You’ll want to sit through the credits of this Marvel movie, just not for the usual reason. “The movie ends … and then we score the whole credits for eight minutes,” said Emily Marshall, the New York-based conductor who will be leading the Broadway Sinfonietta for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Live in Concert when it […]
Isaac Hamlet
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Storyhouse Bookpub invites three Iowa authors to drink and mingle with readers on Nov. 4
For Storyhouse Bookpub store owner Abigail Paxton, her upcoming “afterparty” is the main event. “We’ll start the evening in the bookstore with a more casual start to everything with getting everyone a drink and some dessert and some time to kind of mingle among the shelves and give the authors some time to interface a […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘My films are my voyage, and writing is home’: Werner Herzog proselytizes his love of poetry, reading and the U.S. Heartland after receiving local film award
More than 700 people filled Iowa City’s Englert Theatre on Sunday night to hear the legendary voice of Werner Herzog. The German filmmaker and author was greeted with nearly a minute of applause, and received two standing ovations before the night was out. The event concluded both FilmScene’s second Refocus Film Festival and the 15th […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Mindy Mejia’s latest thriller is inspired by her own Iowa-based trauma
Mindy Mejia was only at the University of Iowa for one year of undergrad, but she still remembers the storm. “During one trip back [to UI] to visit friends, I actually got caught in an ice storm, so very similar to the setting of the book,” the Minnesota-based author recalled. “Everything was shut down, only […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Beaverdale Books to ‘celebrate the freedom to read’ at its first Banned Books Festival
Beaverdale Books thinks you should be able to read whatever books you want. Especially if irate parents and governing bodies are trying to keep them off of shelves. This Saturday, Oct. 7, Beaverdale Books will be capping off Banned Book Week with its own Banned Books Festival for the first time. The festival — which […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Whatever happened to the Riverview Music Festival?
Something has been conspicuously missing from Central Iowa’s fall festival lineup for the past two years. The Riverview Music Festival was held in Des Moines for the first, and likely last, time Sept. 4-5, 2021. The fest was focused on providing musical entertainment to underserved demographics in the neighborhoods around Riverview Park. The lineup included […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Have a story from Harlan’s Barbershop? Jill Wells wants to make it a part of her new Des Moines art piece
Barbershops have long served as social and cultural hubs for Black Americans, and Harlan’s Barbershop, open for half a century in Des Moines’ Woodland Heights neighborhood, was no exception. Harlan’s opened in 1968; that same year, construction finished on I-235, which had displaced thriving Black businesses, churches and communities in the Center Street district, not […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Des Moines’ Fleur Cinema opens on Friday after three-year closure
One of Iowa’s favorite indie movie theaters is finally back in bloom. After three years without regular showings, Des Moines’ Fleur Cinema & Cafe (4545 Fleur Dr) announced its imminent return in late July. On Tuesday, they confirmed they’d be back on Friday, Sept. 8, with showings of new features — including My Big Fat […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live’ by Paul Kix
When Paul Kix set out to write You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live: Ten Weeks in Birmingham that Changed America, one of his goals — in spite of the text’s lengthy title — was to ensure the book moves at a fast pace. By god, does this book […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Eat food from 25 countries at the Des Moines World Food & Music Festival this month
Des Moines World Food & Music Festival is coming early this year, as the 2023 celebration moves from its usual September spot to an August appointment. The festival kicks off Friday, Aug. 25 at 11 a.m. with a naturalization ceremony — during which 100 individuals will gain U.S. citizenship — and from there offers more […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Q&A: Satomi Hofmann, member of final ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ cast performing in Winterset this weekend
This weekend, veteran The Phantom of the Opera actor Satomi Hofmann is singing the music of the night at the Iowa Theater in Winterset. Visiting with her are Beth Mullaney and Elizabeth Welch, the latter of whom is also an alum of The Phantom of the Opera have played Christine Daaé both on Broadway and […]
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Book Review: ‘On Becoming an American Writer’ by James Alan McPherson, ed. by Anthony Walton
I am constantly amazed by how long I was in Iowa City without really hearing about James Alan McPherson. In part, I attribute this to being a student during my first few years in the state. Yet it stands to reason that — as an English student, no less — there was no better time […]
