you fear that particular outcome or think they’re that kind of people.

These are family members who took you in when you were in a difficult situation. They obviously care about you, and the fact that you’re heading back to visit means you clearly also care about them. Just bear the little bit of discomfort that you feel. It will fade, and family is worth it.

endless ribbing (pun intended), because my family is, well, not repressed. But if your relatives are on the tamer side, it’s probably best to let the situation be.

Any attempt you make to address it will most likely exacerbate things. Keep in mind, for example, that any member of the household could have packed that box. All you know for sure is that one person knows about it—bringing it up, even just to clear the air, could make things far more uncomfortable, maybe even raising “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”-esque questions that could make family dynamics awkward even after you leave.

From the way you describe them, I’m guessing they’re happy to have sent it along without needing to talk about it. When you see them, express your gratitude again for their hospitality and for returning your things, but don’t mention specifics unless they do. Stay nonchalant, avoid subjects that could trigger

Of course, you should also be prepared for the possibility that one of them may ask you where you bought it or if you have any recommendations! If that happens, especially if you feel your anxiety peaking just imagining it, just tell them to pull up littlevillagemag.com and search “vibrators.” We gotchu.

xoxo, Kiki

REMEMBER, HOWEVER REPRESSED THEy aRE, THEy LIKELy HaVE aSPECTS OF THEIR LIFE THaT aRE PRIVaTE aS WELL. LIKE EVERy HUMaN BEING, THEy UNDERSTaND WHaT IT MEaNS TO BE EXPOSED IN THE Way yOU WERE.

get much attention, because the bill included so many other sweeping changes, such as forbidding K-6 teachers from acknowledging the existence of LGBTQ people in classroom lessons or other school programs; prohibiting teachers and schools from offering any recognition of a transgender or nonbinary student’s gender identity without first getting written permission from a parent; and making it easier to ban books conservative groups find inappropriate (typically books with LGBTQ characters).

It’s also not the most consequential example of putting politics over people’s health this year.

In March, Reynolds signed into law a bill banning any transgender person—student, faculty and staff, or visitor—from using a school bathroom or locker room that corresponds to their gender identity, and a bill banning gender-affirming medical care for any transgender Iowan under 18, which also requires any ongoing care cease 180 days after the governor approved it.

Every medical expert, education expert and mental health professional who testified about those bills strongly opposed them. It didn’t matter to the governor or most Republicans in the legislature. Every major organization representing medical professionals in America agrees that gender-affirming care is safe and often essential for transgender youths. It didn’t matter.

Last year, Gov. Reynolds signed into law a ban on transgender girls and women participating in girls’ and women’s sports at schools and colleges. It faced the same unified opposition from experts and professionals. It didn’t matter.

The governor and her Republican colleagues were warned that all of these bans will lead to a greater incidence of depression and suicidal ideation among young transgender Iowans, and likely result in more suicide attempts. It didn’t matter.

It seems that Reynolds and other Republican leaders in the state didn’t learn from Reagan’s failure on AIDS that put politics above people’s health-–and relying on personal prejudices, misinformation and imaginary fears of what might happen, rather than following sound medical advice—produces disastrous results. But perhaps they learned something else from the ’80s.

“These people caused immense preventable suffering and death—and it is likely that no one in the Reagan Administration will ever be held accountable,” Dr. Francis wrote at the end of his 2012 article.

Whether voters will hold Gov. Reynolds and other Republicans accountable for putting politics ahead of the health of Iowans remains to be seen.

Paul Brennan is Little Village’s news director.

The Hundred Dresses, 2022-23 Season

Kinky Boots, 2022-23 Season

How I Became a Pirate, 2022-23 Season

what’s happening at The Playhouse!

Not many teenagers can say they’ve already made a dent in their career bucket list. But since performing at a music festival for thousands of people and releasing her five-song EP, 16-year-old

and wounded, James digs deep to infuse her choruses with soulful crescendos that send the track soaring. On “Love Me Not or Love Me So,” she taps into a heartbroken blues groove with convincing sincerity.

If Songs About Daisies stumbles anywhere, it’s on the lyrics, which can at times feel circular or contrived. But occasionally, James hits at a wisdom beyond her years.

On “Settle with Me,” she croons, “I don’t care what the gossips have to say / I don’t care if the small town casts me away / Give up my whole life to live with you in the mundane.” Here, the lyrics are evocative and resonant, reflecting an ability to step into someone else’s shoes and tell an engaging story.

Ask HomeBrewed to play instead.

HomeBrewed describes themselves as a “fun filled, mixed generational group, playing bluesy rock and roll and rockabilly.” The band performs primarily at benefit shows for nonprofits around the area. Recent benefactors include CommUnity Food Bank,

most of the members either work repairing instruments at local music stores or in the dental field. But make no mistake: Devil In My Soul is an exciting record by serious musicians unafraid of taking chances.

Opening with the title track, backed by ominous boogie piano lines and several searching saxophone parts, lead vocalist and harmonica player Pete Damiano sets the tone early. “Spirit of Hope” is a rockabilly tribute penned to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that finishes off with a ripping guitar solo, while “Loss in My Life” features a full-out jazz clarinet breakdown with a distinct Dixieland-bent.

Urbandale musician Kelsie James has bagged two of her goals.

James played Des Moines’ 80/35 last summer, and released Songs About Daisies earlier this year—an engaging exploration of both the passion and confidence of youth. The EP features a warm, lush orchestration that blends elements of alt-country and gospel.

The organ that introduces and weaves through both “Things That We Don’t Talk About” and “One Hundred” envelop the listener like the glow of a sunrise cresting over a hilltop. The steady strumming and mellow strings of “Settle with Me” are cozy and inviting.

Through it all, the confidence in James’ vocals belies her age. “Lost in You” is an excellent example of her range. Starting out whispering

There is an emotional maturity that James is connected to on this EP that lends her songwriting unique authenticity. More than simply mimicking her influences, she’s building on them.

“Songs About Daisies” is a promising debut. As James’ experiences continue to shape her worldview, there is reason to be encouraged by what comes next.

—Tom Brazelton

HOMEBREWED Devil In My Soul

If you are planning a fundraiser in the CRANDIC area and are thinking about just putting on a Spotify playlist and calling it a day, please don’t.

Penfield Children’s Center and Shelter House. Back in December, HomeBrewed’s debut album release party at Wildwood Saloon raised over $3,500 to support Elizabeth Tate High School families during the costly holiday weeks, according to the band’s blog.

That album was Devil In My Soul, an ambitious first record consisting of four original tunes and three covers. Recorded by the incomparable Luke Tweedy out at Flat Black Studios, the album is an eclectic assortment of horn-and-harmonica-driven rock and electric blues tunes. As far as audition tapes go, this is an impressive sampling of what the band brings to their live performances.

The band’s bio says that by day,

Along with original tunes, the band proves it is equally adept at taking on more modern fare by covering “No Good” from Icelandic blues rockers Kaleo. They swing for the fences here, pouring several straight-gas guitar solos into the mix. As fearless as this one is, the band continues the streak by taking on two tunes from a pair of iconic and unique vocalists: Roy Orbison and Nathaniel Rateliff. “Pretty Woman” stays as true to Orbison’s as it can. It also gets as damn close to Billy Sanford’s original guitar tone as humanly possible. And with the horn section that HomeBrewed has assembled, it feels inevitable that they might try a Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats number. HomeBrewed get’s the jubilant horns and driving drum beat of “I Need Never Get Old” right.

It’s as simple as this: the band is making good music in support of good causes in the area. So check out HomeBrewed if you see them in a lineup somewhere this summer. And in the meantime, be sure and check out Devil In My Soul —Avery Gregurich

KELSIE JaMES

Songs About Daisies KELSIEJAMES.BANDCAMP.COM

THE LyRICS aRE EVOCaTIVE aND RESONaNT, REFLECTING aN aBILITy TO STEP INTO SOMEONE ELSE’S SHOES aND TELL aN ENGaGING STORy.

includes everything from 3D printing to programming a robot to paint,” said Curt Simmons, SCI’s president and CEO. “Arts and sciences intersect nicely in our Innovation Lab. The lines are really blurred.”

From nationally acclaimed touring exhibits, like the recent months-long exhibition of “The World’s Largest Dinosaurs,” to a daily schedule of activities, everything lives up to the claim from Amy Hock (the SCI director of marketing and public relations) that SCI is where “creativity and intelligence are having fun.”

“Art plays a factor in the development of our exhibits, where SCI staff use the design process from planning to fabrication to installation,” added Simmons.

KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED, PEOPLE.

IF YOU SEE DES BEST AROUND DES MOINES, YOU’RE AT THE RIGHT PLACE. THIS EMBLEM MEANS SOMEWHERE OR SOMETHING HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY LOCALS AS THE BEST AROUND.

DISCOVER DES BEST OF DES MOINES.

a Cowboy

ELEANOR-GRACE.COM

On her debut album Dream

About a Cowboy, there’s a quiet strength to EleanorGrace’s voice, like Reba McEntire and Billie Eilish had a baby that’s singing through Taylor Swift’s Fearless

entire history of country music and somehow coalesces into a collection of songs that pushes the modern genre’s boundaries.

EleanorGrace’s biggest talent lies in the poetry of her lyrics. “Daydreams” enters with a vividly turbulent image: “My hair’s a mess / And my favorite dress is ripping at the seams.” “Outlaw,” track five, gives “Wide Open Spaces” vibes with lines like “hightail it out of here and move out west,” but it’s the first line that creates the sweet intimacy of the song: “Carry my boots / Down the steps / Trying to avoid makin’ a bigger mess.”

“Moon Phases” captures a feeling of long nights sitting and staring out the window: “And I say it all to the moon / She

ELEaNORGRaCE’S BIGGEST TaLENT LIES IN THE POETRy OF HER LyRICS. “DayDREaMS” ENTERS WITH a VIVIDLy TURBULENT IMaGE: “My HaIR’S a MESS / aND My FaVORITE DRESS IS RIPPING aT THE SEaMS.”

At only 19 years old, EleanorGrace (EG) has created a work of art with influences spanning decades and genres. The album opener, “Daydreams,” is an airy, modern-country-pop tune that begs to be cranked up while driving down an open highway, arm hanging out the window and undulating to the beat. It could easily be imagined as a Kelsea Ballerini song.

But on track four, “Did Yourself in,” EG’s slight yodel harkens back to country’s true roots in Appalachia. The fiddle makes me picture her sitting on a beat-up front porch, picking at a washboard while she laments, “It’s the end/The end of wanting revenge/I became a free woman tonight.”

The production, done by Bryan Vanderpool at Golden Bear Records, masterfully ties all of these elements together into an album that takes its cues from the

moves the way that I do / I’m going through phases.” The third track “Nothing’s Real” brings the plight of Gen Z to the forefront: “Nothing’s real … except reality TV and pollution.”

Ultimately, on Dream About a Cowboy, you can hear that EG is only 19. She doesn’t always start lines strong. The last track, “Season Finale,” ruins the symmetry of starting the album on “Daydreams” and ending on title track “Dream About a Cowboy.” But it’s these imperfections that make the album so alluring—it’s raw, easy and dang catchy.

Her voice flits across notes so effortlessly you don’t even know they passed you by, and the album went just the same. I found myself wanting to listen over and over, wondering if this may just be Iowa’s own homegrown Fearless (EG’s Version).

—Dan Ray

JEFF STaGG Basement

Views

Within 10 seconds of hitting play on Jeff Stagg’s Basement Views I had to double check that I hadn’t hit play on a Todd Snider album.

While Stagg is more lyrically agnostic than Snider, thematic overlaps make it clear they have at least some of the same thoughts in their minds. That sentiment should help gauge your level of interest in the 10-track sophomore album from Stagg, a Des Moines-based folk-country artist.

While I don’t know if songs from Snider like “Talking Reality Television Blues” or “Conservative, Christian, Right Wing Republican, Straight, White, American Males” influenced Stagg (more likely, he and Snider simply share similar influences), both songs came to mind early in this album.

Market or Iowa State Fair have likely encountered his music at least in passing.

In the opening track, “Quiet Day,” Stagg lyrically introduces us to reflective and simple lyrics that exist alongside instrumentation that is generally limited to a simple guitar and harmonica—though Jon Locker appears on bass for this first. The other exceptions to this are “Need a Honky Tonk Tonight,” which brings in pianist Justin Appel, and “She Ain’t Ever Had the Blues,” which features both Appel and Locker.

While the talent of everyone involved is apparent on “She Ain’t Ever Had the Blues,” the song itself feels a touch out of place, a bit too upbeat for this particular album. Besides that, it isn’t sonically distinct to leave much of an impression.

When Appel returns for “Need a Honkey Ton Tonight,” Appel’s graceful work on the keys marries an optimistic tone with Stagg’s sorrowful, longing lyrics. The song not only blends with the rest of the album but, like “Quiet Day,” is one of the highlights.

The influence of artists like Bob Dylan is more strongly felt in the back half, particularly in songs like “Is it Cold in Chicago.” A composition that waxes about a bygone

LyRICaL THEMING THROUGHOUT TOUCHES ON a DISCONNECT BETWEEN GENERaTIONS, SOCIaL aLIENaTION aND SOME GENTLE EXISTENTIaLISM.

Lyrical theming throughout touches on a disconnect between generations, social alienation and some gentle existentialism in an album that’s primarily concerned with the melancholic recollection of bygone days.

Despite this only being Stagg’s second album, he’s been writing and performing on the regular in central Iowa, though has dipped into the east side of the state on occasion. In particular, those who’ve frequented the Des Moines Farmers

relationship, wishing a former love well while also pondering what could have been and inviting what might still be.

The final song “Great Day (FlexOnCancer)” is optimistic while maintaining a sense of belonging on the album. It’s a song for appreciation of the little things— walking around the block, holding hands, seeing a sunrise—and is a heartwarming send-off to a formidable folk/country album.

—Isaac Hamlet

ELEaNORGRaCE

Dream About

May 4 The

May 11 Molly Nova & the Hawks

May 18 Black Diamond Loons

May 25 Dick Danger Band

June 1 Suede

June 8 Gut Feeling

June 15 Cover That

June 22 Steam Boars

June 29 Standing Hampton

July 6 Simply Seger

July 13 Toast3r

July 20 Get Off My Lawn

July 27 Fahrenheit

Aug. 3 Brother Trucker

Aug. 10 The Sons of Gladys Kravitz

Aug. 17 Raquel & the Wildflowers

Aug. 24 Boomerang

Aug. 31 Gimikk

Sept. 7 Rhythmatics

Sept. 14 Drive Thirty 5

Sept. 21 The Uniphonics

Sept. 28 The Crust

DILMaN DILa

Where Rivers Go to Die ROSARIUM PUBLISHING

Whatever else you take away from this review, it should be noted that Where Rivers Go to Die is primarily a collection of horror stories. Deftly created horror, sure, but unsettling—along the lines of the more mild episodes of The Twilight Zone, at its lightest. At its most frightful, expect tales akin to The Ring or Alien

Author Dilman Dila is a Ugandan writer and filmmaker who participated in the University of Iowa’s 2017 fall residency in the International Writing Program. Throughout the eight stories collected in Where Rivers Go to Die (Rosarium Publishing), Dila draws from Ugandan folklore and history.

Most take place in modernity, but one dips into the 19th century, cataloging colonizers who encounter “flying green men.” Others reach into the future, in one case telling of a world where machine-made narratives flood the entertainment industry.

The first three tales exist in urban-fantasy settings where spiritual and supernatural mysteries are afoot. These stories somewhat resemble The Dresden Files, though in tone and texture they are more reminiscent of early The Witcher books.

After these initial stories, the book bends more towards science fiction, starting with “The Last Storyteller.” Don’t be mistaken though, there are still supernatural elements at play, like the titular “last storyteller” finding that one of her protagonists has miraculously

become a flesh and blood entity.

The strongest and longest story of the bunch, “The Flying Man of Stone,” occupies the middle of the book. Here Dila has the space to develop a setting that realizes the marriage of spirituality and science fiction he’s clearly occupied with. The narrative follows Kera, a boy fleeing with his father up a mountain after his town is attacked by soldiers – within that mountain he finds strange creatures capable of bestowing strange characteristics and powerful knowledge.

In stories before “The Flying Man of Stone,” the weakest point was often abrupt endings. In more than one instance, I found myself getting excited for a story only to turn the page and find its conclusion. While there is a somewhat

aUDRa KERR BROWN hush hush hush SMALL HARBOR PUBLISHING

In hush hush hush, Audra Kerr

Brown’s writing turns the mundane to horror.

This chapbook is a collection of Brown’s flash fiction, some of which has previously been published across journals and literary

Royce. This theme of loss and the starkly beautiful quality that Brown’s writing possesses both achieve their greatest heights in the final story, titled “When the Pregnant Girls First Arrive at St. Eulalia’s Home for the Lost and Wayward.”

Each paragraph of this final story begins by echoing that title, which creates a haunting repetition within the piece. The implications of the snow that the girls arrive in, paired with the shared naivety of the group, seems to bode poorly for the children they are expecting. The nuns at St. Eulalia’s introduce the girls to a Frozen Child, meant to remind them of their sins and encourage them to repent. In this final story, the nuns insist that “[the] grave is never satisfied . . .

THERE IS a NEaRLy IMPERCEPTIBLE LayER OF GROTESQUENESS SHaRED By aLL THE NaRRaTIVES, aS THEy EXPLORE THEMES OF FaMILIaL RELaTIONSHIPS. THE UNDERSTaTED DyNaMICS BETWEEN THE CHaRaCTERS—aS WELL aS THE PROSE THaT BORDER ON THE LyRICaL—BOTH LEND a SPOOKy QUaLITy TO THE STORyTELLING.

sudden ending to “The Flying Man of Stone,” it felt more appropriate—there had been a build to that ending and the world had been given time to breathe before the finale.

Another note on these stories’ endings: all hold some measure of tragedy. The exception is the final story, “The Terminal Move,” which arguably still contains the collection’s most horrifying moments. (Think Attack on Titan or some of the more grusome imagery of Princess Mononoke.)

These are primarily horror stories, but as bloody as they may become, they are just as often breathtaking. The very best of them stuck with me and kept me thinking for days after just as great science fiction stories should.

Where Rivers Go to Die is scheduled to release on June 6.

—Isaac Hamlet

magazines over the years. Many of the stories contained within have won awards and been included in the editions of the Best Small Fictions anthology from 2018 and 2021.

The collection features stories that, while perfectly plausible, have an almost supernatural feeling to them. There is a nearly imperceptible layer of grotesqueness shared by all the narratives, as they explore themes of familial relationships. The understated dynamics between the characters—as well as the prose that border on the lyrical—both lend a spooky quality to the storytelling. Characters experience abandonment, abuse and displacement, often inflicted by those closest to them.

Each story explores a different kind of loss, whether that be loss of life, innocence, relationships or an ill-fated prosthetic leg named

neither is the barren womb, nor the eyes of man.” Instead, it’s easy to feel that the girls are the ones who will never be satisfied, even as it is heavily implied that their babies are taken away from them, and their rosy views of the world collectively dimmed.

Reading this final story and its predecessors, it comes as no surprise that Brown’s work has won awards. The chapbook takes the form of the short story to an entirely new level. Brown’s stories range from one paragraph to five pages, though never surpassing just a few hundred words. Even with the limited space that the form provides, her writing feels effortless—she deftly crafts stories that will follow the reader for days and weeks after the book has been closed.

—Kelsey Conrad

LaUREL SNyDER

The Witch of Woodland

If I were Zipporah Chava McConnell, writing an essay about The Witch of Woodland (the newest middle grade novel from Laurel Snyder) for class, I’d probably talk a lot about the themes of Silence and Space. Any theme that recurs is worth mentioning, right? And isn’t it strange? A book about a 7th grader, centered on the last two things you’d ever think to associate with the cusp of the teenage years?

Silence and Space don’t have much resonance when you’re looking at 7th graders from the outside. But when you’re in that headspace, when you revert to a junior high mindset, that’s all there is: echoing emptiness in your mind, a vacuum that you don’t know whether to fill or flee from. And all you can feel is the space between yourself and others, a widening chasm of disconnection in relationships that were once so easy.

But there’s more to Snyder’s expertly voiced narrative than those straightforward themes. I want instead to talk about the tension between being and becoming. Because that’s the kind of thing I thought about all the time in 7th grade, and honestly haven’t stopped thinking about since. The onset of puberty is the epitome of becoming. The influx of hormones into the body literally changes who we are, in ways both sudden and subtle, and for smart kids who pride themselves on having answers—like Snyder’s hero, Zippy— the shift from being to becoming can feel like a 9.5 magnitude shake up.

In The Witch of Woodland, Snyder weaves that tension into Zippy’s bat

mitzvah preparation. She adroitly lets the character of Rabbi Dan do the heavy lifting of introducing Zippy (and the reader) to the foundational philosophy of questioning that underpins the Jewish faith. As the story unfolds, Zippy’s notions of being—the things that ground her in her identity (being a witch, excelling in school)—are placed in direct conflict with the ways in which she is becoming. And it’s that curiosity, that questioning, that allows her to tie the two together.

I wish I had a deeper knowledge of Jewish culture and history, because I suspect there are beautiful layers to this book that I’m incapable of accessing. But I recall very similar conversations with my Episcopal priest during Confirmation classes as those Zippy has with her Rabbi. It’s exactly what a kid at that age needs: permission to not know things. Encouragement to question.

There’s more, still, than that. The delightful asides about The Truth and writing style and Ms. Marty the language and literature teacher allow the book itself (framed as Zippy capturing her own story so as not to forget) to be simultaneously being and becoming. And then there’s magic and mythology and erratic access to power, all drawn together in ways best understood by those who are at an age when it’s hard to think of anything as real. Synder’s mastery of that 13-year-old perspective is an immersive delight, evoking memories and evincing empathy.

Which, actually, all circles back to silence and space. Zippy (and, for that matter, Snyder) chooses to fill the silence and space around her with the most powerful magic: words. In doing so, she forms connections and community. Casually, in the midst of some narration about three-quarters of the way through the book, this line slipped in: “... do you know how sometimes, the world is just too much?”

Yes, Zippy. I do know. But together, we can get through it. If we ask the right questions.

—Genevieve Trainor

EFE DUyaN

TRaNSL. aRON aJI

The Behavior of Words

In the translator’s note, Aron Aji gives some insights on his methodology and experience as both a reader and translator of Efe Duyan’s The Behavior of Words (White Pine Press, 2023). “Given the infamous incommensurability of English and Turkish grammars,

cracks you didn’t realize he left in the narrative and making the poems stronger for it.

Ordinarily, I read poetry collections quickly. I let each poem sit on its own while consuming the collection as a single unit. I wasn’t able to do that with The Behavior of Words

Each poem required focus. The words within this book are in stronger and more complex relationships with one another than I think I’ve ever seen, each one leaning on another, reaching across a stanza, across a poem to link with a partner. It is a lacework of language that makes it difficult to excerpt.

Because the poems are hard to excerpt, I’ve taken some favorite lines out of context: From “To Each Other”: “The lactic acid collecting in our patience.” From “Morning Mythology”: “the gods / have planted their jaws at road ends / they drink our sweat at breakfast.” From “Away From The World”: “if asked as a child you would’ve said / all the decisions you’ll make / are the mouthfuls of bites / you take out of an apple.”

the process often required forcing the natural Turkish syntax … on the English in order to foreground the physical direction of the verse and the gradual accretion of meaning.”

I thought it would be cute, as an Armenian, to read and review the work of a Turkish poet who I know to be a gentleman in every respectable sense. Reading the introduction, learning about (and later delighting in) formal structures I’d never seen before, I felt my background come to foreground. If you are like me, do not despair: these poems delight in your existence.

Aji’s assessment of Duyan’s work makes me thirsty to see the originals—Duyan’s poems are rife with wordplay and nuance. He employs anaphora with precision within his stanzas, causing them to come together like kintsugi—gold, filling in

Duyan’s poems of falling in love twist with longing and delight and are documented so precisely, with unexpected sensory metaphor that his sadder love poems, his poems of the human condition and his poems of observation stand in relief against them. Here’s a moment from one of his love poems, “Maybe Except For Other Women,” “our proud silence / is a wild animal // holding its breath / as if pouncing upon a bird / it will pounce upon / everything crossing my mind / that is not you.”

Throughout this book there is repeated imagery of waves and seas, space and stars, and sand. Natural elements play heavily with an exploration of domesticity. Then, keeping the natural world in the imagery, the narrative shifts for the final quarter to more political tones which include jail, human rights activists and the military.

I can’t explain how it works, but the final poems add a weight to the collection that makes it close nicely and still stick in your head.

—Sarah Elgatian

aJI’S aSSESSMENT OF DUyaN’S WORK

MaKES ME THIRSTy TO SEE THE ORIGINaLS— DUyaN’S POEMS aRE RIFE WITH WORDPLay aND NUaNCE.

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ACROSS

1.Name in Miami’s county

5. Word after gay or hamburger

9. Piece of an informational puzzle

14. Red or blue treat sometimes served at a movie theater

15. Pi, vis-à-vis tau

16. Erotic features

17. Agree formally, in a way

19. Showing extreme enthusiasm for a film

20. Played sardines, as “it”

21. Riding

22. Put forth

23. Squat unit

24. Kylo ___ (Leia’s son)

25. Shui jiao or banh bot loc

28. The Mists of (Marion Zimmer Bradley book about Morgan le Fay)

30. Noted droid, casually

31. ___ Mutual Friend (last completed Dickens novel)

32. Actress Rowlands whose credits span 1954–2014

33. “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” band

35. Starr who was better than Best

37. Be direct ... or a hint to this puzzle’s theme

40. Joe of Conversations With Friends (and Taylor Swift’s ex)

43. Colorful type of tape

44. Declare

48. SpongeBob SquarePants milieu

49. Wear

51. “Sorry, Charlie”

53. Cut from the loin

55. Dept. with a Rural Development program

56. Menially employed sort

57. Despotic king of Judea

58. NAACP and SNCC stalwart Baker

59. Stout alternative

60. Online forum before social media

62. Cleaning material that shouldn’t be used on plastic

64. “And the other thing ...”

65. Red dessert wine from

the Iberian peninsula

66. Not just treat

67. Instruments to which orchestras often tune

68. Raisins on a “log”

69. Tax form IDs

DOWN

1. Thing to use instead of crying over spilled milk

2. Type A verb

3. Like a Janeane Garofalo delivery

4. “Ahh! That spider is huge!”

5. “That better be false!”

6. What Star Wars Holiday Special is not, but The Mandalorian is

7. Lena of Chocolat

8. “Morons (White)” by Banksy, e.g.: Abbr.

9. Scattered community

10. One of many things that has flattened Wile E. Coyote

11. What LeBron James covers for some University of Akron students

12. Buffy the Vampire Slayer airer, once

13. Certain umami source

16. It’s #sponcon

18. Mark’s replacement

22. Overthrow attempt

25. Most cottonmouthed

26. Unit of cannabis flower, as it were

27. Miracle-___

29. Like some wedding dresses

30. C-double-flat

equivalent

34. The Testaments novelist

36. Cocomelon viewing device, for many kids

38. Opens, as a cheap bottle of wine

39. Curled hair spirals

40. Cerastes vipera, more commonly

41. “I’d be just like ___ in San Tropez” (Taylor Swift diss)

42. Bronze Star recipient

45. Cold-blooded

46. Greenwashing, by another term

47. Entertains

50. Shot

52. Like most dental work

54. Ghanaian textile worn by royalty

55. Phone notification

58. British school attended by many prime ministers

60. One might be depicted full of little green men

61. Respond appropriately to a tearjerker film

62. Place for “me time”

63. Loos

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