Search Results for: midwest

Kweku Collins is Coming to Save Us

In a fog of existential collapse, Kweku Collins is a beacon. He’s a good artist to find when you’ve been beaten down so hard by loss, pain, and despair that you can hardly move. He’ll get you to move – whether it’s through dance, creative inspiration, or just enough psychic energy for you to take one more blind swipe at joy.

Case in point: the title of this post. It makes the corner of my mouth turn up just a bit, and I’d hope a lyrically inventive rapper – with an experimental streak – like Collins would appreciate it.

Calls for Submission

Call 1 Aubrey Barnes, the Midwest Writing Center’s Poet-in-Residence, is curating a community blog. He’s accepting submissions until November 25th – a little over two weeks from today. Nowhere in the call does it specify that you must be from the Quad Cities or even the Midwest; we’re a tolerant people. In addition to my own contribution,…

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White Cowards

White nationalism is a mystery to most people. Myself included. Although I love genealogy and learning about where my ancestors came from, I wouldn’t call myself “proud” to be white. I acknowledge that, in my society and culture, I am lucky to be white. For example, when I go for a jog, I never worry…

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You Ain’t Never Seen This: The Editorial QC

Quad Citians have never seen anything like photographer Dasha Denger’s latest venture: The Editorial QC. Imagine if the sensibilities of Harper’s Bazaar met MidWestern pragmatism and gave birth to a new curiosity. This improbable creation is possible because Dasha and likeminded artists have chosen to believe in the industry now germinating in the area. At…

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About

The Ugly Iowan takes its name from a now-defunct arts and lit publication at the University of Iowa in the early 1960s. This contemporary incarnation maintains the spirit of the original with a greater emphasis on the dichotomy of the individual Midwestern experience – the isolation that breeds camaraderie and the distant neighborliness between strangers –…

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SMACKDOWN!: Mountain Swallower vs. Condor and Jaybird

New Year’s Eve is a smörgåsbord of debauchery and decadence. As per usual, I had many options this year: the always amusing Analog Arcade Bar offered some sweet console giveaways alongside their champagne toast, the Candymakers took over RME, and good old Chicago offered some amazing shows from the likes of Umbra and the Volcan…

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October 1st: The Biggest Day So Far This October

Hello, Mr(s). National Security Agent! Are you filling out your Obamacare paperwork while you celebrate the first day of the NHL season? On a personal note: my credit card expired today! Take that, identity thieves! Now try to steal the money I don’t have. One yet another personal note: This is the first day of the…

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The Arrivant

Yes, I am here. Sweet home Chicago. It’s a weird city. Most of it doesn’t even feel like a city, but that’s not what makes it weird. It’s the people that make it weird. Example: My second night living in North Center, I was standing outside the bar across from my place. I had to…

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Twisted

Some one has used my debit card to make purchases at Wal-Mart. I have decided to track this person down and make them dead. I am hoping to get this on video tape. I applied to the last school on my list, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. They sent me a giant…

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Portfolio

Creative CV for M. N. Hanson. To learn more, visit sister sites @mnhanson and Data and Lore, LLC. Education and Training MFA – Writing, 2012, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL BA – English, Cinema and Comparative Literature, 2009, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA Irish Writing Program, 2008, Dublin, Ireland…

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