"Let Your Heart Be A Whistle" + Resources for Action

EDIT - I set up a landing page for everything I want to share relevant to the ongoing occupation of my city.

It's been a difficult week, and the coming weeks will require us to be difficult too—to make trouble, to be a thorn in the side of the empire, to be loud when they say to be quiet. A few notes from Minneapolis:

Artists have more to offer than our art. Report-Back from Our Big Virtual Event on "What Artists Can Do"

Thanks to the hundreds of people who shared ideas and examples at our event this past Tuesday focused on practical, down-to-earth ways artists can show up in this moment. Here is the post-event report-back: all the notes, slides, collaborative "padlets," and more resources. Please put it to use!

• I also want to be very clear that the action ideas and resources in that link are not just for artists. If you are looking for ways to show up in the moment, and/or support the work here in Minneapolis, there's really useful stuff in that report-back—even if you don't think of yourself as an artist.
• Related: I shared a few thoughts on what it's like in Minneapolis right now, for anyone who is watching via the news or social media. It's on Facebook, which I try not to use very much, but which felt like an appropriate platform for this kind of message.

New Poem: “Discourse (Let Your Heart Be a Whistle)”

Full text of the new poem here (and an Instagram version here if you prefer). Thanks for reading. It goes without saying that poetry is not enough in this moment. But I would push us all (myself included) to take up space in poetry/art communities, bring these conversations anywhere they aren’t already happening, and continue trying to shape/shift the narrative. The key line in this poem is probably the call is not to say something perfect; it is to make noise.

• Related: aside from my own poem, check out this “poetry playlist” of a dozen or so powerful poems that address immigration, the movement of people and peoples, abolishing ICE, etc.

Upcoming Work

• Tuesday, January 20, 2026 (6pm central): A benefit for MONARCA at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis featuring Shannon Gibney, Sun Yung Shin, and me, plus a legal observer training immediately after especially for the space's staff. But anyone can be there, and anyone can come check out the poems from 6-7pm or so.
• Saturday, January 24: “Rage Against the Regime” event raising money for Neighborhood House. 12-6pm, with a Guante & Big Cats set sometime in the latter part of that (after 4pm); location: Blackheart Studio (106 Water St. W., St. Paul)
• Thursday, February 5, 2026: Salt, Warmth, and Force: Poetry Against ICE: I'll be facilitating this virtual workshop as part of Button Poetry's ongoing Button 101 class series. You can sign up for just my session, or a monthly subscription.
• Saturday, February 7, 2026: The Twin Cities Zine Festival - I'll be sharing my zines and also facilitating a workshop on zines as narrative interventions.

A Dare: Create Something Powerful In 2026

As a writer and educator, I’ve been thinking about the concept of the “dare” as opposed to the traditional writing prompt. This isn’t a formal call-to-action in an activist sense, or a resolution in a personal sense, but something different. It’s a challenge, a bet, a chance to take. It can be dangerous. It can be memorable. It can be valuable, no matter how “successful” it is by traditional measures, or whether it can monetized, or how many likes it gets on social media.

Stepping back: I’ve been writing, performing, and teaching spoken word for twenty years, and a fundamental part of that work is believing that:

1. Narrative is powerful—the stories we tell about the world (through poetry, but also through all kinds of art, media, and everyday communication) impact our values, politics, and actions.
2. While dominant narratives shape our lives, we have the power to actively shape counter-narratives too.
3. That “we” includes everyone, not just professionals or established artists.

With those points in mind, I want to offer three specific TOOLS for taking up this dare:

1. DIVE IN: Let’s start with my partner UyenThi’s creation: a free, immediately-accessible presentation on the notion that creativity is for everyone, not just established or credentialed artists. This includes a few affirmations for artists at all levels of experience, plus some specific, concrete tools for starting a writing group and entering into your practice. Take a few minutes to look through this; I’ve been a writer for decades, but I found this to be incredibly helpful, affirming, and centering.

2. CREW UP: You don’t have to take a class to find community, but ONE way to enter into community, for some of us, might be via a class or workshop—especially for people who appreciate structure. A few gems here:

• Here is a link to Button Poetry’s suite of virtual workshops - some are multi-session classes over a range of weeks, and others are one-time workshops.
  • I’m facilitating one of their one-time "Button 101" workshops on February 5: the title for my session is SALT, WARMTH, AND FORCE: POETRY AGAINST ICE.
• I also want to shout out Ariana Brown and Ollie Schminkey as two specific people who regularly share excellent writing prompts + perspectives on creation as a calling. Both ALSO offer ongoing classes/workshops.
• Finally, another shout out for my virtual, asynchronous workshop: Meeting the Moment: Political Poetry and the Anthemic Impulse.  Sign up, immediately get access to the seven videos and supplementary materials, and dive in!

3. WRITE ON: A few writing prompts from me:

• I recently revised and updated my zine: Let Every Word Be A Wrench In Their Machine: Writing Prompts
• Here is the handout from my recent "narrative interventions lab" focusing on big, harmful narratives that feel particularly potent right now and a few ideas for pushing back against them.
• Another handout from a previous workshop of mine: 30 freewriting prompts (with a focus on the intersections of science fiction and social justice)

Oh and a 2025 Recap

Finally, a tradition for a lot of us indie/underground artists is to be your own media and share an end-of-year recap of stuff you made. Here's mine, for anyone interested!

Thanks for reading. As always, for anyone interested in bringing me to your school, conference, church, staff meeting, basement, coffeeshop, library, or wherever, contact me here!