Kyle Wills (a guitarist, formerly the drummer with the Teenage Prayers) and Sara Sowers-Wills (poet), husband and wife, brought together their music and poetry for the first time. While Kyle’s songs cross time periods, Sara’s poems grew out of the pandemic, during which Kyle was diagnosed with cancer. According to Sowers-Wills, “Both the songs and poems meditate on the tension between things being held together and torn apart, re-evaluating our humanness as we live together on this rock.”
Poet Susan Perala-Dewey and cellist Lindsay Schlemmer performed together as mother & daughter, in their first collaboration. According to Perala-Dewey, “During the pandemic, Lindsay & her husband lost their first child, our first grandchild, at 27 weeks. The words and music we will present is an attempt at processing this loss and hopefully shows how the creative process can heal us in surprising and profound ways.”
The presentation was hosted by local author Avesa Rockwell. Rockwell is accustomed to bringing artists to the stage, having coordinated a nationally recognized literary arts program before coming to Duluth to teach writing at UMD. According to Rockwell, “I have missed live music, spoken word, and human connections. I can’t wait to bring them together under a dome of stars.”
The evening began with a star show by Planetarium director Jessica Rogers. Throughout the presentation, the performers projected art by Monica Ihrke, Krista Sue-Lo Twu, and other artists to an audience of 45 in the Planetarium and 15 online.
This event is sponsored by the Department of English, Linguistics, and Writing Studies, the Chancellor’s Small Grant from the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and an Imagine Event Grant from the University of Minnesota. The event is free and open to the public. Please note that masks are required at all times before and during the event in the Alworth Planetarium, 1023 University Dr, Duluth, MN 55812.
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Music and Poetry in the Alworth Planetarium with Kyle Wills, Sara Sowers-Wills, Susan Perala Dewey, and Lindsay Schlemmer, hosted by Avesa Rockwell, art by Monica Ihrke and Krista Sue-Lo Twu. Thursday, April 21, 2022, at 6pm Alworth Planetarium, University of Minnesota Duluth 1023 University Dr, Duluth, MN 55812 |
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