2015 — The Monarch Review — Page 6
W.A.S.H with Maged Zaher
Tuesday, July 28, 2015 9:42 — 0 Comments
At Women Against Street Harassment, we tend to focus, as the name implies, on women. But in 2015, with fatal police shootings approaching four hundred, in addition to the nine dead in the Charleston Church shooting, and a string of black churches burning in the south, it feels crucial that we discuss street harassment and public violence within a human context. These acts of violence and arson have left many people of color feeling that there is no safe place, not in the streets, not in their homes, schools, or churches. WASH sat down with poet and Stranger Genius Award […]
Distinctions in Proximity: Quenton Baker and Alex Gallo-Brown
Monday, July 27, 2015 12:47 — 0 Comments
The following correspondence, which took place as part of a series of conversations between artists and activists, was distributed as a free pamphlet to attendees of the US Social Forum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in June. For the project, which was conceived by the Philadelphia-based artist/activist Maggie Ginestra, participants were asked to begin with a question about the other’s work and to go back and forth three times. Quenton Baker is a poet and teacher whose work operates from the premise that poetry is a vital art, one that can rewrite narratives by naming the storms inside of us all; his […]
Three Songs To The Head vol. 32
Thursday, July 23, 2015 12:43 — 0 Comments
Hello and welcome back to Three Songs to the Head where we share three songs that moved us, three songs we love, three songs we can’t get out of our heads! Today, we’re featuring Sundog, Sisters feat. Sol and The Dusty 45’s feat. Annie Ford and Gus Clark. Enjoy! –Jake Uitti Sundog’s “Roadrunner” is a ramped up, vamped up, jam-packed jaunt down Ragtime Keys Lane, turning onto Rumble Bucket Drum Boulevard and ending with donut-down beats around ‘n around the cul-de-sac. It’s the kind of song that picks you up no matter where your spirit level is at. Check the […]
Alex’s Parrot – Sara Brody
Friday, July 17, 2015 16:23 — 0 Comments
I am beginning to worry that my parrot is ill, but he dodges interrogation. I’ll say, “How are you feeling today?†and he’ll say, “How are you feeling today?†I’ll say, “Do you want a Ritz Bit?†and he’ll quote Nietzsche. He once belonged to my brother Alex, who is dead. A lot of people I know are dead. This happened when I was sixteen. That night I sat up in Alex’s room with the parrot, watching the lava lamp. At around three in the morning I tucked the cage under my arm and crept downstairs, intending to take my […]
A Conversation With Seattlish
Thursday, July 9, 2015 10:29 — 0 Comments
If you follow Seattlish on Twitter, you know how funny, conscience and insightful the feed can be. It was through Twitter that I contacted the folks behind Seattlish – which turned out to be three badass ladies (Alex Hudson, Sarah Anne Lloyd, Hanna Brooks Olsen) with wonderful senses of humor, a great love for each other and a passion to make politics and city workings understandable to their followers. To get to know the ladies better, I asked if we could do a chat. Graciously, they agreed! Jake Uitti: How do you remember Seattlish beginning? Was it a drunken conversation at […]
“Alright”
Wednesday, July 8, 2015 17:50 — 0 Comments
Shaun Scott is one of the smartest and most eloquent people I know. I’m lucky that he even talks to me! And recently I watched Kendrick Lamar’s video for “Alright†and it blew my mind. Shaun is The Monarch’s leading Kendrick scholar so I thought it only appropriate to ask him his thoughts about the creative triumph of “Alright.†Jake Uitti: The video for Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright†is packed with imagery – from police shooting black men, to those same black men enjoying themselves in a car (which later turns out to be a fake car held up by stagehands), […]
Pencil Him In
Tuesday, July 7, 2015 11:37 — 0 Comments
Keegan Hall has spent almost as many years not drawing and he has spent doing that which he loves: putting pencil to paper and illustrating intricate portraits. His work reminds me of the Chuck Close’s work – no small comparison. His life changed when his mother passed and he began to throw himself into his artwork again – and it changed again when he was commissioned by Seattle Seahawks defenseman, Kam Chancellor, to do a portrait. Since then more offers have come in, including a commissioned portrait for Seattle Mariners star pitcher, Felix Hernandez, and a bottle label for Parliament Distillery. Hall was even […]
RIVER SONG – Jonathan Simkins
Monday, July 6, 2015 12:49 — 0 Comments
You visit me in the moment of waking With a syringe full of river water. If the river God is in my veins His burning is colossal and ferocious. I hear ten thousand women singing a song I know I’ve heard but cannot name. You have the face of a hundred spiders. Your furry arms glisten and tremble. You guide my hand to your leg, And as you dig your nails into my chest The sound of wings roars from your mouth, A dam breaks in some infernal region, The clock hands spin backwards, And moths pour in through the […]
The Mama Rags Live
Thursday, July 2, 2015 10:34 — 0 Comments
The Mama Rags make revival music: sonic quilts from disparate parts discarded from generations before as an attempt to rise up and be somebody. They are a thread of Led Zeppelin, a patch of cigarette ash, a bit of Bowie, a down comforter ripped to shreds by the very metal guitar strings that once provided the melodies to a song they wrote and have now forgotten. The band, to their credit, wants to feel established but there is a great deal of room for them to grow. That’s not to say they aren’t capable talents, it’s just that the quilt […]
A Day At The Beach: An Evening With The Artists Of RAW
Thursday, July 2, 2015 10:13 — 0 Comments
The worst part about the evening’s entertainment was waking up the next morning. I’d been drinking all night and went to bed late, but for some reason woke up early. My body wanted something that didn’t involve sleep. Food? Water? Not even close… More. I wasn’t craving more gin, just more RAW, more from the online organization of artists who’re part of a global community supporting local events. I spent the night before immersed in Splendor, RAW’s June art/fashion show at The Fremont Foundry. My interest in RAW was almost strictly in the fashion portion of the evening… My friend […]
The answer isn't poetry, but rather language
- Richard Kenney
