State of the Arts

State of the Arts: February 22, 2010 Archive

Minnesota Poetry: Wang Ping's "First Step"

Posted at 8:33 AM on February 22, 2010 by Marianne Combs (2 Comments)
Filed under: Minnesota Poets, Poetry

Wang Ping was born in Shanghai and grew up on a small island in the China Sea. After three years of field work on a rural commune, she attended Beijing University. In 1985, she left the People's Republic of China to study in the United States, and earned her Ph.D. from New York University. She's the author of numerous collections of short stories and poetry, including "Of Flesh & Spirit" and "The Magic Whip." She teaches at Macalester College.


First Step

Like swans lifting from the river in frozen mist,
like the first ice splitting the shore of Lake Superior,
you took a step, then another.

A laughing Ariel!
Your smile is not a mask but a shrieking delight--
a horizon expanding
between your wobbling feet.

The meadow is full of traps--
long-stemmed flowers, spiky grass,
lumps of soil, rocks.
A gust of wind blew your cap,
sent it rolling toward the sea.

Hands open,
a crowd of angels cradled in your bosom,
you stumble
into the arms of air, wind, sun, earth ...

without looking back.


-- "First Step" by Wang Ping, as it appeared in The Magic Whip. Reprinted with permission from Coffee House Press.

(2 Comments)

NoDak offers film makers a unique chance

Posted at 6:42 PM on February 22, 2010 by Euan Kerr (1 Comments)
Filed under: Film, Museums, People

The State of North Dakota is offering film makers the chance to make a movie inside the Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historic Site. This is one of the decommissioned missile silos which were once the both the backbone of the USA's nuclear deterrent, and the source of great peacenik discomfort.

Now the North Dakota Historical Society and Friends of Oscar Zero are calling for independent film makers to submit proposals to make films at the site. The crews selected will be able to shoot later this year, and into the spring of 2011. The finished films will then be submitted by the end of June. Those films will then compete for cash prizes.

The competition rules do not restrict the kinds of film to be made, but the silo has been a historic site for some time and film makers will have to follow state guidelines. The aim of the competition is to as the call for entries states "enrich the interpretation of the site by cinematically presenting aspects of the tense and complex interplay of military preparedness, politics, culture, and social life during the Cold War period."

It will be very interesting to see what comes about as a result of this unique opportunity. You can find details here.

(1 Comments)
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This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund