SoundPages Podcast

Geri Gale’s project for the 2023 Jack Straw Program is a memoir titled PK, Cancer & the Tragic Ruts of Time that delves into the emotional complexity of breast cancer while also being a love letter to her wife PK and to the world. In her conversation with curator Priscilla Long, she talks about the […]

The post PK, Cancer & the Tragic Ruts of Time – Geri Gale appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center.

Garfield Hillson’s project for the 2023 Jack Straw Writers Program is a collection of poems that explore what it means to practice joy in a world that is constantly trying to take it away from marginalized people. In his conversation with curator Priscilla Long, he talks about why he decided to investigate joy in his […]

The post Inching Towards Joy – Garfield Hillson appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center.

Ruth Schemmel’s project for the 2022 Jack Straw Program is a collection of short stories about women who don’t fit in. In her conversation with curator Michael Schmeltzer, she talks about the series of events that led her to take her art seriously, as well as the expectations placed on women in the modern day. […]

The post Difficult Women – Ruth Schemmel appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center.

Carrie Beyer’s project for the 2022 Jack Straw Program is a collection of poems in which she explores giving voice to church women who would normally be silenced. In her conversation with curator Michael Schmeltzer, they talk about the German-American Anabaptist community which inspired her project, the hidden soundtrack for survival and liberation in her […]

The post Windows Into Desire – Carrie Beyer appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center.

Erin Langner’s project for the 2022 Jack Straw Program is a collection of essays in which she uses works of art to reflect on her time growing up in the Chicago suburbs. In her conversation with curator Michael Schmeltzer, they discuss how the music from her adolescence inspired her project, why objects can be vessels […]

The post Resee – Erin Langner appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center.

Vincent Rendoni’s project for the 2022 Jack Straw Writers Program is a poetry book titled A Grito Contest in the Afterlife that celebrates the lessons he’s learned from his elders. In his conversation with curator Michael Schmeltzer, they talk about his origin story as a storyteller, his inspirations as a writer, and the way he […]

The post A Grito Contest in the Afterlife – Vincent Rendoni appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center.

Emily Parzbok’s project for the 2022 Jack Straw Writers Program is a collection of essays centered on female archetypes. In her conversation with curator Michael Schmeltzer, they talk about how her relationship with these archetypes has changed over time and the grace in telling complicated stories. “I think I often want there to be confusion […]

The post Constraints and Jumping Off Points – Emily Parzybok appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center.

Jessica Gigot’s project for the 2022 Jack Straw Writers Program is a poetry manuscript in response to ecological grief. In her conversation with curator Michael Schmeltzer, they discuss the unique aspects of ecological grief, the lessons she’s learned about nurturing from being a farmer and a new mother, and how the ideas in her previous […]

The post As Long As You Need Holding – Jessica Gigot appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center.

Helen Anderson’s project for the 2022 Jack Straw Writers Program is a collection of short stories living at the intersection of the recognizable and the uncanny. In her conversation with curator Michael Schmeltzer, they talk about the writers that inspire her, maintaining relationships in the age of social media, and what she thinks makes for […]

The post The Absurdity of Life – Helen Anderson appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center.

Julie Feng’s project for the 2022 Jack Straw Writers Program is a collection of poems in the framework of the Hakka hill song that layer themes of love, labor, and leisure with themes of deeper cultural contexts. In her conversation with curator Michael Schmeltzer, they delve into Hakka hill songs, centering people’s desires versus centering […]

The post Are We Asking the Right Questions to Our Stories? – Julie Feng appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center.