ALWAYS FREEISSUE 6 S E pt E mb E r 2022 PLUS: The Johnny Gosch disappearance, 40 years later P. 18
The Inflation Reduction Act is the largest U.S. investment ever in climate, environmental justice, clean energy, and jobs. As a result, billions of dollars will be invested in desperately needed clean energy infrastructure that will save money for families across the country, create thousands of family-sustaining jobs, and ensure a more resilient power grid while mitigating the climate crisis. Iowa’s utilities must rise to this historic moment to fully embrace the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act. Climate can’t wait.
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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.
Since 2001 LittleVillageMag.com 8 Interactions 14 Contact buzz 16 Fractured State of Iowa Nice 18 Johnny Gosch 24 Fall Arts Preview 24 Events Calendar 36 Dear Kiki 37 Astrology 39 Local Albums 43 Local books 47 Crossword
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Dana telsrow is a musiciancum-artist specializing in diet prog and gently elongated portraiture in Iowa City.
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michael roeder is a selfdeclared Music Savant. When he isn’t writing for Little Village he blogs at playbsides.com.
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SALES & ADMINISTRATION
New student or longtime Des Moiner, we can’t wait to tell you everything going on this fall. Take a tour through all the art, music, poetry and weirdness. Also in this issue: The Johnny Gosch mystery endures after four decades of fear and speculation.
6 SePtember 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 LittleVillageMag.com
This week will be the last chance to get free rapid COVID-19 tests from the federal government. The Biden administration said it intends to revive the free rapid test kit program as soon as Congress approves funding for it. Although the federal program is ending, at-home test kits are still available through Test Iowa.
The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art officially opened on Friday, Aug. 26, more than 14 years after UI’s previous art museum was rendered uninhabitable by the flood of 2008. The $50 million building has three floors, a light well in the center and two terraces.
‘It’s just the most Iowan thing’: A day at the Iowa State Fair with fair mega-fans, the Stumps by Lily Detaeye, Aug. 17
Iowa republican leaders line up behind trump after FbI raid: ‘We’ve got a right 2b skeptical’ by paul brennan, Aug. 9
Since his freshman year of high school in 1969, Gary Stump has not missed an Iowa State Fair. Across the fairgrounds, the Stumps have plaques, benches, bricks, trees and wall-hangings dedicated to them. These days, Gary’s family and friends come along for the ride, and may even be bigger fair lovers than he is.
VIDeO: Opening day at the Stanley museum of Art Video by Jason Smith, photos by Adria Carpenter; Aug. 30
Iowa’s leading Republicans once again followed Donald Trump’s lead and used social media to suggest corruption led to FBI agents executing a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property. The Iowa Republican Party tweeted out a blunt claim that “Democrats are using the Department of Justice to go after their political opponents.”
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You have until Friday to order free rapid COVID tests before the federal program ends by paul brennan, Aug. 29
Top Stories
Catch up on Little Village’s most-viewed headlines from last month. Read more at LittleVillageMag.com.
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Amid ‘the most altered landscape in America,’ this 100-acre plot in Johnson County remains rich and wild (Aug. 10)
Iowa will continue to lead the nation in an imal abuse because animal abuse is Iowa’s primary industry. It’s hard to write legisla tion to protect dogs that doesn’t scare the hell out of hog farmers, and it’s their money that buys all the politicians. —Bruce B.
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.
Interactions
It’s brave of you to share your deeply per sonal story. I’m so sorry for both of your losses and hope like crazy we can protect and respect women in our state. —Genie M.
It’s not a heart at 6 weeks. It’s a cluster of less than 50 cells with an electrical charge that causes the cells to “wiggle”. No brain,
Letter to the editor: I dodged a bullet (an abortion story) (Aug. 11)
LOCALLYOWNEDFAMILYLOVED4040UNIVERSITY IN DSM — and — 2749 100 TH ST IN campbellsnutrition.comURBANDALE
I’ve heard Iowa didn’t have much public land, but this is a whole new level. In all seriousness, though, this is really cool and I hope the project is a huge success. … As
someone who just moved to Iowa from Arizona, I’m spoiled. This is reassuring. Now if we can just get some real campsites around here. —Brian
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I am still advocating for a Prairie National Park in Iowa. Thanks! —Jim M.
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Iowa continues to lead the nation in puppy-mill violators (Aug. 4)
Send letters to:
Studio Visit: Claudia mcGehee sketches and scratches her favorite parts of nature (Aug. 17)
—Ursula R.
Wonderful that Little Village took a tour and a behind the scenes look at Claudia’s art and studio! She is one of the most tal ented artists in Iowa City, and the impact of her work and imagination reverberates all over Iowa. —Melissa A.
Wonderful. I love the story of Tibbles. I love your work. I spent several years doing scratchboard art for publishing back in the 90’s, and it’s not easy to do but you make it look easy. I love your animals and your drawing/cutting style and colorizing!
Dana James: State rankings lists are out once again. Here’s where Iowa (actually) stands. (Aug. 18)
HAVE OPINION?AN
Seriously, can’t you just be proud for a
Better write about it!
FUTILE WRATH SAM LOCKE WARD
Editor@LittleVillageMag.com
no limbs no lungs. —Connie F.
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 SePtember 2022 9
INTERACTIONS
That really just isn’t true for a lot of people who live here and that’s exactly what the writer addressed. I’ve lived here my entire life and it’s always been *fine* but now that’s not even the case de pending on where you live and what kind of person you are. It is not a universally wel coming or even safe state for non white and non straight people to live. You have to find pockets where you feel your presence will be tolerat ed and those are becoming fewer and further between. Insisting that we be proud no matter what is why things never improve. —Tiffani G.
Could not agree more. On the surface, there’s…surface. But if you live deeper, you start to feel a different reality. —Tania D.
of the pieces were there already for right-wing populism. It just needed decades of right-wing talk radio, Fox “News,” and social media to stoke it. Iowa City was “sin city,” a place you should never send your kids. Degrading nicknames, often based on racial/ethic charac teristics, were common. Gossip was omnipresent as a means of social control. Outsiders were suspect. Etc. Add to that genu ine economic catastrophes for agriculture and the decline of small towns, stir in an unhealthy dose of agitation, and you get what you got. —Jim P.
I call bullshit on “Iowa Nice”. I’ve seen all sorts of horrible things here that are not. —Michelle A.
Iowa’s decline is sad but hardly unpredictable. I grew up in rural Iowa in the 70s/80s, and most
second? The entire country is messed up, but Iowa is a great place to live, relatively speaking. —Megan R.
MOMBOY LAUREN HALDEMAN
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 SePtember 2022 11 Little Village Central Iowa is distributed free of charge in the following areas: • Altoona • Ames • Ankeny • the Avenues • beaverdale • bondurant • Clive • East Village • Grimes • Indianola • pleasant Hil • Urbandale • Valley Junction • Waukee to request copies in your area, or to add your business as a distribution location, contact distro@littlevillagemag.com today! By sponsoring a Little Village rack, you can: show the community that your business supports local media help increase Little Village’s presence in the area be honored with a permanent sponsor recognition plaque get a shout-out to our social media followers and email list help us brighten up the CRANDIC, one street corner at a time! Sponsor a rack! Copies of Little Village are available at more than 400 locations in Central Iowa. Check out the live map of all our locations to find your neighborhood rack: CONtACt: ads@littlevillagemag.com Where is your Little Village? September 27–December 10, 2022 PAPER TRAILS: MODERN INDIAN WORKS ON PAPER FROM THE GAUR COLLECTION Above: Anupam Sud (Indian, b.1944), Your Huddled Masses, 1990. Multiple plate etching, 18 1/4 × 23 3/4 in. Courtesy the Gaur Collection. REVERENT ORNAMENT: ART FROM THE ISLAMIC WORLD Visit GCMoA’s website for updated information about events, as well as the latest health guidelines before you visit. Grinnell.edu/museum
“Right now, it’s kind of the goal with my work to show that communities of color exist here [in Iowa]. That they are thriving, that they are beautiful, that they’re alive.” —Samm Yu, a studentphotographerChinese-AmericanandUI
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“Transparency brings accountability & if the FBI & DOJ aren’t transparent about raiding a former presidents home they risk further damaging their credibility I’ve already raised issues from whistleblowers abt political bias in investigations so we’ve got a right 2b skeptical.” —A skeptical tweet from Sen. Chuck Grassley in the aftermath of the Mar-A-Lago raid
STRESS FRACTURES JOHN MARTINEKWORTH REPEATING
“It’s just the most Iowan thing. And I don’t love Iowa most of the time. But this is just the epitome of Iowa to me. The people you meet, literally listening to bird calls, learning the history of the whole fair. It’s the top thing I love about Iowa.” —Iowa State Fair megafan Caroline Stump
the“Despitecallby the mayor and others to have me resign, I can’t walk away and turn my back on the trust, hope and responsibilities entrusted to all of us on this commission. I truly believe in the notion that forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” —Amel Ali addresses the Iowa City Council after controversial comments she made during a podcast interview came to light. The Ad-Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission voted to temporarily suspend her as chair.
“BURST OF TELEPATHIC ENERGY TELLING HIM SOMETHING IS HAPPENING AT THIS ADDRESS.” —Iowa City Police Log (@IC_ ActivityLog on Twitter)
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AFresh Perspective
tossing Starfish
DK Imamu Akachi performing at the Dew tour, accompanied by the Isiserettes drumline. Courtesy DK Imamu Akachi/Go Beyond Walls
14 SePtember 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6
His personal evolution is the catalyst for the many projects he develops, as well as the next-gen eration leaders he encourages. His muse leapt into action, and he adopted “DK” as his musician mon iker. Later, he began using DK Imamu Akachi.
From there, he kept expanding, fine-tuning his skills. He founded Go Beyond Walls, a “place of inspiration and development.” With its beck oning positioning statement—“Strengthening Communities by Strengthening Individuals”—DK provides youth a path to make strong, positive choices for their lives.
“I find that my music and my voice are supposed to carry people through tough times … I have a clear message [that] I am trying to relate to some body, to help them get through their inner-world. I’m trying to carry their spirit forward so they can get their physical things done.”
Contact Buzz LittleVillageMag.com
bY JOHN bUSbee
eAn Michael Kelly has a vision. A creative one. He’s manifesting it through creativity, healthy choices, music and inclusivity—and it truly is inspirational.
In 2021, DK was chosen to be part of a select group of creatives, the inaugural group of Fellows
He recently completed a six-week program teaching for ASAP (After Schools Arts Program) and Starfish Academy. This program, as the name implies, makes a difference for young students. The starfish tale is timeless: A child walks along the oceanside, tossing stranded starfish back into the ocean. When asked why they bothered, as it would be impossible to save them all, the child picked up another shore-bound starfish, tossed it back into the water and said, “It made a difference to that
DK, self-described as a “creative activist seek ing truth, justice, peace and harmony,” discovered a foundation for not only his creative persona, but his entire life.
“There was a point where I couldn’t see my fu ture,” he recalled. “I thought that not being able to see my future meant that I was going to die young. That scared me, and put me in a place where I wanted to make better decisions for myself.”
“That’s why I like to be a writer. It gives me a chance to repeat over and over … it becomes a pat tern in my own existence. I try to steer away from claiming something to be mine in this world be cause it’s just something for us to pass through and to enjoy while we’re here. I work with fourth and fifth graders because they’re in that space where they’re transitioning … I want to have a chance to give them some tools to keep them positive and help them identify with their own feelings.”
D
Sometimes an artist’s best inspiration is their younger self.
for the Iowa Creative Incubator. This four-month artist fellowship program, under the guidance and leadership of Mainframe Studios in the heart of Greater Des Moines, was designed to “forge path ways between artists and business to build more collaborative, more vibrant and more connected communities.” This fellowship was perfect for an artist like DK.
Duringone.”DK’s ASAP work, he empowered some 60“Onestudents.week, the theme was space travel. I decid ed that we could travel through time, and I made that a time machine reference and gave them the connection to speak with your future self,” he said. “‘You’re going to say something really positive to yourself that you’d want to hear when you feel sad, or when you feel down. You can read this in a week, or in a year, or bury it somewhere to read when you’re 20 years old.’”
Such innovative approaches allow DK to give students an understanding of positive self-reliance, something he learned through his own early chal lenges. He dreamed about fame and fortune, but had a life-changing epiphany.
focused on creative writing, a passion since his grade-school days, as his primary artist’s voice.
John Busbee works as an independent voice for Iowa’s cultural scene.
“Our names carry a big vibration,” he explained. “They’re carried throughout our entire lives. DK is just human, but the rest of my name, Imamu Akachi, comes from African roots. Imamu means spiritual leader and Akachi, God’s hands. So, if you say my name all together, it’s a human spiritu al leader in God’s hands.”
Although he didn’t graduate with his friends, he achieved his diploma the following year. He
World Food & music Festival, Western Gateway park, Des moines, Sept. 16-18, Free
1. Receive a $150 Visa gas card when you secure an auto loan of $15,000 or more. The gas card will be mailed to your mailing address and can be used at any gas station that accepts Visa. Please allow 4-6 weeks after your loan is funded to receive the gas card. Certain restrictions apply. All loans subject to approval. Must be or become a Collins Community CU member to obtain a loan. Rates, terms, and conditions subject to change at any time. Offer valid July 5, 2022 –September 30, 2022. © 2022 Collins Community Credit Union. Find an affordable auto loan. Hit the road with a $150 gas card.1 Get pumped with Free Gas! collinscu.org SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA | WWW.SCIOWA.ORG IT’S THE PLACE WHERE WONDER AND CURIOSITY COME TO LIFE COME HEAR THE MUSIC PLAY NOCE JAZZ & CABARET • 1326 WALNUT ST
I’ll
Me: Same.
increased positives. I felt a sense of urgency to let Black Iowans, in particular, know about the se riousness of the pandemic. And yes, I confess to stockpiling, ahem, not hoarding, paper products. Here are some of my posts from that month:
• March 26, I joked about the Coronavirus Task Force meetings.
The pandemic terrified me in those early days, partially because I was a newlywed. We got mar ried on March 6, 2020, in North Carolina, and honeymooned at Atlantic Beach—a heyday be fore masking and social distancing became con tentious.
• I shared a link that stated it was 2/24/2020 when Trump first learned about the novel coronavirus, and he said it was “very much under control” in the U.S.
Friendships began to fade. Texts with friends went something like this:
Me: What are you doing this weekend?
That day I posted links to news stories implor ing people to stay home, and I shared stories about how increased COVID-19 testing would result in
• March 16, I shared studies that said for every positive COVID-19 case, there were 10 cases that were unreported.
We were never in the same pandemic.
We were never in the same pandemic.
• March 28, “I woke up, and for a split second, I had peace. Then, I remembered. COVID-19. I pray it leaves the world as fast as it came,” I wrote.
• March 29: I posted, “I’ve only ever tuned into the task force update to watch Dr. Anthony Fauci.”
admit it. I’m ambivalent about this stage of the coronavirus pandemic. Twenty-nine months since it began, Americans have long tired of all things pandemic-related, but I find it difficult to move forward and let go of the habits that have kept my family safe. I still wear N-95 face masks religiously. I don’t dine inside restaurants. I avoid large crowds. I’m fully vaccinated and boosted. I use hand sanitiz er—sometimes spontaneously.
“I don’t know about y’all, but we’re laying low,” I posted on March 13, 2020, the day former President Donald Trump declared the pandemic a national emergency.
No thanks for the memories
A week after we returned, chaos ensued on March 13, 2020, when news of the virus spread, well, like a virus. Those early days felt surreal. Eerily empty streets and office buildings. Days and nights of doomscrolling. I became fixated on death and dying and shared daily virus counts with family members and friends. I wrote a will. I missed birthdays, anniversaries and important dates in the lives of people I care about because I chose to follow medical advice.
—Dana James
As a Black woman, I couldn’t afford to get bored with the pandemic or shrug it off. Early on, the virus began disproportionately affecting Black, Indigenous, people of color. The virus wiped out entire Black families in the eastern and southern parts of the country. Hospitals refused to treat Blacks for COVID-19, instead sending them home to die. Concerns about vaccine equity quickly emerged.
Dana James is founder of Black Iowa News, which publishes on Meta’s Bulletin platform and is distributed as an email newsletter. The lifelong Iowan is vice president of the Iowa Association of Black Journalists. Black Iowa News is a partner in the Inclusivi-Tea podcast about sustainability, inclusion and equity.
• March 24, My first use of “Rona” in a post.
• March 18, I posted the praying hands emoji and said I was staying in a state of prayer, along with a story containing grim statis tics about the pandemic possibly lasting 18 months, with multiple waves.
bY DANA JAmeS
As the world moves further away from the pandemic, it’s mostly Facebook memories that remind me of its toll.
COVID-19 is still very much a thing despite anyone’s opinion.
Week after scary week.
• On March 20, I typed, “Give it to God, and go to sleep is harder than ever these days.”
The urgency surrounding COVID-19 has ended. But I’m still operating much like I was in March of 2020. The idea of eating inside of a restaurant or hanging out with people outside of my household unmasked disgusts me.
16 SePtember 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 The Fractured State of Iowa Nice
Since then, I’ve watched the rise and fall of coronavirus variants; I’ve watched other people go on with their lives as if nothing happened; and I’ve tried successfully so far to stay COVID-19free. Others weren’t so lucky. My husband’s aunt died of the virus. An old neighborhood friend died. More than 1 million Americans have died, of which 146,948 of them were Black, according to health statistics.
My husband and I traveled 50 miles away to get vaccinated. While we fought to get vaccinated, others took vacations to Florida, a hot spot in more ways than one. Many rejected advice from health experts who said to limit travel, wear masks and avoid crowds.
Friend: Nothing. You?
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• March 30. I posted, “I don’t want the Rona.”
Same.
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“Johnny Gosch and Eugene Martin epito mized boyhood innocence and vulnerability,” writes historian Paul M. Renfro in his 2020 book Stranger Danger: Family Values, Childhood, and the American Carceral State, which began as his history dissertation at the University of Iowa. “Their disappearances symbolized not just physical losses but also the losses of innocence, childhood, whiteness, middle-classness, and mid westernness.”Overthepast four decades, names of missing children like Gosch were attached to legislation that continues to shape the U.S. justice system, popular culture, political movements and no tions of what (and who) are considered threats to the American way of life. Every president since Reagan has found ways to uphold and expand pol icies passed in the name of child safety, from man datory sex offender registries to survelliance pro grams to laws restoring voting rights to formerly
Johnny Gosch was 12 years old. He enjoyed the outdoors, the Iowa State Fair and buying loved ones the perfect gift, his parents said. He took a
job delivering newspapers for the Des Moines Register to save up for a dirt bike.
ShadowsChasing
18 SePtember 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6
n Sept. 20, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave a reelection cam paign speech in Cedar Rapids. In it, he pledged his “full support in the search” for Johnny Gosch and Eugene Martin, Des Moines-area paperboys who had gone missing in the past two years.
With his speech, Reagan tapped into—and perpetuated—a feeling very real to Iowa’s over whelmingly white populace in the 1980s: fear.
“Witnesses disagreed on what happened next,” according to Renfro. “Some insisted that a man followed Johnny around a street corner before snatching him. Others claimed they heard a car door slam and tires screech before watching a vehicle run a stop sign and travel northbound to wards Interstate 235 ‘at a high rate of speed.’ In addition to the blue vehicle, another witness re called seeing a silver Ford Fairmont around the time of the disappearance.”
These laws are broadly popular, but “given the low recidivism rates of sex offenders,” Renfro notes, “these daunting mechanisms and the culture of fear that enables them demand reevaluation.”
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tHE mOrE SENSAtIONAL A tHEOrY WAS, tHE QUICKEr It SprEAD, ESpECIALLY ONCE bLOGS AND CHAt rOOmS ENtErED tHE SCENE. SINCE tHErE WAS NO pErSON tO CONVICt, IOWANS bLAmED WHAtEVEr VAGUE CULtUrAL ILLS tHEY FELt mOtIVAtED tHE AbDUCtIONS.
“We must continue cracking down on crime,” Reagan said. “We say with no hesitation, yes, there are such things as right and wrong. And yes, for hardened criminals preying on our society, punishment must be swift and sure.”
True crime podcasters, populist politicians and QAnon influencers have made a meal of Iowa’s milk carton kids, muddying the waters between established fact and speculation. Noreen Gosch, who is convinced her son is still alive, has both seeded and embraced conspiracy theories regard ing Johnny’s disappearance.
Forty years after the disappearance of Johnny Gosch, the case remains a constant source of speculation— and a reminder that America’s “predator panic” never ended.
Despite the support of Reagan, the formation of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in 1984, FBI involvement, the hiring of private investigators, five America’s Most Wanted episodes on the Gosch disappear ance, countless news segments and editorials, hundreds of called-in leads, thousands of letters mailed to elected officials, hundreds of thousands of fliers and milk cartons distributed featuring the boys’ faces and a 2014 documentary on Gosch, the cases remain unsolved.
Just before 6 a.m. on Sept. 5, 1982, Johnny de parted his home in suburban West Des Moines to begin his Sunday morning paper route, accompa nied by his dachshund Gretchen. He collected his papers in the parking lot of a neighborhood church with fellow paperboys, who say a man in a blue car stopped to ask the boys for directions.
incarcerated citizens that specifically exclude those convicted of sex crimes.
Jordan Sellergren / Little Village
The confidence wouldn’t last. In TV appear ances and letters to the editor, Noreen and John Gosch became critical of law enforcement’s fail ure to locate either of the vehicles suspected in the abduction. Moreover, they resented being asked to submit to a polygraph test. But investigators said they had little to work with. Leads fizzled, and those coming in from callers across the nation proved
To Noreen, such pushback represented a lack of concern for Johnny systemwide, despite the fact multiple local, state and federal agencies were investigating. “You can almost become catatonic. You can almost go into a state of mind where you don’t want to talk to anybody ever again, not trust anybody ever again,” she told reporters.
coverage at the time reported 25 to 30 law enforcement officials joined a search for Johnny in the immediate hours after he vanished. Within days, dozens of officers from the West Des Moines Police Department, Polk County Sheriff’s Department and Iowa State Patrol were part of searches, as well as an estimated 1,000 volunteers, combing local parks, woods, fields, lots and build ings. Police set up checkpoints on streets where Johnny was last seen.
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Police Chief Orval Cooney made matters worse by antagonizing the Goschs in the press, specifically Johnny’s mother.
But there was little physical evidence to be found, apart from the ominous image of Johnny’s red wagon full of rolled-up newspapers, aban doned two blocks from home, Gretchen left be hind.News
“They are working overtime like I’ve never seen anybody in my life work before,” Johnny’s dad John Gosch Sr. told the Register in praise of the police.
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The Goschs papered Iowa with fliers, made dozens of TV appearances and partnered up with politicians and national figures like America’s Most Wanted host John Walsh. When someone suggested to the Des Moines dairy AndersonErickson that they help in the search, Johnny Gosch and Eugene Martin became the first miss ing children’s images printed on milk cartons in 1984.Within two months of Johnny’s disappearance, the Goschs established the Help Find Johnny Gosch Foundation, holding fundraisers to hire private investigators, leading letter-writing cam paigns to elected officials and giving talks around the region focused on a central message: This can
“I really don’t give a damn what Noreen Gosch has to say,” he complained to the Register. “I real ly don’t give a damn what she thinks. I’m interest ed in the boy and what we can do to find him. I’m kind of sick of her.”
20 SePtember 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6
“Yes I do believe it is linked to the large pe dophile network in the U.S., Satanic abuse, MKUltra, all of these or a combination is at their finger tips [sic]. I was on the right track with my investigation from Day 1,” she declared in early August.The Facebook group’s main moderator has posted Benghazi conspiracy theories, blamed “liberal agitators” for the Jan. 6 insurrection, and called the media “corrupt” on his personal Facebook page. At least a few members of the Official Johnny Gosch Group give credence to QAnon, one proclaiming that, “Q helped wake me up.” Noreen has expressed belief in the debunked Pizzagate conspiracy theory, and has recommend ed the work of QAnon influencer Liz Crokin and prominent British conspiracy theorist David Icke, who sees 5G and COVID-19 as weapons designed by reptilian overlords.
Noreen took an offer from Ted Gunderson to conduct a private investigation into the vanish ings. Gunderson, who died in 2011, was a retired FBI agent and far-right figure who helped per petuate the infamous allegations of satanic ritual abuse at the McMartin preschool in California, perhaps the definitive case of the satanic panic.
It appears Noreen’s perspective on the case has not shifted much since she published her book in 2000, Why Johnny Can’t Come Home: Kidnapped While Delivering Newspapers…… Forced into Pornography, Prostitution, Mind Control, Espionage
Runaway or “thrownaway” children comprise the overwhelming majority of missing youths, and
“God is speaking through [Noreen] to alert us of the growing operation of molesters and abduc tors,” a Story City woman wrote to Gov. Terry Branstad. “I have never heard of any incidents of this nature in Story City. Could it possibly be that this never happens here? I doubt it.”
The Register’s executive editor James Gannon published his own editorial proclaiming to be “mad as hell” about the spate of disappearances. He directed his anger at bureaucrats and liberal ism, the antithesis to what he saw as the all-Amer ican Midwestern family, complete with a hand some paperboy son.
Community happen to you.
To her credit, Noreen has never tied her son’s case to a specific political movement, and doesn’t advocate vigilantism. But she frequently shows her ignorance on the science of pedophilia, claim ing the death penalty is the only way to stop a sex criminal from reoffending, when in fact sex of fenders have notably lower recidivism rates than other offenses, especially when an individual re ceives treatment during their incarceration.
In the pages of the Des Moines Register, Iowans lamented the “stain” the child disappearances left on the region—that a “once-quiet, ‘great-place-toraise-kids’ city may become the crime capital of the“Thatworld.”was the most bothersome thing,” one Register interviewee said, “was that this kind of stole our innocence from us.”
“We live in a sick and rotten society that is get ting sicker and rottener every day,” an Iowa state senator proclaimed as legislators debated a bill named for Johnny Gosch. “I don’t know what’s happened to the United States, but it has become more animalistic, not more humanistic in recent years.”The Johnny Gosch Bill, co-written by Noreen, was signed into law by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad in July 1984. The bill bars police from enforcing a waiting period before investigating a report of a missing child. (Despite claims from the bill’s sup porters, such waiting periods were not part of the protocol for WDPD, nor state or federal agencies, and were rare on the local level.) Similar laws were subsequently adopted by eight other states.
Midwestern moms and dads found themselves researching Anton LeVey, subliminal messaging and satanic holidays. The more sensational a theo ry was, the quicker it spread, especially once blogs and chat rooms entered the scene. Since there was no person to convict, Iowans blamed whatever vague cultural ills they felt motivated the abduc tions.“Another child has been snatched from our streets. Why? We are obsessed with sex!” wrote a Sioux City resident in a letter to the Register “Nothing pinpoints its vulgarities and sadist plea sure more than porno material.”
“I didn’t move my family to Des Moines to live in fear behind locked doors. I do not cede the night to shadowy figures who hide by day. … The sun should never set on freedom and personal secu rity.”Stranger-danger fears wormed their way into the American consciousness. A 1987 NBC sur vey of children found 76 percent were “very concerned” about kidnapping, more than nuclear war or HIV/AIDS. In a 1997 Newsweek poll of parents, the majority viewed abduction and mur der as greater threats to their family than illness or accidents.“Disinformation,” Renfro writes in his 2020 book, “grew out of unfathomable devastation and uncertainty, as the parents of missing and exploit ed children generally had no sense of where to turn following their respective losses.”
kids in poverty, kids of color and those who iden tify as LGBTQ are far more vulnerable to preda tion—particularly after cuts to social services and increased community policing. Yet they are far less likely to be portrayed as victims in the media. Systematic violence is overshadowed by crimes seen as more meaningful—signals of cultural, moral“Perhapsdecay.by transferring blame onto a faceless monster like a child prostitution ring or a religious cult operating outside the Midwest, Iowans could absolve their communities, their state, and their region,” Renfro continued.
As online conspiracy theories festered and thrived during the onset of the COVID-19 pan demic, the Johnny Gosch mystery reentered the public consciousness anew.
FBI special agent Herb Hawkins said drawing intense publicity to the case, as the Goschs had, is not generally advised. Too much attention can cause an abductor to panic, endangering the child. It can also make inside information that can be used to narrow down suspects part of the public narrative.Butthe Goschs (who divorced in 1993) had other advisors telling them the opposite. In a rare interview in 2018, John Gosch Sr. recalled that researcher Kenneth Wooden, who was in the area to deliver a lecture at Iowa State University on missing and murdered children, told Noreen, “Whatever you have to do to keep the story alive, do it, because if you don’t, law enforcement will move on with their lives and go on their merry way.”“She really latched onto that,” John told pod caster Sarah SubsequentDiMeo.disappearances seemed to support the notion of a child kidnapping epidemic. Almost two years after Gosch went missing, another Register paperboy, 13-year-old Des Moines resi dent Eugene Martin, vanished as well, followed two years later by the disappearance of another Des Moines 13-year-old, Marc Allen. Allen was not a paperboy, but the circumstances were simi lar to the others. Still, investigators had no phys ical evidence tying the cases together, no serious suspects and no idea of the motives. The climate of frustration, fear and speculation created by the cases and the massive media coverage surround ing them yielding the perfect conditions for con spiracy theorizing.
Like Infowars’ Alex Jones, Gunderson believed government mind control and anti-Christian New World Order forces are behind America’s most deadly terrorism events.
Today, Noreen corresponds directly with fol lowers in a private Facebook group of 3,500 members, Official Johnny Gosch Group. Ahead of the 40th anniversary of her son’s disappearance, Noreen agreed to the ultimate AMA: trying to an swer 1,000 questions from the group before Sept. 5.
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Plus, in Noreen’s reality, Johnny is alive. We haven’t seen or heard from him because he isn’t safe out in the open, but according to his mother, he’s out there somewhere, safe in hiding.
“I have a friend who said to me once through all of this ‘you are lucky,’” Noreen replied to a ques tion about the role faith has played in her activism. “I asked why she would say that and she replied ‘You know what your purpose is for being here.’”
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“If American adults wish to ‘save our children’ ... they will instruct children and adolescents not to fear strangers but to maintain a healthy skepti cism of those they do not know—and those they do. They will care about young people as much when they are nonwhite as when they are white; as much when they are homely as when they are adorable; as much when they are born as when they are unborn; as much when they are found as when they are missing.”
Her narrative gives Johnny’s case the impor tance it feels like a missing child’s case should have. It is a convincing (enough) answer for many; secret pedophile organizations, however elite or satanic, are in many ways less frightening than the relatives, guardians, care providers and friendly neighbors on the local news arrested for harming a child who trusted them—much less the sacred, all-American institutions we know pro tected even the most prolific abusers, from Larry Nassar to Catholic clergy.
The missing-person cases of Johnny Gosch, Eugene Martin and Marc Allen remain unsolved. Their faces continued to grace milk cartons un til the practice fizzled out around 1990, after too many parents complained it was scaring their kids at the breakfast table. (Milk carton campaigns weren’t especially effective anyway, it turns out, and the AMBER Alert system took over in 1996.)
Emma McClatchey was born in Iowa City in 1993. She can’t remember not knowing the name “Johnny Gosch.”
In the conclusion to Stranger Danger, Renfro paints a portrait of a nation that has shed its boogeymen—where every child is looked after.
Visit LittleVillageMag.com to read a longer ver sion of this article that delves deeper into the con spiracy theories surrounding the Gosch case.
“In the ideal world [Johnny Gosch] is alive and he comes home and everybody’s happy,” WDPD Lt. Jeff Miller told WHO-TV in 2010. “But in the real world more than likely our best lead will come when his body is found. And at that point it becomes a crime scene.”
22 SePtember 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/ October 15 | 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Register at dmbotanicalgarden.com/symposium L e a r n h o w r e i n c o r p o r a t i n g n a t i v e p l a n t s i n o u t d o o r s p a c e s , k n o w n a s r e w i l d i n g , i n v i t e s m i g r a t o r y a n d n a t i v e p o l l i n a t o r s , h e l p s p r e s e r v e I o w a ’ s n a t u r a l h e r i t a g e , a n d b u i l d s h e a l t h y , r i c h s o i l INDEPENDENT VILLAGEEASTHISTORIC LIVEDRINKEATSHOP VISIT IOWATHATBUSINESSESSUPPORTDESMOINES.COMEASTVILLAGETHEMAKEUNIQUE. VISIT IOWA.COMINDEPENDENTTO LIST EMAILHEREBUSINESSYOURPLEASE MAG.COMLITTLEVILLAGEADS@
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Friday, Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Cheap Trick, Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines, $59.5099.50
Sunday, Sept. 11 at 12 p.m. PorchFest, Union Park, Des Moines, Free Sunday, Sept. 11 at 3:30 p.m. B. John Burns’ Golden Jubilee, xBk Live, Free monday, Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. OM, Wooly’s, Des Moines, $20
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.
MUSIC
Friday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. Stutterin’ Jimmy and the Goosebumps w/ Matt Jesson, xBk Live, Des Moines, $10-15
SEPTEMBER 2022
Friday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. Pecos & The Rooftops, Val Air Ballroom, West Des Moines, $20-25
Jared Andrews
Saturday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. Gurnfest, Lefty’s Live Music, Des Moines, $10
EVENTS
Saturday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. Yola, Hoyt Sherman Place, $26-54
Saturday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. Dan Padley Quartet, Noce, Des Moines, $15-50
Saturday, Sept. 10 at 8:30 p.m. Richie Daggers, FLT.RTH, Specter Poetics, Gas Lamp, Des Moines, $10
/ Little Village24 SePtember 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6
SEPTEMBER EVENTS
The Des Moines Film Society has not yet an nounced when the Varsity will reopen, but Godar is confident it will be before the end of the year. In the meantime, eager patrons can follow the cinema’s progress on its Facebook page, website and mailing list. —Lily DeTaeye
One of these surprises was original terrazzo flooring found underneath carpeting in the en trance area. The red and white candy cane stripes will greet patrons as they enter the theater. Godar says the mid-century floating stairs leading up to the second floor will also stay, as well as handhung letters on the marquee, although the mar quee itself will be new.
might be contractually obligated to give them a two-week clean run or something like that,” Godar explains. “So if you have one screen and you have something that you booked on a clean run, that’s all you’re showing. The second au ditorium gives us the flexibility to show more interesting rep programming, like older classic films and stuff like that.”
“A big component for us was, we had to fund raise,” Godar said. “And we had to kind of find that support. Bravo Greater Des Moines was a lifesaver, really, there. One of the first really big pieces we got was a capital grant from Bravo. And that allowed us to really kickstart the project.”
The Des Moines Film Society has also made it a priority to preserve the theater as a historical building. In order to pursue historical tax credits, the organization had to invite a historic consul tant in to determine which elements should be preserved and which could be updated.
The Varsity Cinema was not always a film des tination. When erected in 1917, it was meant to be an industrial building. Shortly after, it became a Coca-Cola bottling plant until 1934 when it be came the beloved Varsity Cinema.
n the mid-1990s, Ben Godar started mak ing the drive from Ames to Des Moines to go to the Varsity Cinema.
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At the end of the day, Godar expects the ren ovation project to cost about $5 million, about $2.5 million more than what was originally ex pected due to rising costs triggered by the pan demic. And while that is a daunting number, Godar said they have experienced nothing but support from the community to make it happen.
But monetary reasons are not the only reason to retain some of the Varsity’s vintage elements. Because the theater has had such a rich history for Des Moines movie lovers, Des Moines Film
“Because in film booking, you know, some times when you have a new film booked, you
In the LeaguesBig
Society also wants to nod to those who came be fore them by keeping some of its recognizable features, as well as showcasing a few surprises uncovered in the renovation process.
“So it’s kind of unique, even just nationwide too. It’s a very old arthouse theater,” Godar said. “Arthouses sometimes don’t have a long lifes pan. So this one has a pretty exciting history.”
FALL ARTS PREVIEW
the unfinished Varsity exterior patiently awaits its marquee; ben Godar stands under the aw ning amidst construction; below: original interi or stone walls Brittany Brooke Crow / Little Village
“Back then, the Varsity was just one of those places that would get films that no body else had,” he recalls.
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Now, as four years of renovations on the Varsity come to a close, Godar, who is the exec utive director of the Des Moines Film Society, is excited for the chance to maintain that standard when the historic theater reopens in late 2022.
In the new renovations, Godar and the rest of the Des Moines Film Society aim to maximize the space available for bringing unique program ming to Des Moines. To do this, they’ve added a second screen in a discreet, top-floor microcine ma with 35 seats.
Renovations also aim to focus on space where patrons can gather. In the previous iteration of the theater, the Varsity’s single screen faced about 500 seats. After renovations, the main screen will face only 210 seats. The rest of the space will be repurposed for bathrooms, updated concessions, expanded lobby space and accessibility features, like an elevator that brings patrons up to the mi crocinema on the second floor.
Since then, the Varsity Cinema has been show ing arthouse films to movie lovers from near and far. Run by the Mahon family since 1954, the theater became well known for showing mov ies that wouldn’t be playing in the bigger box theaters in the city, which was a draw for movie aficionados like Godar. In 2018, the Mahons sold the theater to the Des Moines Film Society. It has been under construction since then.
Expanding on Shaky Shawn999’s conceptual bridge between rap and punk will be the new EP from Antiluv, titled Anti-Pop Rockstar, which more literally connects the two genres. It will see a stylistic split, with one half bearing a vocal and beat-propelled sound and the other leaning into instrumentally driven pop-punk. The tracks were recorded at Carousel Studios in Des Moines, where Antiluv also serves as an audio engineer, and individual songs will see a staggered release before the full collection drops as a unit some time around Halloween.
thursday-Saturday, Sept. 15-17 Sonic Butterfly, Cowles Commons, Des Moines, Free Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Dirty Honey, Val Air Ballroom, $29.50-35 thursdays, Sept. 15, 22, 29 Music in the Garden, Des Moines Botanical Garden, Free$10
26 SePtember 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 SEPTEMBER EVENTS FALL ARTS PREVIEW
Friday, Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m. Josiah Johnson, xBk Live, $10
Saturday, Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. Gemini Parks, Zap Tura, Sophie Mitchell, Danny Russell Wolf, Lefty’s Live Music, $10
Saturday, Sept. 17 at 8:30 p.m. The Savage Freds and Nothing Special, Gas Lamp, $7-10 Sunday, Sept. 18 at 1 p.m. Iowa Blues Challenge, Lefty’s Live Music, $5 Sunday, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. OhGeesy, Wooly’s, $25-30
Friday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. Weakened Friends and Maita, Gas Lamp, $12-14
Saturday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. Casey Joe Collins Album Release w/J.Jeffrey Messerole and Sara Routh, xBk Live, $10-15
—Chris DeLine
Saturday, Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Hoyt Sherman
TheZeffster, Emma Gray / Little Village
Place, $35-59
Friday, Sept. 16 at 9 p.m. El Perro and Druids, Gas Lamp, $12-15
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Up first in early September is the debut al bum from XManjin, titled Hate Me. XManjin self-produced roughly half of the tracks, and the release will be rounded out by several features including the likes of DRXCULV (whose own album, Antiporn, is also being readied for re lease). Thematically, Hate Me looks to serve as an outlet for the 20-year-old rapper and produc er to challenge the glorification of drug-culture within music, following his own challenges with substance abuse.
“I just want to look at it in a negative way so people stop glorifying it,” he told Later in September, Shaky Shawn999 will is sue an expanded deluxe edition of his I Die EP. Born in Chicago, the 21-year-old framed his intention behind his music as influenced by an aesthetic rather than specific style.
The horizonhip-hop
Bridging September and October are a pair of releases from Quan Draper, titled Viice and Viirtue. Piggybacking off his original Virtue (2018) and Vice (2019) EPs, the rapper and vo calist said the music will find him trying out new sounds and experimenting with songwriting con ventions.“[2021 full-length] Snowfall was very intro spective and expressive,” Draper said, whereas “you’ll get two sides of me with these next EPs: the fun, light side” with Viirtue, and the “harsh, competitive side” with Viice.
Out of Iowa City, TheZeffster will be return ing this November with a new release com bining a series of new recordings with several re-mastered and re-released songs. With production from Lugi Beats, the stillto-be titled EP is being recorded and released through Hit Island Studios in Chicago. Calling his brand of sound “ascension music,” TheZeffster told Little Village his focus with the upcoming collection is to help promote progression in himself and his listeners.
tuesday, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. Wild Rivers, Wooly’s, $23.50
monday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Destroy Boys w/Softcult and Penny Peach, Wooly’s, $20-25 tuesday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. Iowa Music Industry Meet-Up, xBk Live, Free tuesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. Sevendust, Val Air Ballroom, $29.50-35
Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. American Aquarium, Wooly’s, $20-25
Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. Gwenifer Raymond, xBk Live, $12-17 thursday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. Together Pangea w/The Cavves, xBk Live, $17-20 Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. Andrew Walesch Jazz Orchestra, Noce, $20-60 Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. Jon Wayne and the Pain, xBk Live, $10-15
his fall will see a wide range of re leases from Iowan artists spanning the diverse rap and hip-hop spec trum. While this is far from a com prehensive list of what’s on tap for the next several months, here’s a cross-section looking at five releases from young, up-andcoming artists who have new projects on the way.
“Punk is just anything oppo site of a square,” he told Little Village. “That’s exactly what it is.”Blending beats, vocals and raps, the upcoming album will also feature work from teenage producer TB.
“The shit that he does at his age is mind blow ing,” Shawn said.
“I make music that puts you in high spirits,” he said.
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 SePtember 2022 27 FROM OUR MENU Shares // Fondue, Charcuterie Street Tacos // Korean Beef, Baja Fish Sliders // Tenderloin & Waffles, Cheeseburger Stonefire Flats // Classic Pepperoni, Spicy Chicken Bowls // Buddha, Strawberry Spinach At the junction of I-80 and Dodge St. Open noon to 10 p.m., 7 days a week, 365 days a year GROOVY, LOCALLY-OWNEDNEW, Eatery & Bar
PERFORMANCE
thursday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. EleanorGrace Album Release, xBk Live, $10-15 thursday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. Old 97’s, Wooly’s, $20-25
Wedneday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m. Susto, Wooly’s, $15-18 thursday, Oct. 6 at 5 p.m. Sad Park & Heart to Gold, Lefty’s Live Music, $16 thursday, Oct. 6 at 6:30 p.m. All Access Live! Featuring Wiitch Tiit, xBk Live, $10-13
Saturday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. Granny We Made it: Bernard Bell Album Recording, Teehee’s Comedy Club, $15-20 Wednesdays, Sept. 14, 21, 28 at 7 p.m. Comedy Open Mic, Teehee’s Comedy Club, Free
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Opening Friday, Sept. 9 Guys & Dolls, Des Moines Playhouse, $29-53 Friday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. Chicago Comedy Showcase, Teehee’s Comedy Club, Des Moines, $15-20
Friday, Sept. 16 at 9:30 p.m. The Glory Hole, Teehee’s Comedy Club, $15-20 Saturday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. Wisenheimer:
Saturday, Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. The Cult, Hoyt Sherman Place, $45-89 Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 24-25 Des Moines Symphony: Gershwin, Rodrigo, Ravel, Des Moines Civic Center, $20-70
monday, Sept. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Jamestown Revival w/Field Division, Wooly’s, $22-25 Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. Courtney Patton, xBk Live, $15-20
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Uncensored, Long Form Improv Comedy, Teehee’s Comedy Club, $15-20 Saturday, Sept. 17 at 9:30 p.m. Chowdown: High-Paced Improv, Teehee’s Comedy Club, $15-20
Closing Sunday, Sept. 18 The Sweet Delilah Swim Club, Tallgrass Theatre, West Des Moines, $33-35
TikTok of the ’Bay
tuesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. No Shame Theater, Teehee’s Comedy Club, Free Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. Chastity Washington, Teehee’s Comedy Club, $15-20
Sunday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. Erin Coburn, xBk Live, $10-15
Sunday, Sept. 25 at 3 p.m. Choro Moingona, The Cave, Des Moines, Free
28 SePtember 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 FALL ARTS PREVIEWSEPTEMBER EVENTS
lectric synth-pop duo Magdalena Bay are making a stop in Iowa on their Mercurial U.S. tour. Spend the evening at Wooly’s dancing nonstop, dazzled by Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Levin’s energetic, other-worldly presence on stage.
Opening tuesday, Sept. 20 Dixie’s Tupperware Party, Temple Theater, Des Moines, $35-75
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Opening Friday, Sept. 16 Sweat, Iowa Stage Theatre Company, Stoner Theatre, Des Moines, $40
magdalena bay, Wooly’s, Des moines, Saturday, Nov. 5, 7 p.m., $20
Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. Good Looks w/ Good Morning Midnight, xBk Live, $14-17 Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. Adam Larson Album Release, Noce, $15-50 Saturday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. B. Well w/Annie Kemble, Wooly’s, $20-25 Sunday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. The Deslondes, xBk Live, $15-20
Their debut album, Mercurial World, released in 2021, is a playful, experimental pop album that’s also highly Y2K-inspired and sci-fi-esque. Sonically, when listening to Magdalena Bay, you’ll be reminded of indie pop bands of the 2010s like MGMT, Grimes and CHVRCHES. Vocally, lead singer Tenenbaum has mentioned her sound is influenced by ’90s-early 2000s pop stars like Madonna and Brittany Spears.
Sunday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. Jason Isabell and The 400 Unit w/Olivia Jean, Val Air Ballroom, $55 monday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. Agent Orange and The Complete Disaster, Gas Lamp, $13-15
I’d recommend checking out their TikTok (@ magdalenabaymusic) before the show; it shows off the pair’s quirky personalities and fun home made music video clips. ––Sid Peterson
In 2022, Astbury exudes the vibe of a hippiegoth-punk elder who speaks of frequencies that can open the doors of perception and liberate hu mankind—an invisible cultural web that perme ates everything and links us all together.
Life Cult
era—that period in the mid-’80s—in terms of self-expression and the cultivation of conscious ness. We were living through the Cold War, and we were very much in harmony with environ mentalist organizations like Greenpeace. ... You can draw so many correlative and connective lines that run through those frequencies.”
VillageLittle/TelsrowDana
“I try to be the best version of myself right now, and as a group we are so connected and the perfor mances have been particularly intense,” Astbury said. “We don’t do a ‘concert.’ We don’t do a ‘performance’—we create an environment. We’re creating cathedrals, creating spaces for expression and connection to a community. Unfortunately, the essence of that Provinssirock Festival expe rience is sadly lacking in today’s hyper-commer cial, hyper-commodified world.”
n a magical summer evening in 1986, after a fiery performance by the Cult, the sun refused to set. The band’s shows radiated a mystical quality that could re align heavenly bodies, though this anomaly of nature occurred because Finland’s Provinssirock Festival took place north of the Arctic Circle.
the Cult, Hoyt Sherman place, Des moines, Saturday, Sept. 24, 7:30 p.m., $70-$320
“One of the wonderful things about live mu sic is that you’re right there in that moment, and then it’s gone,” he said. “But that experience at the Provinssirock Festival is something I can ac cess through memory. It was a really beautiful
O
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 SePtember 2022 29
The Cult got its start after Astbury, who had formed the Southern Death Cult in 1981, began collaborating with Billy Duffy a couple years lat er. After a brief stint as the Death Cult, which released an EP in 1983, Duffy and Astbury short ened their name to the Cult by the time the band released its gothic post-punk debut, Dreamtime, the following year.
mirror and steadily marching forward to the beat of their own drum.
Prairie Pop
Astbury was also struck by the fresh flow ers covering the edge of the stage. It’s a visual impression that remains with him four decades later.“It’s one of those lived experiences that you carry with you that helps shape your character and form your worldview,” Astbury told me. “Because it’s such a rich moment, and I could still access that feeling through that memory, it still rings in the essence of my core.”
That touchstone moment directly influenced the title track of the Cult’s new record, Under the Midnight Sun, which is anchored by a qui et acoustic guitar and a lush cinematic string arrangement that swirls around Astbury as he croons, “Under the midnight sun / with creatures of the
“You have this strange situation where it still feels like daytime during high summer,” front man Ian Astbury said, “even at 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning. I remember walking around the grounds and just observing everybody at the festival. The whole town had been taken over by mostly young people who were attending Provinssirock, and everybody was dressed in a way that expressed a real sense of individualism, connectedness and intimacy.”
“Thewild.”festival was a really beautiful experi ence coming from where we had been, because we came out of punk rock, which was definitely much more volatile, violent, frenetic, urban and gritty—and this experience was far more tran scendent and liberating.”
Their follow up, Love, earned them more visibility after the international success of “She Sells Sanctuary,” a majestic single that the Cult performed at Provinssirock, where the blackclad band stood out in the summer sun. Astbury
With Under the Midnight Sun, the Cult tap into that cosmic form of networked communica tion by simultaneously peering in the rearview
Kembrew McLeod navigates the psychic frequen cies and comes in contact with outer entities, to paraphrase Blondie’s “(I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear.”
“I DON’t CArrY tHE COFFIN OF mY YOUtH ArOUND WItH mE.”
cut a particularly dramatic figure with his long black hair and French Revolution-era aristocratic clothes that consisted of a long black dress coat with tails and a ruffled white lace Jabot collar, like something a rock-and-roll Napoleon would wear.Musically, the past four decades have found the band shifting stylistic gears in ways that made it hard to sustain mainstream success (though they continue to cultivate a large, devot ed “I’veaudience).never
arrived at a moment where I think, ‘Eureka, we have a formula!’ It was always about building it, destroying it, rebuilding, destroying,” Astbury said. “I’m talking about scorched earth. Burn it to the ground, forget everything and look at what’s coming. Let’s immerse ourselves in this moment, our environment and its frequen cies. I don’t carry the coffin of my youth around with me. I don’t weep for those earlier periods in my life, though sometimes you can look back to those touchstones and respond to its echoes.”
Saturday, Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m. Sw!ng Out, Des Moines Civic Center, $15
A
s we celebrate the arts in this issue, it’s only appropriate to recognize a growing trend in this region. The power of unity can be used in the arts as it is in other facets of positive community growth. As creative community con tributors, cultural organizations have a growing responsibility to work smarter to integrate their core missions into their regions. Developing partnerships for specific projects is one way to build new synergies. As the saying goes, if our cut of the pie is to remain the same, let’s build a biggerCoffeepie.shops were early trendsetters in Central Iowa, beginning with Julie McGuire, owner of Zanzibar’s Great Coffee Adventure, the Des Moines area’s longest running coffee shop. McGuire has offered wall space for artists to ex hibit their works since she opened up in 1993, featuring a new artist each month and hosting opening receptions.
The two developed their exhibition, Timeless,
Watts’ galleries are going through a major ren ovation and had to relocate to a temporary site in their Historic Valley Junction neighborhood. Brubaker, a devoted fan of the mission and artists of Olson-Larsen, sensed an opportunity.
Watts echoed Brubaker’s enthusiasm. “As Alyss Vernon, our gallery director, and I talked about this setting, the more excited we got. We started brainstorming, went through our roster and decided to focus on artists who create with techniques that were in existence or popular when the Jordan House was very vibrant … It will be fun to integrate these pieces into this new environment.”Thewheels continued turning from that initial brainstorm, with other ideas being added to their wish
Saturday, Sept. 10 at 11 a.m. Autumn Equinox Psychic Fair, Des Moines New Age Shop, Free Sunday, Sept. 11 at 1 p.m. Wild & Scenic Film Festival, The Palms Theatres & IMAX, Waukee, $10-50
“Welist.hope that people will come and enjoy the juxtapositioning of old art with new art,” Brubaker said. “We’re also talking about doing something at the Bennett School Museum, our one-room schoolhouse museum, in the near fu ture.”This initial doorway of imagination apparent ly is leading into a vast arena of possibilities. The ultimate benefactors are those who take a little time to add to their cultural adventurism, and experience the outcome of such a collaboration.
The Des Moines Metro Opera’s 50th anni versary season this year is a golden example of strategic collaborations producing impactful works. The opera organized a performance at the Des Moines Art Center with Pyramid Theatre Company; they also tied their Shakespearean productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and A Thousand Acres (based on King Lear) with Iowa Stage Theatre Company’s Salisbury House and Gardens production of King Lear
Friday, Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. Art Center Trivia Night, Des Moines Art Center, Free Saturday and Sundays, Sept 10-11 and Sept. 17-18 Renaissance Faire, Sleepy Hollow, Des Moines, $19-35 Sunday, Sept. 11 at 10 a.m. Vintage in the Valley, Valley Junction, West Des Moines, Free Saturday, Sept. 10 at 10:30 a.m. Hop-On Hop-Off Public Art Tour, Des Moines Art Center, Free Saturday, Sept. 10 at 10:30 a.m. Multicultural Fall Festival, Evelyn K Davis Park, Des Moines, Free
Brubaker’s smile, reflected by Watts, says it all. “We all have to support each other.”
thursday, Sept. 15 at 5:30 p.m. Iowa Author Spotlight: Rachel Mans McKenny, Central Library, Des Moines, Free thursday, Sept. 15 at 5:30 p.m. Don Tate Workshop, Des Moines Civic Center, Free Friday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. The Author
Afterparty: Denise Williams and Rachel Mans McKenny, Storyhouse Bookpub, Des Moines, $6 Sunday, Sept. 18 at 1 p.m. Meet the Author: Graham Spanier, Beaverdale Books, Free tuesday, Sept. 27 at 6:30 p.m. Meet the Authors: Jody Keisner, John T. Price, Kristine Langley Mahler, Beaverdale Books, Free tuesday, Oct. 4 at 6:30 p.m. Meet the Author: Kirsten Anderson, Beaverdale Books, Free
SEPTEMBER EVENTS
—John Busbee
“So many of the [Olson-Larsen Galleries] art ists use the classical techniques that were used at the same time that James Jordan and his family were living in their house,” Brubaker said. “It seemed like a perfect partnership.”
COMMUNITY
30 SePtember 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 FALL ARTS PREVIEW
PollinationCross-Cultural
Friday, Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m. Meet the Author: Leah Angstman, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines, Free
Saturday, Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. Authors on the Riverwalk, Iowa Events Center, Des Moines, Free-$30 monday, Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Meet the Author: T. Patrick Graves, Beaverdale Books, Free
Another new collaboration is on display this September thanks to the willingness of two cul tural leaders exploring creative new possibili ties. Susan Watts, owner of one of Iowa’s most respected galleries, Olson-Larsen Galleries, and Gale Brubaker, executive director of the West Des Moines Historical Society (WDMHS), de cided they could give a fresh spin on a visit to the WDMHS’s signature museum.
Friday, Sept. 30 at 9:30 p.m. Michael and Laura Sanders: Stand-Up Comedy, Teehee’s Comedy Club, $15-20
Literature
to capture the bonds that span generations by cu rating a selection of art that reflects the styles and content of artists from Jordan House’s earliest days, including landscapes, engravings, etchings and photos printed in the Van Dyke brown style. The final pieces will be on display throughout the house, carefully integrated into spaces.
Friday, Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. Nick Swardson, Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines, $39.5049.50
MuseumHouseJordan SocietyHistoricalMoinesDesWest
Jordan House, a stately Victorian home of Italianate Gothic design, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a member of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. Olson-Larsen Galleries has been serving private and public patrons since 1979, anchored by its stable of some of the finest Midwestern artists.
the Jordan House museum, West Des moines, tours Available Fridays 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., $5
2023 SUMMER FESTIVAL JUNE 30 - JULY 23 BIZET CARMEN BARTÓK BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE PROKOFIEV THE LOVE FOR THREE ORANGES BessandPorgy GolayJenbyphoto(2022);“Such high production values and careful casting make DMMO a find...” THE WALL STREET JOURNAL dmmo.org | 515-961-6221 It’s easy to plan your Des Moines adventure with The Catch List A list of all the things you can’t miss. All the thrills, chills, hops, and Familydrops.fun? Retail therapy? Foodie feast? We’ve got an itinerary for that. Whether you’re a first-time visitor or longtime Des Moines-ian, our itineraries will introduce you to both the greatest hits and the hidden gems. There’s even downloadable on-the-go versions! catchdesmoines.com/catchlist Scan the Code DISCOVER YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE!
mary Helen Stefaniak*—The World of Pondside and The Six-Minute Memoir: Fifty-Five Short Essays on Life, Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 6:30 p.m.
The space is small but the staff is friendly and invested in your reading experience, bringing the comfort of a small-town library to this neighborhood bookstore. Attend an event! Ask a staff member for a recommendation! Buy a book! Or even just stop in to say hi. I promise that a smiling face will be there to greet you behind the desk. —Lily DeTaeye
Graham Spanier*—In the Lions’ Den, Sunday, Sept. 18 at 1 p.m.
Kay Fenton Smith & Carol mcGarvey*—Baking Blue Ribbons: Stories and Recipes from the Iowa State Fair Food Competitions, Artisan Gallery 218, Monday, Oct. 24 at 6:30 p.m.
*Indicates Iowa-connected authors.
Anne E. terpstra*—Beyond Any Experience, Friday, Oct. 7 at 6:30 p.m. Darcy maulsby*—The Lincoln Highway, Artisan Gallery 218, Monday, Oct. 10 at 6:30 p.m.
phil Adamo The Medievalist, Thursday, Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m.
Catherine Haustein*—Wrinkles in Spacetime, Thursday, Sept. 29 at 6:30 p.m.
ClubBook
rob Sand*—The Winning Ticket, Artisan Gallery 218, Monday, Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m.
2022Google©
All readings take place at the store unless otherwise noted.
N
Leah Angstman Out Front the Following Sea, Friday, Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m. t patrick Graves*—Let Us Not Talk Falsely Now, Monday, Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m.
Anne Winkler-morey Allegiance to Winds & Waters: Bicycling the Political Divides of the United States, Friday, Oct. 28 at 6:30 p.m.
Jody Keisner Under My Bed, John t price* All is Leaf, Kristine Langley mahler Curing Season, Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 6:30 p.m.
32 SePtember 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 FALL ARTS PREVIEW
estled in a cozy town square off of Beaver Avenue, Beaverdale Books has been a space for Des Moines book-lovers since 2006. They offer a wide array of books from both local and farther flung authors, and the bookstore also boasts an impressive events calendar featuring author meet and greets, readings and book fairs throughout the year. Most events are free to attend and some even offer compli mentary coffee and cookies, making you feel even more at home.
Kirsten Anderson*—More Than Words: Turn #MeToo into #ISaidSomething, Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 6:30 p.m.
Want to start reading more books by local authors but don’t know where to start? Beaverdale Books has a designated Iowa Author section, taking up an entire bookcase on the right-hand side of the store. Each time I’ve visited, a staff member has pointed it out to me, proud of the local talent Iowa grows and the bookstore’s ability to showcase it.
He says it all comes down to people feeling the need to be one hundred percent correct.
—Courtney Guien stuff to do
“It starts, it’s a fire,” Mattingly said. “There’s these little sparks that then catch on to the tinder. Then enough of that happens, and there’s this whoosh to this raging fire. Then eventually, it takes so much time to stamp it out … And it took so long for people in power to step in and help.”
Salem, the first offering in the company’s 202223 season, encourages audiences to confront these fears and judgments. The new work is set to com positions by Igor Stravinsky (Rite of Spring) and Evan Ziporyn (Qi).
“I think as soon as it became clear that if you are accused … you participate and you help to find the other witches, then you’re spared—that temptation just to keep your own life, I complete ly understand why so many of them then accused others,” Mattingly said.
Season of the balletWitch
“I think we see people today who get swept up by fear and panic and power, and horrible things come out of it if it’s not checked in some kind of a way,” Mattingly said.
But many of the accused, he said, began accus ing those who were already exposed or already ex ecuted. Mattingly thinks this roundabout strategy made perfect sense.
Those who were accused would admit guilt in hopes to save themselves, often throwing friends and family members under the bus as well.
“So many of the accused were trying to stop the madness by not accusing new people,” he said.
Fears of witchcraft peaked in the American colonies after the British war with France there in 1689. Accusations in Salem Village came from a group of young girls who were under the com pulsion of adults to falsely enact being possessed including spasms, contortions and screaming.
get squashed immediately, that there weren’t peo ple in higher positions of power to recognize that this is awful and wrong,” he said. “And there’s literally no proof that any of these accusations are true. Nothing demonstrative. And it’s like, Why? Why did these people have to suffer? The entire community? It’s ridiculous. It makes me mad. It’s surprising that it was able to run so rampant.”
“I feel like there’s a lot of fear right now. And a lot of panic. And power is such a commodity,” Mattingly said. “And there’s so much power given to so few people, that there are so many other peo ple that are just in survival mode, like the accused witches in Salem.”
The Salem witch trials were held 16921693 in Salem Village (present-day Danvers), Massachusetts. More than 200 people were ac cused of witchcraft; 30 were found guilty and 19 were executed. The local justice system was over whelmed with trials, which pushed the governor at that time to order a special court.
Mattingly looks at the Salem witch trials to be an awful moment in time and doesn’t understand how something so monstrous could have hap pened.“It’s sad and really disappointing that it didn’t
MoinesDesBallet THE WEEKENDER
YOUR WEEKLY EDITOR-CURATED ARTS COMPENDIUM, A.K.A. IN YOUR INBOX EVERY THURSDAY LittleVillageMag.com/Subscribe
Ballet Des Moines chose to stage Salem at Des Moines Performing Arts’ Stoner Theater because of the way its intimacy complements the show. Salem opens Oct. 20; tickets are available now.
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 SePtember 2022 33
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“I thought it was so interesting that the fear of demonic possession and witchcraft was being re ally pushed by the church, ‘we have to resist all of this evil,’” Mattingly said. “Whereas, they were some of the biggest impacts in creating the evil within the community because of how it spread.”
“And there were things, like, all of a sudden, they would twist and writhe and say, ‘She’s pinch ing me, she’s pinching me!’ But you can’t prove that any of that is true,” Mattingly said. “And that spectral evidence was allowed in the court as evi dence for so long until towards the very end of the trials, it was finally taken out.”
The Ballet Des Moines production will start in the middle of the history of the Salem trials, which will be portrayed with costumes evocative of the time (a modern-dress reimagining of harsh Puritan styles) and showcased through the villagers’ be haviors towards the unpopular, minority commu nity of Salem. The characters include a Preacher, a Girl, the First and Second Accused and a person ification of Fear.
ballet Des moines presents: Salem, Stoner theater, Des moines, Opens Oct. 20, $40.50-50.50
Mattingly learned about the history of Salem from Erin Wegleitner, a Salem descendant and assistant professor of theater arts at Drake University, and from Lisa West, a Drake English professor who is teaching the Salem witch trials. Mattingly also has done a lot of reading and listen ing to podcasts.
One historical figure included in the piece is Giles Corey. He was pressed to death after his wife was accused and put to death. Corey refused to enter a plea resulting in him demanding more weight as stones were stacked on his chest.
He believes Des Moines needs to experience the emotions around Salem because, although this tragedy occurred more than 300 years ago, the ef fects are recognizable.
allet Des Moines pulls from a mo ment in history this fall to show that different doesn’t mean dangerous. Taking a history lesson from the Salem witch trials, choreographer and Ballet Des Moines Artistic Director Tom Mattingly was certain that people need to be re minded to not judge a book by its cover.
‘Hockeyland’from
INVINCIbLE CZArS tOUr SCHEDULE tHE CINEmA, tHE WEImAr pErIOD AND SErVED AS UNOFFICIAL, AND UNAUtHOrIZED, ADAptAtION OF brAm StOKEr’S DrACULA.
bEGIN A HEAVY
WAS rELEASED DUrING
purest hockey movie ever.” Hockeyland, di rected by Tommy Haines, has already enjoyed screenings at DOC NYC, Big Sky and other national documentary festivals. But thanks to being picked up by independent distribution company Greenwich Entertainment (Free Solo), it will make its way to theaters starting Sept. 9 in Minnesota and Sept. 16 nationwide.
And for those hoping Haines and Sherburne
Invincible Czars present: Nosferatu, xbk Live, Des moines, tuesday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m., $20-25
or those itching to marathon hor ror movies during the upcoming Halloween season, xBk Live is of fering a stop on your itinerary not to be missed. On Oct. 25, Austin, Texasbased instrumental rock collective Invincible Czars will perform a live score to F.W. Murnau’s landmark vampire film, Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror (1922) in celebration of its centennial.
Known as “Austin’s Emperors of Eclecticism,” Invincible Czars was formed 20 years ago by its sole constant member, Josh Robins. The group has spent the past two decades touring the coun try performing original scores for classic silent films and ballets, among them, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Phantom of the Opera (1925) and The Nutcracker (1892). Their quirky sound, drawing upon the premier oddballs of the rock and roll world, such as Frank
I
F
film lovers,” as well as “anyone with a compli cated relationship with heavy metal and classical music.”Invincible Czars begin a heavy tour schedule this fall revisit ing Nosferatu, a film they origi nally scored and toured in 2015. The film, a clas sic of Weimarleasedcinema,expressionistGermanwasreduringtheperiod and served as an unofficial, and unauthorized, adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with its release prompting legal action from the author’s
With its eerie and ethereal set design, perfor mances and atmospherics, Nosferatu has grad ually attained masterpiece status, and contin ues to both mesmerize and terrify viewers 100 years later, from casual horror fans to veritable cinéastes. Invincible Czars’ return to Des Moines on Oct. 25 will pay artistic tribute to the film and provide viewers a chilling, yet entertaining prim er for this year’s Halloweekend.
34 SePtember 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 FALL ARTS PREVIEW
The Horror!
—Jack Howard
heirs, including a court order stipulating that all copies be burned. Luckily, several copies of the film survived.
In the North Country region of Minnesota, hockey is as central to life as football is to Alabama and Texas. Part slick sports doc, part small-town coming-of-age story, Hockeyland follows two rival high school hockey teams as they prepare to face off in a state championship game that will define their legacy at home and, with potential NHL contracts at stake, in the an nals of hockey history.
Nosferatufromstill
Hockeyland, FilmScene, Iowa City, opens Friday, Sept. 23
FILm, A CLASSIC OF GErmAN EXprESSIONISt
AN
Zappa, Primus, Mr. Bungle and Danny Elfman, has won them a considerable following of, as their website puts it, “music nerds, horror fans,
tHIS FALL rEVISItING NOSFERATU, A FILm tHEY OrIGINALLY SCOrED AND tOUrED IN 2015.
t’s been 17 years since Minnesota-born filmmakers Tommy Haines, JT Haines and Andrew Sherburne founded their inde pendent production company, Northland Films, with a focus on nonfiction storytell ing. In that time, they’ve produced, directed and released six film projects—all while Sherburne was busy founding and expanding Iowa City’s nonprofit cinema FilmScene. Their best-known documentary to date, Saving Brinton (2017), fol lows an Iowa man’s attempts to preserve a rare and fragile film collection from the first decades of moving Northland’spictures.latest release harkens back to its first—2008’s Pond Hockey, which ESPN com mentator John Buccigross dubbed the “best and
will turn their lenses Iowa-ward again, never fear—Northland Films is currently in production on The Workshop, a documentary promising to offer an intimate portrait of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. Release date, TBA. ––Emma McClatchey
Mighty Pucks
SEPTEMBER EVENTS
Spend the first Saturday of October strolling through 30+ vendors who’ll be bringing clothing, accessories, jewelry and antiques. Market-goers will also hear Rumor’s neighbors, Rogue Planet Music, blasting vintage vinyl from their hi-fi sys tem. ––Sid Peterson
HasRumorsIt
BazaarRumorsvia
SUPPORT FOR Harriet Locke Macomber Art Center
THIS EXHIBITION PROVIDED BY The
intage collectors and lovers, I hope you have Heartland Bazaar penciled into your calendar! Rumors, the vin tage clothing and camera shop near Roosevelt High School, is hosting its bi-annual clothing market. The market has been happening summer and fall since June 2019 and is curated by Allison Lyons, the owner of Rumors.
V
S. and J.
Fund
DOWNTOWNDISTRICTCITY
Heartland bazaar, rumors parking lot, Des moines, Saturday, Oct. 1, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., free
IOWA
tuesdays, Sept. 13 and 27 at 7 p.m. Bad Bitch Bingo, Teehee’s Comedy Club, Des Moines, Free thursday, Sept. 15 at 5 p.m. Latinx Heritage Celebration, Forest Avenue Library, Des Moines, Free Friday, Sept. 16 at 6:30 p.m. Jazz, Jewels & Jeans, Willow on Grand, Des Moines, $75-150 Friday-Saturday, Sept. 16-17 Beaverdale Fall Festival, Des Moines, Free Friday-Sunday, Sept. 16-18 World Food & Music Festival, Western Gateway Park, Des Moines, Free Saturday, Sept. 17 at 11 a.m. Lua Oktoberfest, Lua Brewing, Des Moines, $5-22 tuesday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. Flourish: Fund Ideas that Matter, Jasper Winery, $30 Saturday, Sept. 24 at 9 a.m. Run to Exile, Exile Brewing Co., Des Moines, $50 Saturday, Oct. 1 at 10 a.m. Heartland Bazaar, Rumors Vintage, Des Moines, Free
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 SePtember 2022 35 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 25, 2022 info at desmoineartcenter.org
D earI’mCrossed,going to be blunt here and say there are far, far too many variables for me to possibly offer a conclusive answer to this query. It depends on the man, of course. It depends on your own views on the matter (are you all-in, you—both—defewtogether,out”meanpendsintoyoustill-guilty,eager-but-ordofeelpressuredsex?).Itdeonwhatyouby“working(alifetimeagoodyears;howdo fine success?).
down to, “Do assholes exist?” And yes, Crossed. Yes, they definitely do. There are people out there who think that someone who enthusiastically enjoys and seeks out sex isn’t worth settling down with. Which, OK, I guess. That’s their prerogative. But any potential partner has the responsibility to make that known at the outset.
QUESTIONS!WANTSKIKI
Radical sincerity, radical honesty, radical self-awareness: These are what correlate with longevity in any relationship. It’s not the spe cific choices you make, but how you make them and how you communicate about them.
Contact ads@littlevillagemag.com by 9/30 to
GIVE GUIDE A local holiday nonprofit and retail spotlight issue COMING NOVEMBER 2022
discover that they affect your perspective more than is obvious on the surface.
length, and may appear either in print or online at littlevillagemag.com.
reserve a space!
D
ear Kiki,
—Legs and Fingers Crossed
However, I can say, unequivocal ly, that if you both enter the encoun ter rarin’ to go and then he bolts?
I FEEL LIKE WHAt YOU’rE ASKING HErE rEALLY bOILS DOWN tO, “DO ASSHOLES EXISt?” AND YES, CrOSSED. YES, tHEY DEFINItELY DO. tHErE ArE pEOpLE OUt tHErE WHO tHINK tHAt SOmEONE WHO ENtHUSIAStICALLY ENJOYS AND SEEKS OUt SEX ISN’t WOrtH SEttLING DOWN WItH. WHICH, OK, I GUESS. tHAt’S tHEIr prErOGAtIVE.
Good ingwhatSee,riddance.Ifeellikeyou’reaskherereallyboils
Do you think having sex with a man on the first date/encounter with him ruins the chances of a future relationship ever working out?
But, Crossed, if you’re asking because you’ve been receiving warnings along those lines from family, you might want to re-examine your own biases—when you’re raised with certain val ues imbued in you since childhood, you might
LittleVillageMag.com/DearKikiDEAR KIKI
The bottom line is: Sex doesn’t determine the worth of a relationship. No doubt you’re familiar with the nauseating common axiom, “Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free?” Ask yourself, Crossed: Do you want to be bought? Do you want to be owned? Or do you want to be in equal partnership with someone who trusts your ability to make decisions about your own body? Remember, you’re always giving the milk for free, even if someone “buys the sinceillegalrapecow”—maritalhasonlybeenintheU.S.…( double checks) (dies a lit tle inside) 1993! You need to make the call for what you want out of any given situ ation. If you find someone who is compatible with you on an ethical level, and if you’re forthright with one another, then enjoying yourself shouldn’t be a drawback. If you don’t share a base line understanding of right and wrong, or if you find that you’re not able to communicate openly, then the relationship won’t have much of a fu ture, first encounters aside. —xoxo, Kiki
If you’re cool with diving in bits first, if you’re not going to hold it against either your partner or yourself, then you can trust that there are others who feel the same way. Failure is not inevitabile along this path.
Submit questions anonymously at Questionsdearkiki@littlevillagemag.com.littlevillagemag.com/dearkikiornon-anonymouslytomaybeeditedforclarity and
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 SePtember 2022 37
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Blogger Scott Williams writes, “There are two kinds of magic. One comes from the heroic leap, the upward surge of energy, the explosive arc that burns bright across the sky. The other kind is the slow accretion of effort: the water-onstone method, the soft root of the plant that splits the sidewalk, the constant wind that scours the mountain clean.” Can you guess which type of magic will be your specialty in the coming weeks, Leo? It will be the laborious, slow accretion of effort. And that is precisely what will work best for the tasks that are most important for you to accomplish. By Rob Brezsny
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): To be the best Aquarius you can be in the coming weeks, I suggest the following: 1. Zig when others zag. Zag when others zig. 2. Play with the fantasy that you’re an extraterrestrial who’s engaged in an experiment on planet Earth. 3. Be a hopeful cynic and a cheerful skeptic. 4. Do things that inspire people to tell you, “Just when I thought I had you figured out, you do something unexpected to confound me.” 5. Just for fun, walk backward every now and then. 6. Fall in love with everything and everyone: a D-List celebrity, an oak tree, a neon sign, a feral cat.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): “My own curiosity and interest are insatiable,” wrote Cancerian author Emma Lazarus (1849–1887). Inspired by the wealth of influences she absorbed, she created an array of poetry, plays, novels, essays and transla tions—including the famous poem that graces the pedestal of America’s Statue of Liberty. I recommend her as a role model for you in the coming weeks, Cancerian. I think you’re ripe for an expansion and deepening of your curiosity. You will benefit from cultivating an enthusiastic quest for new information and fresh influences. Here’s a mantra for you: “I am wildly innocent as I vivify my soul’s education.”
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Now that I’m free to be myself, who am I?” Virgo-born Mary Oliver asks that question to start one of her poems. She spends the rest of the poem speculating on possible answers. At the end, she concludes she mostly longs to be an “empty, waiting, pure, speechless receptacle.” Such a state of being might work well for a poet with lots of time on her hands, but I don’t recommend it for you in the coming weeks. Instead, I hope you’ll be profuse, active, busy, experimental, and expressive. That’s the best way to celebrate the fact that you are now freer to be yourself than you have been in a while.
ASTROLOGY
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A blogger who calls herself HellFresh writes, “Open and raw communication with your part ners and allies may be uncomfortable and feel awkward and vulnerable, but it solves so many problems that can’t be solved any other way.” Having spent years studying the demanding arts of intimate relationships, I agree with her. She adds, “The idea that was sold to us is ‘love is effortless and you should communicate telepathically with your partner.’ That’s false.” I propose, Pisces, that you fortify yourself with these truths as you enter the Reinvent Your Relationships Phase of your astro logical cycle.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In his poem “Auguries of Innocence,” William Blake (1757–1827) championed the ability “to see a World in a Grain of Sand. And a Heaven in a Wild Flower. Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand.” According to my reading of the astrological omens, Taurus, you are primed to do just that in the coming days. You have the power to discern the sacred in the midst of mundane events. The magic and mystery of life will shine from every little thing you encounter. So I will love it if you deliver the following message to a person you care for: “Now I see that the beauty I had not been able to find in the world is in you.”
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricorn novelist Marcia Douglas writes books about the history of her people in Jamaica. In one passage, she writes, “My grandmother used to tell stories about women that change into birds and lizards. One day, a church-going man dared to laugh at her; he said it was too much for him to swallow. My grandmother looked at him and said, ‘I bet you believe Jesus turned water into wine.’” My pur pose in telling you this, Capricorn, is to encourage you to nur ture and celebrate your own fantastic tales. Life isn’t all about reasonableness and pragmatism. You need myth and magic to thrive. You require the gifts of imagination and art and lyrical flights of fancy. This is especially true now. To paraphrase David Byrne, now is a perfect time to refrain from making too much sense.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): As a Scorpio, novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky was rarely guilty of oversimplification. Like any in telligent person, he could hold contradictory ideas in his mind without feeling compelled to seek more superficial truths. He wrote, “The causes of human actions are usually immeasurably more complex and varied than our subsequent explanations of them.” I hope you will draw inspiration from his example in the coming weeks, dear Scorpio. I trust you will resist the temp tation to reduce colorful mysteries to straightforward explana tions. There will always be at least three sides to every story. I invite you to relish glorious paradoxes and fertile enigmas.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In her book Tales From Earthsea, Libra-born Ursula K. Le Guin wrote, “What goes too long un changed destroys itself. The forest is forever because it dies and dies and so lives.” I trust you’re embodying those truths right now. You’re in a phase of your cycle when you can’t afford to re main unchanged. You need to enthusiastically and purposefully engage in dissolutions that will prepare the way for your rebirth in the weeks after your birthday. The process might sometimes feel strenuous, but it should ultimately be great fun.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Author Zadie Smith praised Sagittarian writer Joan Didion. She says, “I remain grateful for the day I picked up Joan Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem and realized that a woman could speak without hedging her bets, without hemming and hawing, without making nice, with out sounding pleasant or sweet, without deference, and even without doubt.” I encourage Sagittarians of every gender to be inspired by Didion in the coming weeks. It’s a favorable time to claim more of the authority you have earned. Speak your kalei doscopic wisdom without apology or dilution. More fiercely than ever before, embody your high ideals and show how well they work in the rhythms of daily life.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In his poem “Autobiographia Literaria,” Aries-born Frank O’Hara wrote, “When I was a child, I played in a corner of the schoolyard all alone. If anyone was looking for me, I hid behind a tree and cried out, ‘I am an or phan.’” Over the years, though, O’Hara underwent a marvelous transformation. This is how his poem ends: “And here I am, the center of all beauty! Writing these poems! Imagine!” In the coming months, Aries, I suspect that you, too, will have the potency to outgrow and transcend a sadness or awkwardness from your own past. The shadow of an old source of suffering may not disappear completely, but I bet it will lose much of its power to diminish you.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time,” said philosopher Bertrand Russell. I will add that the time you enjoy wasting is often essential to your well-being. For the sake of your sanity and health, you periodically need to temporarily shed your ambitions and avoid as many of your responsibilities as you safely can. During these interludes of re freshing emptiness, you recharge your precious life energy. You become like a fallow field allowing fertile nutrients to regener ate. In my astrological opinion, now is one of these revitalizing phases for you.
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38 SePtember 2022 FORHEADLINERSLESSCall515-277-6261 Tuesday-Friday, Noon-6:00 PM Learn about classes, or purchase tickets online at: DMPlayhouse.com NEW SUBSCRIBER DISCOUNT! Use ticketcodeoffice and receive a full season ticket for just $189!* 831 42nd St *Discount available for new subscribers only. Expires 9/23/2022. Standard price $222. Guys & Dolls Sept. 9–25, 2022 RODGERS + CinderellaHAMMERSTEIN’S Dec. 2–18, 2022 AUGUST WILSON’S The Piano Lesson Feb. 3–19, 2023 Kinky Boots Mar. 17–Apr. 2, 2023 Native Gardens June 2–18, 2023 Little Shop of Horrors July 14–30, 2023 NOW!AVAILABLETICKETSSEASON Evan Schettler as Sky Masterson Guys & Dolls, 2022-23 season PLUS: FALLAVAILABLECLASSES NOW!
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 SePtember 2022 39
of a man being pulled by opposing forces.
“Friends,” can you clarify a lyric for me? You say, “I had to swing my sword before I use my pen, I had to use my pain to go and make me a profit.” A concept that I address a lot throughout the album is, Black people are taught and conditioned to wear our trauma. Any kind of trauma that we experience becomes a badge of honor. It becomes what makes us special, what makes us important, especially when you think about the history of America, all of our biggest accomplishments are escaping something, right? Escaping slavery, making it out of civil rights, avoiding the po lice, all of these different things that our value is based in the negative that has been done to us at the hands of America and other people. We haven’t gotten any reparations for any of the pain and trauma or stuff that we’ve endured at the hands of America, right? But we do routinely make fortunes out of parading our pain or selling our trauma.
teLLer bANK$ I & I
We perpetuate it now, as well, but it’s also something that’s put upon us. And breaking out of it is hard because of how much of it is imposed from the outside and the inside. —Chris DeLine
WHAt EVEN IS “bLACK CULtUrE,” rIGHt? bLACK CULtUrE IS ALL tHESE SpECIFIC tHINGS tHAt bLOCK YOU IN AND IF YOU’rE NOt tHAt tHEN YOU’rE NOt bLACK. bUt IF YOU ASK SOmEbODY “WHAt IS WHItE CULtUrE,” NObODY KNOWS.
Submit albums for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240
“Pages” showcases a lyrical style akin to classic Method Man, utiliz ing syncopated vocals to create a counterbeat within AJ Suede’s flow. This isn’t the only callback to mid’90s rap, with Bank$ incorporating a few bars from Busta Rhymes on “Cain & Abel” and a lyrical hat tip to LL Cool J in “Finders Keepers.”
TELLERBANKS.BANDCAMP.COM
t
he album opener to The I & I by Teller Bank$ finds the Des Moines-based rapper reflecting on the practical value of processing his trauma through his art. In “Friends,” he comments on the market forces which encourage work that perpet uates negative stereotypes: “I had to swing my sword before I use my pen / I had to use my pain to go and make me a profit / ‘til we get our reparations that’s the least they can offer.”Bank$ is thinking out loud here, asking what he’s supposed to do as he continues to grow as an artist and human. Does he abandon references to his past when doing so jeopardiz es the financial and social rewards that come from wearing his trauma for all to see? Many of the album’s 14 tracks pursue similar avenues, provoking questions surrounding identity and integrity, revealing a human trying to reconcile his es cape from inhuman conditions.
The
LOCAL ALBUMS
The I & I is the third in a trilogy of releases produced by Indianabased Ed Glorious, and it marks the eighth full length album from Teller Bank$ in the last year and a half alone. Despite this prolific out put, the release is neither flush with filler nor stylistically incohesive, remaining musically consistent due in large part to the quality of soulful boom bap served up by Glorious. The album is rounded out with fea tures from Aakeem Eshú, AJ Suede
From
As you related it to trauma and having to wear that trauma on your sleeve, that makes full sense. It’s like, if you come from too privileged of a background, that’s somehow not enough to be a “true” black experience. Right, and the Black experience is defined by how it can be commodified and sold to other people, because that’s always been where our art is valued. Right? Not even the value that we put on it, but that’s what people wanted.
What’s bought and consumed by white people, for the majority, is going to be of a certain brand. It’s going to be 12 Years a Slave, it’s going to be Precious, it’s going to be Moonlight, even Boyz N The Hood back when that first came out. It’s going to be those stories that are seen as “Wow, those are so moving and meaningful.” That’s what we’re about, and so we’ve adopted that as a survival [mechanism]. Where it’s like any type of trauma—whether it’s poverty, not having a father, all of these different things—we wear that as a badge that we wear and people look at it and go “Oh, wow, he grew up on the South Side of Chicago with a single mom and gang banged and got shot twice and here are paintings that he does. What an amazing story.” And they’ll gravitate toward that, whereas if you’re just a regular dude [who paints] people are going to look at it like, “This is lacking.” You know what I mean?
Q&A
the title The I & I is ad opted from a Rastafarian concept that God is within all people, it can also represent a duality between separate parts of the self. For some lacking a cohesion between their intention and actions, this can re sult in an I against I scenario. For Bank$, however, his own I and I appear to be drawing near, with his work helping him usher in a new life while making sense of an in creasingly distant past.
“Hollywood” finds Bank$ as suming a darker tone, with lyrics further reflecting an unbalanced mind. “Demons” acknowledges an ever-present threat of violence in his past, while also speaking to the ongoing impact trauma has long af ter attempting to move beyond it. A determination to do better for him self remains clear in these tracks, but the rapper also emphasizes that it’s the unconditional love of his children which continues to aid him in combating these demons from hisWhilepast.
Beyond its lyri cal internalilluminatingstylehooditiestheestrackhowever,playfulness,thealsofocusonbalancingresponsibiloffatherwithalifeofhustling,anstruggle
and Iowa’s own Rent Money (fka H the Prodigy), but whether it’s Bank$ or one of his collaborators on the mic, the album remains rich with creative wordplay throughout.
What even is “Black culture,” right? Black culture is all these specif ic things that block you in and if you’re not that then you’re not Black. But if you ask somebody “what is white culture,” nobody knows. Where that’s not the same as for Black people, where it’s seen as Black culture is a box and if you’re not inside then you’re not living the true authentic Black experience that people want to buy and have sold to them.
LittleVillageMag.com
Q&A
LOCAL ALBUMS
m
I received, I am a more well-rounded guitarist who knows the fretboard in detail and understands not just how to play but knows what I’m playing. ... I don’t use very advanced theory in my writ ing process but since I have that knowledge, I can actually dissect and understand fully what I’m playing.
ALLEGRAHERNANDEZ.COM
Allegra Hernandez returned to Des Moines in 2018 after their stint at McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul, Minnesota was cut short when the school closed. That time afforded them a solid basis in music theory and performances at Twin Cities venues like the ven erable 7th Street Entry. Hernandez finished this education online at Berklee, all the while also teaching music at Des Moines institutions like School of Rock and Girls Rock!.
Submit albums for review:
As a younger guitar instructor (24) and being the person I am (being non-binary/queer) I find that I don’t see a lot of guitar/bass/drum instruc tors like me ... I never had the chance to study under a non-male guitar instructor growing up and I feel passionate about teaching and inspiring girls and LGBTQ+ youth to play music, which is why I’m so passionate about Girls Rock! Des Moines. ... Girls Rock! has been so important in my growth as a young adult navigating the music industry.
“WHAt I LEArNED IN COLLEGE DOESN’t ALWAYS DIrECtLY AppLY tO mY OWN StYLE OF pLAYING...WHAt INFLUENCED mY pLAYING WAS tHE bANDS AND SHOWS tHAt I GOt GIG EXpErIENCE FrOm IN tHE mUSIC SCENE AND mY OWN INFLUENCES bEFOrEHAND.
Allegra Hernandez Album release w/ Haploid, Double Dice, xbk Live, Des moines, Friday, Nov. 18 at 8 p.m., $15-20
When I was in 11th grade, [Mary Anne Sims, director of City Voices, a non-profit music education program based in Des Moines] saw a video of me playing guitar and encouraged me to apply to colleges such as Berklee and other contemporary music colleges …
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 SePtember 2022 41
This album is a perfect example of how strong songwriting and vo cals can be paired with exceptional guitar skills. The fatigue from flashy guitar histrionics common during the hair metal and grunge eras makes Hernandez’s approach novel and fresh—supporting the melodies and harmonies while also allowing the guitar to speak as part of the archi tecture of the songs. They don’t shy away from big chunky distortion and searing leads, which are used effec tively where they appear.
The lead track, “Time and Surface,” opens with a few bars of a deliciously slinky four chord motif decorated with harmonics that echo the verse. There’s violence and hurt alluded to. When we return post-cho rus, the song leans somewhat “djent,” with crunch and bombast punctuated with halts filled with ringing disso nant guitar chords and siren notes, reminding us of the “angry fists / making the dents.” A perfect marriage of music and theme.
Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240
ALLeGrA HerNANDeZ Gift Exchange
usician, guitarist and educator
Interestingly for me, what I learned in college doesn’t always direct ly apply to my own style of playing. In college, there was a big focus on jazz, blues, funk and of course some rock. The focus for me was ap plied music theory for the guitar, technique, sight-reading and other gui tar-based classes ... What influenced my playing was the bands and shows that I got gig experience from in the music scene and my own influences
beforehand.Withtheeducation
In 2020, Hernandez released a three-track EP titled Pearl, which unfortunately wallowed in obscu rity as they were unable to bring these songs to audiences during the lockdown. On their new album, Gift Exchange, which comes out Nov. 4, they sing “I wrote a song it’s two years long / So please know that I’m here yes I’m here yes I’m here / I just take a long time to respond.”
I wondered if working with students in Girls rock! and School of rock on their instruments has paid off in helping you sharp en your playing. As an instructor at School of Rock, I have to learn or at least familiarize myself with dozens of songs every few months. … I can learn songs quickly and efficiently, chart out songs for my students, etc. I have sharpened a lot of my fundamental skills on guitar from a beginner to an advanced level. I have students as young as 6, teens and also some adult students of all ages ... I have to meet my students where they’re at and take into account their learning styles. If I can successfully teach them concepts, that confirms how well I know it myself and fortifies that skill. …
GR!DSM is … so much more than music—it centers around empow erment, identity, social awareness/social justice and a place where you can unequivocally be your authentic self. There are very few places in the world like Girls Rock, where you are constantly celebrated and uplifted. Your identity and expression are honored every day and brought to the forefront.
—Michael Roeder
Gift Exchange, while much more accomplished and polished, picks up where Pearl left off and is a suit able bookend to it—beautiful vocal harmonies and melodies ensconced in fantastic guitar work delivering first-person vignettes like pages ripped from a diary. That two-yearlong song clearly resulted in some serious chops.
The track likely to get the most attention on Gift Exchange is the anthemic protest tune “Use My Fkn Pronouns.” Delivered with su per-catchy, hook-filled energy, I found myself singing along. “And how many times does it take for you / To address me in the right way? / (It’s) just as important as my name”—a message couldn’t be de livered more effectively than this ral lying cry in a song. And the message doesn’t supersede the music here— the skanking bridge with bouncing and sliding bass could have been ripped from a Red Hot Chili Peppers album.There’s a lot to discover and di gest on Allegra Hernandez’s debut album. In many ways they have a unique voice—delivered with ear nestly uncompromising songwriting. Hernandez summed it up best in an email to me about Gift Exchange, “My music is for anyone to listen to and en joy but is dedicated to the communities that I come from and where I am cel ebrated, especially for queer people.”
LittleVillageMag.com
Your bio mentions a couple of stints at colleges of mu sic—were you able to work on this style of music there or was that more heavily focused on theory? Music edu cation was something I have always valued growing up. ... In high school, that was when I decided to pursue going to college for music. Throughout high school, I seriously focused on playing guitar and writing songs all the time, taking lessons and learning from other music mentors.
UI Professor Beth Livingston discusses her book, Shared Sisterhood: How to Take Collective Action for Racial and Gender Equity at Work 7 p.m., Iowa City Public Library
SEPT. 30
Paul Engle Prize ceremony with winner Rebecca Solnit, in conversation with Lyz Lenz 7 p.m., Coralville Public Library
SEPT. 29
Schedule highlights include:
OCT. 3
A celebration of Books and Ideas in the City of Literature
(all events free and open to the public unless noted otherwise)
SEPT. 28
Angie Cruz, author of Dominicana, discusses her new book, How Not To Drown in A Glass of Water 7 p.m., Prairie Lights Books (co-presented by the UI Magid Center for Undergraduate Writing)
Find the full schedule at iowacityofliterature.org/icbf
SEPT. 28-OCT. 13, 2022
Literary Legends event with UI Writers’ Workshop Director Lan Samantha Chang, in conversation with Charity Nebbe 7:30 p.m., Englert Theatre (co-presented by the UI Center for Advancement and UI Lecture Committee)
Randall Munroe, author of What If? and the XKCD webcomic. 7 p.m, First United Methodist Church (ticketed event in partnership with Prairie Lights)
Readings, discussions,panelbook fair and more throughout the day, featuring Sarah Kendzior, Victor Ray, McCracken,ElizabethPsalmOne (pictured) and International Writing Program participants
OCT. 12
Anthony Doerr, author of Pulitzer Prize-winning novel
OCT. 8
OCT. 6
One Community One Book author Alex Kotlowitz discusses An American Summer 7 p.m., Pappajohn Business Building (in partnership with the UI Center for Human Rights)
OCT. 7
All The Light We Cannot See and the new Cloud Cuckoo Land 7 p.m., Englert Theatre (ticketed event in partnership with Prairie Lights)
WHEN YOU GO tO ANOtHEr CULtUrE, WHAt IS It? WHAt IS prIVACY? HOW DO pEOpLE LIStEN HErE? WHAt DOES It mEAN tO bE COUrtEOUS? WHAt’S A LINE? WHAt’S A CLEAN bAtHrOOm? WHAt’S pUbLIC trANSpOrtAtION? HOW DO pArENtS rELAtE tO CHILDrEN?
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSm6 SePtember 2022 43
spirituality, relationships and the self.Fate reminds us persistently that the journey itself is the destination; home is not a place, but a feeling. And while these are cliches every reader has heard once or twice, Fate contextualizes them in a very personal way that is accessible, es pecially to those of us who share his midwestern roots.
The Long Way Home CUBE
The Long Way Home is the Iowa native’s fourth release. It is avail able now on Ice Cube Press.
tom montgomery Fate, prairie Lights, Iowa City, tuesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m., Free
there
LittleVillageMag.com
The Long Way Home is a memoir that does not follow the rules of a traditional narrative. Rather, it com bines themes of prayer, belonging and fishing into essay-style chap ters anchored by Fate’s experiences traveling across the globe.
One of the most interesting parts to me was your experi ences in the benedictine abbeys. Would you ever go again? Yeah, I would. In the academic world, there’s a lot of negativity about religion, almost as if you’re stupid or diminished because you haven’t gotten over that yet. And of course, I’m thinking of Kathleen Norris and Wendell Berry and all the writers who still haven’t gotten over it yet. But one thing I’m trying to do in this book is to open up the idea of religion a little bit. Yes, there are right-wing nuts. One of them was president, who used religion as a marketing tool and read the Bible like it was an instruc tion manual rather than a work of art. The benefit of going to the abbey for me is a kind of intellectual and spiritual discipline.
Submit books for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240
Regardless, I found a lot of peace in Fate’s new release. It’s clear by the end that the only thing Fate is advocating for is for readers to slow down: physically, mental ly, spiritually—and give ourselves over to the epiphanies that we only find with time and presence. Considering his incredible experi ences across the globe accompa nied by his honest self-reflection, I think it just might be worth a try.
Fate’s stories take place throughout different periods of his life, from childhood to the COVID-19 pandemic. Such a long time frame is necessary to frame the complex themes that are being discussed here. But there are times when conversations about life, meaning and prayer are accompa nied by conversations about the
pandemic, politics and social me dia. These are the only moments when the 160-page book edges on preachy and decentralized. There is a world where all of these topics fit together cohesively, but in such a small sample size, these parts feel like a lot to chew on.
In your book, you mention feeling like a tourist or out of place in some of your travels. What do you think is valuable about that discomfort? So, it’s a lens on your own culture. When you go to another culture, what is it? What is privacy? How do people listen here? What does it mean to be courteous? What’s a line? What’s a clean bathroom? What’s public transportation? How do parents relate to children? So I mean, it’s hard because everything’s new. But again, it teaches you what all of those ideas mean in your own culture.
ICE
What was the process like to get this book to where it is now? Well, the process I used to go through is, I used to write a 400-word essay. I used to call those framed moments. There’s some charged moment that I see in memory or see in front of me, and I get it down. And then I’d go from those 400-word snapshots to about 1,000word essays, which I would try to publish in the Chicago Tribune or Christian Century or other places that typically take my work. And then from there, when I got a sabbatical, a few years later, I would flesh all that stuff out to 2,000 to 3,000-word chapters.
PRESS
So there was a systematic lengthening, from an emotionally charged moment to a complicated, more developed essay over time. With this book, I would say it was more going from the 1,000-word essay in the Tribune, which a lot of these pieces are from originally, to the longer chapter. But I sit with these pieces for years. —Lily DeTaeye
LOCAL BOOKS
Maybe,wild.if you’ve chosen the for mer, you might harbor some guilt, fed by backhanded comments from people who have left or people who are aiming to leave. But if you find a little bit of beauty in where you are regardless, or if you’re trying to, Tom Montgomery Fate just wrote the perfect book for you.
Each bite-sized essay reflects on a different journey Fate embarked on: from a writing residency at H.J. Experimental Forest in Oregon, to a revolution in Managua, Nicaragua, to a sabbatical at a Benedictine ab bey in Maquoketa, Iowa. Through each chapter, readers ponder the relationship between life and death, prayer and fact, religion and
Q&A
tOm mONtGOmerY FAte
are a lot of very big topics at play in The Long Way Home. How many of these discoveries happened as you were writing the book? Well, you know, this is a memoir in essays. When memoirs became bestsellers all of a sudden, people understood that a memoir was not an autobiography, but looking through some aspect of your life, through the lens of that experience. It could be a birth memoir, cancer memoir, whatever. And so, for me, the challenge is always trying to figure out how to thematically link the disparate pieces. And travel, which is a pretty big frame, allowed me to connect these together. And the idea of journey, or journeying of course, is another huge idea. So journey can be internal, external; trav el can be internal, external. And so that idea kind of made more sense to me as I worked on the book. That would be the thematic unifier.
o be born in the Midwest is to become acutely aware of the term “flyover country.” And once you are aware of it, you must decide whether or not you’ll embrace your life here regardless or denounce it and move somewhere else, some where more conventionally beauti ful and
t
prejudices and self-image as she comes to live outside of her head is slow and raw and palpable. That’s one of the things that makes the shape of Sneha’s story so powerful: it could be a day in the life but it is, instead, an evolution.
hen I started reading All This Could Be Different (Viking, 2022) by Sarah Thankham Mathews, I was nervous about the passive voice, tonally similar to other books I’ve recently read which I felt lacked substance. But this is intentional. Our narrator, Sneha, is apathetic, barely teasing interest, she merely exists for the first part of her own story.
When Sneha does express some thing early in the book it’s haunt ing and familiar: “This is what my parents wanted for me, what every body wanted. To be a dish laid out before a man’s hunger. To be taken, to be quiet. Disappear into hair and parts. Disappear, in time, into mar riage and motherhood.”
Did you intend to write about othering / trauma / identity or was it a consequence of the story you ended up telling? I wanted to write a novel where the main characters were as deeply imagined as I could pull off. Sometimes, for me, there is a flattening, overly causal quality to centering trauma in literary narratives. I pre fer to think about it through the lens of personal history: What is the sum total of this person’s past, and how do they relate to the different pieces of the past, with denial or acceptance or nursing of wounds or something else entirely? Sneha does not cher ish the fact of her trauma—she denies it. She’s a proud, pained, spiky, multifaceted character who sometimes hurts, sometimes gets hurt, and I saw my job as repre senting the intricacies of her full self, as she navigates the painful, glorious journey of what it means to find a home and make a life.
we find ourselves as young adults, but while we follow Sneha through her revelations and crises, we are not forced to endure any of those horrors. Mathews saves us the trig ger warning by showing impact in stead of its catalyst.
wrote a novel before ATCBD. How were those two writing experiences different? I wrote All This Could Be Different, in a fever dream, mostly over the summer and fall of 2020, after working for seven years on a completely different proj ect, after having written nearly 800 pages of attempt at it. That project ended up feeling bloated with too many characters, digressions and themes. I felt determined to put every lesson of failure from that previ ous project to use when writing ATCBD, which felt in many ways like my second round in the ring.
Sneha’s opacity and malleability challenged me to look inward—it felt like learning a funhouse mirror was not at all warped—in moments when she was honest with herself: “I did not know how to explain this stubborn love for my parents that I staggered under, iridescent and gigantic and veined with a terrible grief, grief for the ways their lives had been compost for my own.”
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Sneha’s ideologies,
Sneha’s development as a person changes the shape and tone of the narrative. I wanted to show this young person growing up and becom ing themselves. In order to do that, you have to show change. I wanted to show a self being formed through other people, write a novel of interdependence and, if you will, a compound love story. I believe that the sentences and the thematic choices have to be in a happy marriage, as a novel. I would watch YouTube timelapse videos of plants bloom ing over months, and it supplied me with an effect I tried to recreate for the reader: petal by petal, this prickly, compressed narrator opens up, to her world, but also us, the readers.
Has your work in mutual aid influenced your writing? Has your writing influenced your work in mutual aid? Ultimately both deal in stories we tell ourselves about who has worth and who has power. And the fact that the world as it is is a made thing, and by that logic can be remade. I think that’s a quiet throughline that runs through ATCBD.
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Subtly, cleverly, as Sneha gains interest in her own life, her voice changes, the book becomes harder to put down, her interests not just alluding to a future in which she has something to say but finally saying things. Mathews gives an expertly crafted example of how to write character growth. Sneha may be the most multi-dimensional character I’ve read in recent years. Her com ing-of-age is (like it is for many of us) framed as a love story, but is far more about finding out what love is than holding on to romance. It is heartwarming and challenging.
“bOOKS SAVED mE AGAIN AND AGAIN WHEN I WAS YOUNG AND LONELY. I WOULD LIKE tO DO tHAt FOr SOmEbODY ELSE, SOmEDAY.”
Q&A
I left the characters and setting and premise of that previous project behind, thanking them for what they’d taught me. “Keep it tight and propulsive this time around,” I warned myself. ‘Seduce the reader; first withhold and then give them something good, again and again. Make them laugh. Pay attention to structure. Only one year of time will be covered in this novel. No more than four important characters at any point. Separate yourself emotionally from the protagonist. Everything that happens has to have a downstream effect or it gets cut.’
Why do you write? Books saved me again and again when I was young and lonely. I would like to do that for somebody else, someday. I think doing language is what makes us human, is one of the greatest measures of us as a species, the closest thing I have found to a “mean ing of life.” I write to think through what’s difficult to me, to address and commune with people I’ve never met and to give myself to the future. ––Sarah Elgatian
All This Could Be Different deals with trauma and coming-of-age, the relationships we have and reject as
For a book that could be difficult and dated (it takes place in 2013), Mathews has created something universal and lingering. We have all experienced the feeling of being alone with ourselves and longing for something else. We have all been surprised by love. Sneha “felt dizzied by all of it, by how in my hands her hips felt like the time I found an animal’s skull in the underbrush of my family’s home when I was a child and lifted it into the air: this hard, breakable, animal thing.” It is a fast read with a satis fyingTheending.shiftin
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