Karina Longworth, the writer, film historian and voice behind the podcast You Must Remember This, will be stopping at Varsity Cinema in Des Moines and FilmScene in Iowa City in the days ahead to tour the latest season of the show, titled “The Bisexuals.” First launched in 2014, You Must Remember This features diligent research […]
Arts & Entertainment
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Seeking a Dylan for the Trump era, Lucinda Williams decided to give it a shot herself: ‘Somebody had to do it’
When the current chapter of political chaos began swirling around us two years ago, famed singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams knew something important was missing. The kind of music that had marked the political activism of her youth was not there. She decided that, as a songwriter, that was a thing she could do something about. Williams […]
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Review: Ghostly ballerinas moved weightlessly and zombies scared from the aisles at Ballet Des Moines’ season opener
Ballet Des Moines welcomed a crowd of spooky season enthusiasts to Hoyt Sherman Place with their haunting season debut, Ghost Stories. Clearly audiences were ready to celebrate the macabre the week before Halloween, and Ballet Des Moines delivered with a spirited evening of poignant tales told through dance. The ghostly vibes began well before the […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘Ask Me About the Money’ by Keith Pilapil Lesmeister
I lived outside of Iowa through my 20s and always found myself lacking the language to explain the place that raised me. Now I have a point of reference. Ask Me About the Money (Cornerstone Press), Keith Pilapil Lesmeister’s new collection of short stories, is the illustration, elaboration, nuance and characters of my home. There […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Fully Booked at DMPL: Women in translation
As a reader, I like to set goals to diversify the books I choose, which helps me avoid reading slumps and pushes me to pick books I may have otherwise overlooked. My goals this year include reading classics, literary prize lists and translated fiction, especially by women. Books have always been a meaningful way to […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Willis Alan Ramsey on skipping his second album, filling a drawer with white whales and learning to ‘just let it live’
Willis Alan Ramsey was only 21 when he released his self-titled debut album in 1972. Its best-known song, “Muskrat Candlelight,” became a major hit as “Muskrat Love” recorded by Captain & Tennille. The album also made a profound impression on a young Lyle Lovett, who learned every song, attended Ramsey’s shows and even bought the […]
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Review: Translation, touch and catastrophe spark conversations onscreen and off at Refocus 2026
The fifth iteration of the Refocus Film Festival in Iowa City has drawn to a close, and it was certainly one to write home about. With a turnout approximately 35 percent bigger than last year, it was a tremendous weekend of installations, book readings, live performances and, of course, movies. Night one of the fest […]
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It’d take a hard-boiled detective to unravel the mystery surrounding this Iowa-born pulp writer
PAUL CAIN isn’t his real name. Is slender, blond, usually bearded. He wasted his first thirty years as a matter of course and principle; wandered over South America, Europe, northern Africa and the Near East; been a bosun’s-mate, Dada painter, gambler, and a “no“-man in Hollywood. This biographical note for the hard-boiled novel Fast One, […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Jung Min-Noh — ‘It’s Never Too Late to Throw in the Towel, But It’s Always Too Late to Die with Dig?’
IT’s NEVER TOO LATE… by Jung Min-Noh. I should have no trouble meeting the word limit, reviewing an album with a title like It’s Never Too Late to Throw in the Towel, But It’s Always Too Late to Die with Dig? All joking aside, …Die with Dig? is the second full-length offering from Alec Lang, a.k.a. […]
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Diles Que No Me Maten, playing at xBk on Sunday, specializes in improv music, improv studios and sometimes improv accommodations
Formed in 2017, Diles Que No Me Maten is a Mexico City five-piece collective whose music dissolves genre boundaries. Their songs snake back and forth between post-rock atmospheres, experimental spiritual jazz stylings, indie rock drones, and Cuban- and Krautrock-inspired rhythms. “The whole way we move as a band has always been improvised,” bassist Andrés Lupone […]
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Scaring and caring go hand in skeletal hand at this homemade Iowa City haunt
Alex Rain, the artist behind Alex’s House of Horrors, started 28 years ago with a single Frankenstein figure, who can still be spotted along the spooky walk between the front and back of their home. Rain’s creations range from local landmarks (The Black Angel) to figures from Greek myths to the delightfully, horrifyingly gory. Rain […]
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Fully Booked at ICPL: Test-drive Switch 2 games from the library
The Iowa City Public Library’s video game collection is leveling up with the addition of Nintendo Switch 2 games! The collection features everything from Switch 2 exclusives to remakes and remasters of classics. Two games in the collection that I’ve personally enjoyed are Donkey Kong Bananza and Splatoon Raiders. Gaming’s most famous ape makes his […]
