LAKE SUPERIOR, ONE OF THE LARGEST LAKES IN THE WORLD, DOMINATES thousands of miles in not one, but two countries, creates its own climate, and nurtures and kills daily. But today, in the age of lakefront condos, virtual landscapes, and tweets about Republican presidential candidates, the Great Lake’s power is easily overlooked.  I confess: I myself tend to the lake for granted. But Duluth author…

ABOUT THE PODCAST: You Are Hear is a literary podcast production of mnartists.org. Each monthly edition will feature new, original work by a Minnesota writer or two. The show is available on our site, of course, but also mnartists.org’s Audioboo page (for ease of sharing and downloading). Stories, poems, humor pieces, spoken word performances and whatever else talented folks can do with nouns and…

WHAT, DO YOU SUPPOSE, IS THE SINGLE MOST BELOVED PIECE of artwork in the city of Minneapolis? “Belovedness” is pretty subjective (in addition to not being an actual word), so the metrics for determining this sort of thing are admittedly a little shaky. But there are a number of ways to consider the question: What piece of art, were it to disappear or be otherwise deaccessioned tomorrow, would provoke…

“EVERYONE KNOWS THE SENSITIVE TOPICS,” says Twin Cities-based Chinese artist Meng Tang. Taiwan, Falun Gong, Tibet, the Uighurs - all are strictly off limits to artists in China. But as artist (and international cause celebré) Ai Weiwei discovered this spring, those who challenge the Chinese government on other issues can just as easily find themselves in the government’s crosshairs. After the “Arab…

IF YOU STAY IN BALLET CLASS LONG ENOUGH, EVERYTHING HAPPENS. I just found out a girl from class killed herself. Or let herself die — she was found in her car in New York City, cold. Back in Minneapolis briefly after an injury, she’d just returned to the big city with a new desperation to make something happen. I knew her: a pretty flaxen blonde with a corn princess smile, long torso, wide flat…

IS JAZZ AN IDIOM, a process, a result, a lifestyle? Is it a marketing term or a philosophy? And who cares? Substitute “art” for “jazz” and the subject broadens, but you’re still left with an essential ennui at the heart of the question. Does anyone really believe anymore? I didn’t go to school for any of this, so I didn’t get that special brand of dogmatism that can come from academic entitlement. It’s…

THIS TIME OF YEAR, I WANT TO GO TO PARTIES. I love conviviality, but that’s not what I crave, because let’s face it, all winter people here are ready to get drunk and, once drunk, happy. I’m not wild for any particular holiday food. I like to sing off-key, sure, but that’s not the real draw either. What I really want is to get dressed up and go where other people are dressed up, too. And I don’t mean…

Two factors are contributing to a boom in “rural” art: the trend of art students moving to “art cities” to embark on careers seems to be dissipating, and artists connecting with each other, and with buyers, online. A show in St. Peter, Minn., showcases some of these artists, including Gregory Euclide (whose art graces the cover of Bon Iver’s Grammy-nominated album), David Hamlow, and Liz Miller.

MAGGIE RYAN SANDFORD: So thanks for meeting me here in the internet, guys. I thought it would be “fun” if we all introduced one another, so our readers can figure out why the hell to read a transcript of us chatting with each other. I’ll start: Brian Beatty’s work makes me laugh the way a person laughs when she’s looking down the barrel of a gun. There’s fear there, and deep, deep sadness, but also…