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ISSUE 308 July 2022

A L W A Y S

F R E E

Mind the Gap

July/August lease gaps leave Iowa City renters with nowhere to go.

Cómo dos artistas inmigrantes dejaron su huella en IC

A review of Mesa’s new Salvadorian spot

Local rock legends reunite to benefit UAY

Expect the unexpected at this opera

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Amir Prellberg

59 - Crossword

Temporary homelessness is a

Iowa City rockers are bringing

A new Coralville opera imagines an

In Between

Gen X Rocks

SAVE, SHARE OR RECYCLE

Sci-Fi Singers

summer tradition for IC renters.

back the ’80s to raise funds

all-too imaginable world in which the

But does it need to be?

for the artists of tomorrow.

planet has become uninhabitable.

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INDEPENDENT NEWS, CULTURE & EVENTS Since 2001 LittleVillageMag.com

EDITORIAL

PRODUCTION

Publisher

Digital Director

Issue 308, Volume 31

Arts Editor

Drew Bulman

July 2022

Genevieve Trainor

drewb@littlevillagemag.com

genevieve@littlevillagemag.com

Cover by Amir Prellberg Videographer

Managing Editor

Jason Smith

Lease agreements screw Iowa City

Emma McClatchey

jason@littlevillagemag.com

renters over every summer. What

emma@littlevillagemag.com

can be done to fix them, and who Marketing Analytics

is responsible for filling the gaps?

News Director

Coordinator

Also in this issue: A new opera for

Paul Brennan

Malcolm MacDougall

opera newbies, IC rockers reunite,

paul@littlevillagemag.com

malcolm@littlevillagemag.com

Tiffani Green reviews the new Mesa

Art Director

SALES & ADMINISTRATION

and Kiki aids a social “outcast.” Jordan Sellergren

President, Little Village, LLC

jordan@littlevillagemag.com

Matthew Steele matt@littlevillagemag.com

Multimedia Journalist

Meet this month’s contributors: Amir Prellberg is a freelance

Lauren Haldeman is the author

Adria Carpenter

Donor & Client Services

photojournalist and

of Team Photograph (fall

adria@littlevillagemag.com

Manager

documentary photographer

2022), Instead of Dying (winner

Nolan Petersen

who loves everything soccer

of the 2017 Colorado Prize for

nolan@littlevillagemag.com

and a potato chip connoisseur.

Poetry), Calenday, and The

Advertising

Chris DeLine is a music writer

Nolan Petersen, Matthew Steele

living in Cedar Rapids. He also

Natalie Dunlap is a University

ads@littlevillagemag.com

curates playlists at villin.net.

of Iowa journalism student

Creative Services

Claire Thoele is an illustrator,

interning at Little Village. She

Website design, Email market-

formerly of Iowa City, who now

also serves as an IPR intern and

Lily DeTaeye

ing, E-commerce, Videography

works and resides in the Wilds

Daily Iowan politics editor.

lily@littlevillagemag.com

creative@littlevillagemag.com

of Northwest Illinois.

Spanish Language Editor

CIRCULATION

John Martinek is a visual artist,

Spenser Santos

Distribution Manager

cabinetmaker and currently

Joseph Servey

a part-time home-school

Sarah Elgatian is a writer,

joseph@littlevillagemag.com

kindergarten teacher. More

activist and educator living

art at johnmartinek.com and

in Iowa. She likes dark

Instagram @jnmartinek.

coffee, bright colors and

Events Editor, Design Assistant Sid Peterson sid@littlevillagemag.com Staff Writers

Eccentricity is Zero.

Courtney Guein courtney@littlevillagemag.com

spending a second summer

Sam Locke Ward is a cartoonist

Calendar/Event Listings calendar@littlevillagemag.com

Distribution

and musician from Iowa City.

Corrections

Bill Rogers, Huxley Maxwell, Joe

editor@littlevillagemag.com

Roth, Joey Leaming, Justin Comer,

Kembrew McLeod is a founding

Sam Standish

Little Village columnist and

distro@littlevillagemag.com

the chair of Communications

Tiffani Green is an Iowa City-

Studies at the University of

based writer and Little Village

Iowa.

columnist. Her food column,

July Contributors Audrey Brock, Claire Thoele, John

long sentences. She dislikes

Martinek, Amir Prellberg, Lauren

OFFICES

Haldeman, Lev Cantoral, Sam

Little Village

Locke Ward, Sarah Elgatian, Tom

623 S Dubuque St

Laura Johnson is a poet and

Tomorrow

Iowa City, IA 52240

educator in Eastern Iowa.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Little Village Creative Services

overthinking and sipping Irish

Facebook @LittleVillageMag

623 S Dubuque St

whiskey.

Instagram @LittleVillageMag

Iowa City, IA 52240

meanness.

The Takeaway, features reviews of local takeout restaurants.

She spends her free time

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LittleVillageMag.com

Top Stories Catch up on Little Village’s most-viewed headlines from last month. Read more at LittleVillageMag.com.

The Wesley Center ends its century-long affiliation with

‘Cresting at the right time’: Franken wins, Reynolds

the United Methodist Church

forsakes fellow Republicans, and other takeaways from

By Paul Brennan, June 5

the primary election

The Wesley Center at the University of Iowa has ended its

By Paul Brennan, June 8

109-year affiliation with the United Methodist Church. “This

Retired Adm. Mike Franken easily defeated Abby

decision was made to bring our organizational relationships in alignment

Finkenauer to win the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in what

with our purpose and values that we’ve been living in our programming,”

was the highest profile contested race in the nation on Tuesday. Franken

Rev. Sean McRoberts, director of Operations and Development for the

won 55.2% of the vote and carried 76 of Iowa’s 99 counties.

center, told Little Village.

‘Let go, let God’: Sen. Grassley gets evasive about Jan. 6

Video: Hundreds protest Supreme Court decision to

during radio interview

overturn Roe v. Wade in Iowa City

By Paul Brennan, June 23

By Jason Smith, June 27

“I better not say I’m ready to answer your questions,

“I want to encourage you to gain strength and purpose

because I don’t know what you’re going to ask,” Sen.

from this collective body here today,” Francine Thompson,

Chuck Grassley said at the beginning of his phone interview with Dr. Bob

executive director of the Emma Goldman Clinic, told the hundreds

Leonard on KNIA/KRLS. It seemed like a good-natured joke, but it turned

gathered at the Pentacrest on Friday night, June 24. “Because we have a

out to be an accurate prediction of how the interview would go.

long, hard fight ahead of us.”

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RECENT READER SURVEY DATA MEDIAN AGE: 37 18-24: 14% 25-34: 20% 35-44: 21% 45-54: 17% 55-64: 14% 65+: 10%

AVERAGE NUMBER OF CHILDREN 1.85

MEDIAN PERSONAL INCOME: $50k 23.4%: $40k—60k 20.9%: $60k—80k 15.8%: $100k+ 12%: $20k—40k 15.8%: <$20k 12%: $80k—$100k

GENDER

EDUCATION Masters: 35.8% Bachelors: 38.5% Ph.D: 12.3% Some college: 7.8% Associates: 4.5%

AVERAGE NUMBER OF YEARS LIVING IN EASTERN IOWA

Female: 69.6% Male: 27.8% Nonbinary/other: 2.5%

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Letters & Interactions LV encourages community members, including candidates for office, to submit letters to Editor@LittleVillageMag.com. To be considered for print publication, letters should be under 500 words. Preference is given to letters that have not been published elsewhere. IN 1965 BEFORE I GOT MARRIED, I made

an appointment with a physician for my first pelvic exam. After the exam I requested a prescription for birth control pills. He looked at me, shuffled through my paperwork, and then stated, “You’re Catholic,” and refused the prescription. I was surprised and offended. Today I might have told him to F off, but then I meekly left his office and got the prescription somewhere else. I was trying to have children in the late ’60s and early ’70s, during the Roe v. Wade period. By then I had suffered through six miscarriages and was still childless. The national news was filled with stories of “unwanted pregnancies.” Those words were gut-wrenching for me to hear, but I do not ever remember thinking those women should be forced to carry their pregnancies. It was true there were many women like me who

10 July 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308

wanted children and couldn’t have them, but that didn’t justify forced birthing practices. I felt as though I would personally never be able to have an abortion myself, but recognized the fundamental right of any human to make decisions about their own body. I was working in obstetrics at the time. I saw what pregnancy did to a woman’s body. Even if you wanted the child, almost no one enjoyed pregnancy. Morning sickness, constipation, fatigue, breast pain and tenderness, weight gain (with your doctor criticizing every extra ounce), back pain, frequency when the baby sat on your bladder, and mood changes. These all occurred before the baby even arrived. Then you could look forward to the fun of labor and postpartum. Hours of labor pains when you feel as though you are being ripped apart, an episiotomy, days

F U T I L E W R A T H

S A M LO C K E WA R D

HAVE AN OPINION? Better write about it! Send letters to: Editor@LittleVillageMag.com

of cramping and bleeding, leaking sore breasts. Later, when the child-bearing years are behind you, women my age can look forward to stress incontinence, sagging breasts, weight gain, varicose veins and hemorrhoids, stretch marks, lower sex drive and believe it or not, even bigger feet. If you’re really unlucky your uterus may prolapse and some wise and superior male physician may decide to do a uterine suspension on an organ you don’t need and that can never be used again, because the insurance company has decided too many women are having hysterectomies. I’ve had friends that have had that happen to them. During the period I was working in OB at a public hospital in the Illinois suburbs of Chicago, if a woman wanted to have a tubal ligation, her case was presented to a group of male physicians. For her case to even be considered, she had to have five children and her husband’s permission. Women choose to go through pregnancy and childbirth for a baby they want, and they feel they can care for. We are on the brink of having forced births reinstated here in the United States. No matter how the fetus got in there—rape, accident or by choice—men, and it is mostly men, will decide what happens to our bodies. A small cluster of cells will have more power than the woman carrying them. Justice Amy Coney Barrett tells women they can just drop the babies off at a hospital or the fire station. Can they leave the physical pain and mental suffering there too? Sounds easy peasy, doesn’t it? Maybe if men started having to have eight-pound bowel movements they’d reconsider, but I doubt it. The goal is really to get women back in their perceived place, subservient. —Jeanne Liston, North Liberty LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308 July 2022 11

I N T E R AC T I O N S As leaders debate action, gun reform advocates will don orange and demonstrate in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids (June 2)

Southern conference has split the church. That saying WWJD, he’d welcome everyone. Good for Wesley Center. —Barbara W.

“Gun control could never work.” So why does it work just fine everywhere else in the world? —John M.

Pride month 2022 so strong already. —Kane K.E.

Well done, youths!! Y’all give me hope for the future of humanity. —Carrie R. The Wesley Center ends its century-long affiliation with the United Methodist Church (June 5) This is why after being a member for 72 years I withdrew my United Methodist Church membership. I realize that it is the southern conference members that are dictating this oppressive posture, but come on Methodists.....get your act together. —Nicki M.

MOMBOY

12 July 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308

Reps. Hinson and MillerMeeks vote against raising the age to buy semiautomatic rifles (June 10) Of course they did. Once a baby is born they don’t give a damn. —Becky P. America is hopeless. Iowa is worse. —John M. ‘I should not be predicting my death’: Iowa City students lead march to demand action on gun violence (June 13) Proud of these young people. [And no, I’m not interested in whataboutism, trolling,

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WO RT H R E P E AT I N G

I N T E R AC T I O N S

“There is evil that exists in the world. And if you’re determined to do something like this, you’re probably going to find the means to do it.” —Gov. Kim Reynolds, following the Uvalde, Texas elementary school massacre

weeds and thinking about what it would have been like to have been a slave. At the end of the day, I thought about what it would be like to be an aborted baby. I got to see the sunrise and the sunset.”

context-shifting, or lack of compassion] —Lisa M.

“You can’t politely smile hard enough for the state to give you your rights back. You cannot be sweet enough to protect yourself from violence. You cannot dress in a dress pretty enough. You can’t be blonde or white enough to protect you from what is coming.” —Cedar Rapids writer Lyz Lenz, reflecting on the end of Roe v. Wade and witnessing a man drive through a group of abortion rights protesters on June 25

I want to have rain tested but can’t even get lakes and rivers tested under the Republicans—Macbride, Terry Trueblood, Backbone State Park, Lake Darling—have to leave this state to camp somewhere with water clean enough to swim in. —Margaret B.

“You aren’t talking to someone who loves guns, I don’t hate guns, but I do protect people’s constitutional rights.” —Sen. Chuck Grassley on his opposition to an assault weapons ban

“Frederick Douglass: No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without Nikole Hannah-Jones Briana Ladwig / Little Village “For too long those who at last finding the other end now celebrate this decision fastened about his own neck. have done so with a voice of Juneteenth doesn’t mark the ‘moral’ reasoning. As clergy emancipation of the enslaved, persons, we find nothing moral but emancipation of the U.S. about taking away a pregnant We should all rejoice and work person’s right to bodily toward our mutual liberation. autonomy. Instead, the Supreme —The 1619 Project author and Court’s decision disregards journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones the full humanity of pregnant on Twitter (@nhannahjones) people as living, breathing persons who have also been “fuck you say??!” —Questlove endowed with life, liberty, and (@questlove) responding responsibility to make moral to this baffling tweet from decisions for themselves and former Rep. Steve King: “I their families.” —Excerpt from a spent Juneteenth all day in letter to the editor signed by 37 the hot sun hoeing and pulling Iowa City-area religious leaders

14 July 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308

No swimming at Terry Trueblood Recreation Area ‘until water quality improves’ (June 16)

LittleVillageMag.com Those aren’t farmers, at least not the family farms of my youth. They’re big business factory farms that spend a lot of money making sure no one takes video of the goings-on inside the buildings. I’m pretty certain that no one we knew in the 70’s had a manure lagoon. —William F. ‘Let go, let God’: Sen. Grassley gets evasive about Jan. 6 during radio interview (June 23) “Let go, let God...” apparently means no accountability on earth. —Robert L.

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I N T E R AC T I O N S

LET GOD GO, AND GO GOVERN. —Ben C. AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSEUM OF IOWA • BLANK PARK ZOO GREATER DES MOINES BOTANICAL GARDEN • REIMAN GARDENS FIGGE ART MUSEUM • HISTORY CENTER OF CEDAR RAPIDS GROUT MUSEUM DISTRICT • SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA

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Chuck Grassley’s greatest strength is portraying himself as a simple Iowa farmer instead of the masterful politician he is. Reagan conservative, military waste hawk, moderate, Trump defender. He can play any role. —Ron D. The strongest argument for term limits I’ve seen —Siobhan G. Man drives his truck into protesters marching for abortion rights in Cedar Rapids (June 27)

Even worse: Local police & sheriffs are members of groups that lobbied for SF 342 [the “Back the Blue” bill]. Even after 4/15/21, when the omnibus bill was consolidated, including the hit & run immunity language [References: issda.org, docs. iowa.gov, iowapeaceofficers. org]. Will the cops even arrest him?? —Connor G. (@ ClimateConnor on Twitter) This guy was in line at a red light and crossed into the pedestrian crosswalk illegally. They weren’t even blocking traffic from what I understand. —Louise F. He had a green light, which means that if you’re are in cross walk, you are impeding

BROCK ABOUT TOWN

AUDREY BROCK

Hello readers! This week’s Brock About Town comes to you from New York City. That’s right, kids, for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, I have left the Shire. I’ll be back at the end of the summer, but until then, please know that I’m absolutely bereft without you. New York has a lot of transplants, so when you meet someone for the first time, the typical conversational icebreaker is, “Where are you from?” (It’s a bit like college, but then, instead of talking about your major, you talk about how many rats brushed past your ankles on the way to the bar.) When I tell people I’m from Iowa, they give me the sort of look you give your friend when she says, “Wow, what a cute dress! My boyfriend would never let me wear something like that.” It’s the look reserved for someone who has got a deeply unfortunate lot in life and is too stupid to realize it. It’s as if, having divulged that information, I magically transform into a slack-jawed yokel with missing teeth and a tank top that has “Daddy’s Lil Girl” bedazzled on the front. I think that’s a bit much. Yes, New York is America’s cultural capital, the origin point of most everything that makes this country the extraordinary place that it is, but you know what else it is? Filthy. Every time I leave my apartment, I pick up a fine layer of grime that must be physically scrubbed off my body before I go to bed, or I’ll ruin my sheets. When you ask someone for directions, they will frequently tell you things like, “Take a left at the pile of trash bags.” And did I mention the rats? That was not bullshit! There are dogs smaller than these rats! The trains are always running late, there are drug dealers hanging out on all the playgrounds, a can of Bud Light costs $5, and who am I kidding? It’s great. I’m having a great time. Wish you were here.

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/LittleVillage READER POLL: What’s your worst goose experience?

Pooped all over my yard 3.2%

Stole my wife 45.2%

IT BIT ME OH GOD 3.2%

Hissed at/ chased me! 48.4%

the flow of traffic. He was driving slowly enough that these people could have gotten out of the way. They chose to attack his vehicle. —Roger W. Does it actually matter if they were blocking traffic? Fucking go around. What kind of worthless POS injures someone because they’re being delayed? —John C. The state has no legal, moral or ethical right to be dictating to any woman what she can or cannot do with her own body. and anyone who opposes this should be automatically charged with a felony crime punishable by jail time. —Earl W.

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Cortado Inmigrantes que exploran la ciudad. POR ALEX CHOQUEMAMANI

owa City podría ser vista como una ciudad de tránsito, una ciudad aeropuerto, en la que uno solo está de paso, entre uno y cuatro años, para luego mandarse a cambiar a otra ciudad distinta, dentro o fuera de los Estados Unidos. Y este rasgo de Iowa City se debe a la Universidad de Iowa, que hace a esta ciudad un college town. En este fluir de personas que van y vienen es que conocí a Choche Hurtado (España) y a Carlos del Aguila (Perú). Ellos no vinieron a Iowa City en busca de un pedigrí académico, sino más bien llegaron con el propósito de acompañar a sus parejas por todo el tiempo que durara sus respectivos programas de posgrado en la Universidad de Iowa. Y, por supuesto, también para conocer este enorme y diverso país. Historias como las de Choche y Carlos son las de una forma particular de migrar. Y, por cierto, no exenta de dificultades y desafíos. Por ejemplo: aprender el idioma inglés que, como muchos saben, es la puerta de entrada para integrarse a la sociedad americana. Pero hay otra dificultad más, que tal vez sea la más ardua de todas, y que consiste en ajustar el ritmo de

más una desventaja que una ventaja. A menos que uno tenga rentas y regalías aseguradas en su país de origen. Uno podría pensar que estos dos inmigrantes simplemente pasaron por Iowa City. Esperaron uno o dos años y luego UNO PODRÍA PENSAR QUE ESTOS DOS se marcharon de esta INMIGRANTES SIMPLEMENTE PASARON POR ciudad. Pero este no IOWA CITY. ESPERARON UNO O DOS AÑOS Y es su caso. A pesar de las restricciones LUEGO SE MARCHARON DE ESTA CIUDAD. EL b u r o c r á t i c a s ESTAR LEJOS DE CASA NO HA DETENIDO SU mencionadas, ellos han podido hacer muchas TALENTO Y SU CREATIVIDAD. cosas en y para esta ciudad. El estar lejos de vida dentro de los parámetros que impone la casa no ha detenido su talento y su creatividad. autoridad migratoria de los Estados Unidos. Menos el poder compartirla con los demás. Una de estas limitaciones es no poder trabajar Allí están las ilustraciones de Choche. en este país bajo ninguna circunstancia. Por lo Casonas antiguas de Iowa City con colores que vivir aquí resulta, en términos económicos, vivos y hombrecillos tratando de zafarse de 20 July 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308

Choche Hurtado

estas. Como si las casas fueran una camiseta o un traje especial. (Una de las ilustraciones de Choche fue seleccionada en el concurso “Art Purchase Prize,” organizado por la Biblioteca Pública de Iowa City). Allí están esos lugares donde aún se escucha el eco de aquellas canciones de José Escajadillo, Cecilia Barraza, Lucia de la Cruz, que Carlos puso en reuniones de amigos. Incluso compartió detalles de este género musical llamado “música criolla.” Y, probablemente, hoy más de uno en Iowa City sepa que en el Perú además de la hermosa y nostálgica música andina, también hay música criolla, festejo, marinera, que se toca y baila, especialmente, en la costa peruana. Con esta forma particular de migrar queda claro que uno no llega a un lugar, sino más bien pasa por el mismo. Y en el recorrido deja una pequeña huella. Al menos así lo hicieron estos dos viajeros empedernidos por su paso por Iowa City.

KICKED TO THE CURB Living out of cars. Competing for UHauls. Renting storage units to use for only two days. Lease gaps force Iowa City renters to get desperate — but it doesn’t have to be this way. BY NATALIE DUNLAP

22 July 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308

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aul Holdefer faced a worrying prospect. The University of Iowa graduate research assistant’s lease was set to expire July 25, a week before his new one began. He tried to negotiate a longer stay in his original apartment, “just to not be unhoused with all my stuff and my partner,” he said, “even offering to prorate rent above what the going rate was.” Weeks later his property managers emailed him back with a resounding no, claiming the carpet cleaning crew needed a full week to get into the apartment and clean, which stretched credulity. Days before he was kicked to the curb, his partner’s coworker said they could stay in his house while he was on vacation. “We were able to avoid catastrophe, but the whole process of cramming everything into his garage, living in his home, and moving everything again a week later was an enormous pain caused simply due to a property management company’s lack of flexibility and current tenants being caught in the same trap as the rest of us Iowa City area renters,” Holdefer told Little Village in an email. Every year during some of the hottest days of summer, hundreds of local renters find themselves searching for a place to stay or store their things in the days between the end of one lease and the start of another, usually the last week in July or first few days of August. During the stretch without a set residence, renters scramble and often rely on help from friends, family, even strangers. In a survey of 300 students conducted by the University of Iowa’s Undergraduate Student Government (UISG), 85 percent rated their stress level a 4 or 5 out of 5 when dealing with the lease gap. “In the past some people have had to live out of their cars, especially if they have pets [and] they don’t have anywhere to put them, and a lot of people use their friends who are already in Iowa City, or if they have family here,” said Ellie Miglin, a city liaison with UISG. “Even though I think it’s great that the Iowa City community is so willing to take in people, at the same time, it should be [the university’s] responsibility and the city’s responsibility.” This year, UISG partnered with the Iowa House Hotel, the Iowa Memorial Union, Student Legal Services, University Housing & Dining, and Student Care and Assistance to provide 30 rooms at the Iowa House Hotel for $30 a night from July 28 to Aug. 3 for renters in between leases. Undergraduate, graduate and professional students will have access to typical hotel amenities such as wifi, TV and a free continental breakfast. Amber McNeal, general manager at Iowa House Hotel, said applications opened on June 10 and the reservations filled within a week. “I believe [the lease gap has] a huge impact on campus, mostly for students arriving internationally that didn’t have a secured lease already and show up and the apartments aren’t ready,” she said. Iowa City Mayor Pro Tem Megan Alter said a city measure to address the lease gap period hasn’t come before the Iowa City Council, but that the city should look into solutions, though there would be hurdles in trying to manage private property owners. She said she’s read about people living in conditions they shouldn’t in order to manage the gap. “It’s something that I’m concerned about, and I would like to figure out a way that people, students, families, renters of all ages don’t have to encounter that kind of weird situation,” she said. “I think I also read something that there was somebody who actually stayed in their storage unit because they had to rent a storage unit just to hold their stuff for a little bit. So clearly, there’s a lot going on.” As a college town, Alter said Iowa City has a high percentage of rental properties. “I don’t think that the city can mandate that leases are altered or

Lease Gap Horror Stories Little Village readers share how lease gaps left them in a lurch

This has happened to me three

what are you going to do? We were

or four times. I’ve had to rent a

lucky that they got us in early and

storage unit for three months to

we didn’t need the rental truck for

ensure a unit was available for that

multiple days. —Elinor Levin

one week. Left boxes with various friends and family. Rented a garage

Over the years I was able to store

from my new landlord. Boarded

my stuff for a few days in friends’

my cats at the vet and slept on my

garages, a friend of a friend’s garage

mom’s floor. Stayed in a hotel for a

once, and under a tarp in a friend’s

week. Stayed with friends.

carport once. Luckily always had a

—Kiran Patel

friend not moving where I could stay a day or two. Having good friends

Currently experiencing this. We

definitely helped but it was always

have been living at the Sycamore

frustrating dealing with those gaps

Apartments for 11 years; they

between leases. —Nick LaFayette

couldn’t just give us three more days. —Will Hancock

Literally begging for all the help available. The leasing company we are

One year we rented a truck from

leaving have made it tremendously

Davenport and had to move all our

clear the cost of leaving. Every tiny

stuff into storage in Solon. Then

infraction left will cost. We have lived

rent another truck from Mt. Vernon

in this space more than a decade

to get all the stuff out of storage.

and they will most likely charge us to

Not cheap. —Adrianne Behning

change the carpet, even though they say they change the carpet anytime

I rented a truck and kept it locked

someone leaves. On top of leaving

up for a couple days. When I moved

them with an empty apartment they

to Davenport, the landlord didn’t

almost ask for blood for leaving their

even charge me to move in a couple

company. Iowa City is full of slum-

days early! Night and day as far as

lords looking to ruin people because

rent and damages treatment. IC

it is a college town. Terrible people

landlords (and rents) are extreme.

forcing terrible situations.

—B. Adam Burke

—Erica Hancock

I never realized this was unique to

I lived on [a friend’s] couch in North

Iowa City until I moved away. In

Liberty [for a week] and we binged

Grenada, most of our landlords have

Orange is the New Black every night!

a storage space on their property to

And I was only moving into another

allow departing/arriving tenants to

unit in the same complex.

store their stuff up to three months

—Monique Antoinette Galpin

(like summer break) for free. It makes everything so much easier

Literally [stayed] in a frat house. I

and makes us more likely to recom-

cleaned for them in order to have a

mend renting from them to future

place to stay. —Lindsey Moon

students! —Kelli Marie Ebensberger Moved everything into a storage I know we had to hang out in a

facility, bought a tent and camped out

U-Haul moving truck with our cat

at the Coralville Res for a few nights.

for several hours during one of our

Great memories! —Kristi McCall

moves, because we were able to get an early move-in but not until the

Has happened to me luckily my

evening that we had to be out of

parents lived in town too so I would

our previous place in the morning.

store my stuff in their garage and

Didn’t love the cat in a hot truck

stay at their house. —Josh Gibson

at the beginning of August, but LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308 July 2022 23

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changed because we’re not the owners of those properties,” Alter said. “But I would very much like to talk to people who are closer to it and work with affordable housing and maybe there’s a partnership that could be done with [the University of] Iowa.” Iowa City Councilmember Pauline Taylor said another challenge is that the state government has prevented the city from enacting measures related to renting and landlords in the past. Taylor said she’s heard from students for whom the gap has been a problem, but that she hopes to learn more about it from residents. “If there are other renters out there that this has been an issue for, we’d love to hear from them,” she said. “We need to hear from them.” A call for lease gap stories posted to Little Village’s social media accounts yielded dozens of responses, ranging from annoyance to desperation. Some have been managing lease gaps every summer for years. “I’ve had to rent a storage unit for three months to ensure a unit was available for that one week,” wrote Kiran Patel. “Over the years I was able to store my stuff for a few days in friends’ garages, a friend of a friend’s garage once, and under a tarp in a friend’s carport once,” commented Nick LaFayette. Stan Laverman, the senior housing inspector for the City of Iowa City, oversees the inspection of nearly 20,000 rental units during the lease gap period. His primary duty is to find housing code issues. “We inspect every month out of the year so, you know, it’s not that we’re trying to conduct all those inspections or landlords have all those inspections due Aug. 1 when people move in,” Laverman said. “We have systematic inspections every working day of the year, so I think there’s other ways to do it. There’s ways that leases could be staggered, but that’s a contract issue.” Kyle Vogel, the president and managing broker at Keystone Property Management, one of the area’s largest rental companies, said most of their leases begin on Aug. 1 and end July 28 or 29. When he began at the company in 2000, the leases went until July 31, but over the years companies needed more time to turn over units. “There was no way to turn over and property maintenance and clean, you know, 150 turnovers in a 24-hour period,” Vogel said. “So most of ours are at that 48-to-72-hour period, which allows us to get cleaners and carpet cleaners and hopefully perform necessary maintenance or at least get in and do our inspections to find out what needs to be done.” Vogel said it’s a unique issue in college towns. “How do you minimize that gap? How do you change it?” he said “And I don’t know that it’s

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changeable, you know, as long as the student market dictates the overall rental market in Iowa City.” Vogel says Keystone tries to alert renters ahead of re-leasing to be aware and plan for the gap. Over the years he’s seen an increase in storage units available to rent in Iowa City, but some renters can’t find a truck to haul their stuff since so many locals find themselves moving at the same time. Sometimes, a renter will be able to stay in their unit longer if the next renter can’t move in until later in August. “It’s always worth reaching out to your landlord and just see if there is that possibility,” he said. “I mean, if I can work that out, that’s great because that means I don’t have to find a cleaner, or a painter or maintenance vendor for that 48hour period.” Alex Kormya, a lawyer with Iowa Legal Aid, said he experienced lease gaps as a tenant in another college town similar in size to Iowa City: Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University. Kormya was a renter there for 10 years, both during and after his time as an undergrad. “Because leases are tuned to the academic year, everybody’s moving at the same time for a large portion of the population, and I found even if you’re out of school, like, you end up still locked into that cycle because that’s how the whole town is running,” Kormya said. The lease gap is sometimes referred to as “homeless week” among renters. It’s the term UISG used in their survey, but Miglin, the city liaison, said it’s misleading, and that “lease gap period” is a more accurate and respectful way to describe the phenomenon. At Iowa Legal Aid, a statewide nonprofit law firm, Kormya works with vulnerable populations for free on civil legal issues. He said renters could experience effects of transient houselessness within the gap. For many of his clients facing evictions, these situations are long lasting. “Imagine what the lease gap would feel like, if there was no specific end to it,” he said. “... You have this little taste of that instability, except for you’ve got a prospect, you know, it’s going to be over at some point, and for a lot of our clients there’s no end.” Kormya’s advice to renters is to not assume protocol will be based on common sense, but to actually check the rules. As a renter himself, he said he’s experienced that feeling of powerlessness in situations with landlords. “I ended up dealing with a lot of things I shouldn’t have because I didn’t know my rights.” Natalie Dunlap is a Little Village intern, freelancer and politics editor for the Daily Iowan.

IOWA CITY

DOWNTOWN

DISTRICT

Bread & Butter LV Recommends

Mesa 503 2302 Muscatine Ave, Iowa City 319-519-6170, mesa503.com BY TIFFANI GREEN

f the name Mesa 503 rings a bell, it might be because it’s the sister business of Mesa Pizza, an Iowa City institution for over a decade. Owners Yolanda Amaya and Luis Hernandez immigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador in 1993 and have made visits back home every year, always looking forward to revisiting the food. Though they got their start in the restaurant business serving up unique pizzas, at home they’ve continued cooking the recipes from their native country, perfecting them and noting their favorites in the hopes of being able to share those flavors with Iowans one day. That day has arrived. Mesa 503 opened in May in a little shopping area situated between Hy-Vee and Kum and Go on Muscatine. The interior is painted a bright blue with an outline of El Salvador and bright paintings adorning the

N O

collage Jordan Sellergren, photos Tiffani Green / Little Village

walls. You’re likely to be greeted at the counter by Amaya, Hernandez or one of their children, and you can watch them at work in the open kitchen. Their pride and excitement at getting to

S U R F A C E

share Salvadoran food with people who haven’t tried it before is palpable. The ubiquity of Mexican food can lead some to believe that they know what Central and South

U N T O U C H E D

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Mesa 503 opened May of 2022 in Iowa City. Jordan Sellergren / Little Village

American food is like. Though you’ll see names and ingredients on Mesa 503’s menu that are familiar—like enchiladas and tamales—this food is distinct in its flavors and presentation. Mesa 503’s menu is large and features appetizers, a la carte items, sides, large plates and even breakfast options. There are also clearly marked vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. You can create whatever eating experience you’d like, whether that’s getting a single entrée, which comes with rice, tortillas and a salad, or

ordering a range of smaller items to try. I’m definitely a lover of trying lots of things at once, so I went the small-plate route. I ordered a pork rib tamale, rice and beans, chicken enchiladas and two different types of pupusas. The tamale was rich and moist, and the pork was so tender it fell apart. The rice and beans were not dissimilar to what I’ve come to know via Mexican restaurants, but with one important distinction: they were combined together, which made my day. I always mix rice and beans together when I get them, but you usually have slightly more of one then the other or don’t quite get the ratio right when mixing them. Serving them as a composed dish meant evenly distributed rice and beans in every bite. For those who like them separate, they are also available as individual items. The pupusas and enchiladas were the two items that really took me into brand new territory. Pupusas are stuffed corn flour discs made with white masa harina. Mesa 503 offers nine different filling options—I chose the cheese and jalapeño and the cheese and chorizo versions. They came with a slaw-like mix of pickled cabbage and carrots and a tomato-based sauce that

has a hint of spice and a lot of tomatoey sweetness; think the way a warm grape tomato tastes right out of your garden. Layered on top of the pupusa, the veggies and sauce balance the richness of the cheese, meat and dough and make for a really balanced bite with complex flavor. They are also the perfect size to get you full but not too full. The enchiladas were completely unlike their Mexican counterparts. They were composed of fried corn tortillas that are both smaller and thicker than the ones I was familiar with, and they are layered with chicken, cubed potatoes, crunchy cabbage and cucumber, tomatoes, a slice of boiled egg and a sprinkling of cheese. All the fresh veggies made the dish light, not too meat-forward, and gave the dish great texture, much like the eating experience of a particularly hearty salad or a really good hummus plate. Mesa 503 takes ingredients we all know and love—beans, cheese, tortillas—and forms them into dishes that feel both familiar and distinctive, like when a new musician puts their spin on a timeless song. Visit this Mesa sibling and experience the melody yourself.

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Culture Prairie Pop

Old-School Reunion If you’re outside the norm, you’re welcome at this nostalgia-fest. BY KEMBREW MCLEOD

“A

t the Old Threshers Reunion this summer, you’re going to come across some old pumps, tractors and hay balers, and there’ll be too-cute nanny goats and freckled girls in pigtails,” said musician David Murray, summing up the annual festival in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa that celebrates the state’s agricultural heritage. “If you go to the Old Thrashers Reunion, you’ll see a lot of old grumps, hackers and nay-sayers with good intentions.” And plenty of loud, weird sounds vomited up from the mouth of the Iowa music underground— like Murray’s band Instant D/eTh, which will be performing alongside Scorched Earth Policy, the Shining Realm and Maaaze at the upcoming benefit for United Action for Youth (UAY). The event has benefitted the art and music programs at UAY since its inception; this will be the first Old Thrashers Reunion since the pandemic. The first Old Thrashers Reunion came about in 2008 after Kylie Buddin, a longtime coordinator at UAY and local music scene veteran, was talking to his high school punk rock friend Julie VanDyke. As they discussed how weird it was to enter middle age, she asked him what he would do to celebrate his 40th birthday if there were no limitations. “Without hesitation, I said, ‘See Stiff Legged Sheep, Soviet Dissonance, and the Pestients one

Old Thrashers Reunion 2022 UAY Benefit, Saturday, July 23, 2022 at 7 p.m., Trumpet Blossom Cafe

30 July 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308

more time at 10 South Gilbert.’ 10 South was the home to the punk scene and was the site of so many amazing shows—the Effigies, Die Kreuzen, Hüsker Dü, 7 Seconds and Naked Raygun, just to name a few. Julie said if I could get the bands, she

Above: David Murray (Instant D/eTh); below: Hart Epstein, (Scorched Earth Policy); bottom left: Kylie Buddin at UAY Jordan Sellergren / Little Village

“THIS CURRENT GENERATION OF KIDS HAS SO MANY MORE TOOLS AT THEIR DISPOSAL, ARE SO MUCH MORE ENLIGHTENED AND IN-TUNE, ARE ABLE TO FACE A GOOD DEAL OF THIS SHIT WITH MUCH MORE ALACRITY AND CONFIDENCE THAN, PERHAPS, US GEN-XERS EVER COULD.” —HART EPSTEIN would take care of the rest. Everything came together, and that first show was glorious. Even the conflicts that arose reminded me of why I loved our scene so much.” Buddin’s experience was also shared by Hart Epstein, the organizer of this year’s Old Thrashers Reunion, whose band Scorched Earth Policy will be reuniting for the event after a 30-year hiatus. “It’s an extended family thing. When I started going to shows, I was on the younger side of things; now I’m one of the oldsters,” Epstein said. “You drift apart as the years roll on, but you pick up right where you left off at a moment’s notice. The ICHC [Iowa City Hardcore] extended family was and is pretty tightly knit, I would say. Most everyone that is still with us talks regularly.” Scorched Earth Policy—which drew on disparate influences that included “King Crimson, Chrome, Slayer, de-tuned AM radio and John Zorn,” as Epstein put it—drifted apart around

1993, but its members remained close friends. During the ’80s, the underground burst with punk rock angst, virtuosity and an artistry that didn’t follow any prescribed template—rockabilly groups, industrial bands, loud-fast hardcore, goth rock and noise were part of the mix. “If you were outside of the norm, you were welcome,” Buddin said. “Everyone got shows and everyone was represented.” Murray recalled that beneath all the provocations, preening and balderdash was a do-it-yourself spirit that reminded them that they didn’t need agents, bouncers, parents or interlopers to have a good time. “Us kids found a way to explore our expressive selves and meet new, exciting people,” he

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said. “Find a vacant hall and bring a sound system. Work up some stage props, visuals or flyers. Charge only a pittance at the door so everyone could come.” UAY, founded in Iowa City in 1970 to provide support and opportunities for young people’s creativity, played a pivotal role in that emerging punk rock scene. Epstein’s bandmate Billy Mackenzie found a home at UAY, where he picked up his first bass guitar around 1983. And Instant D/eTh’s Murray benefitted from UAY after he began playing music as a student at City High in 1980, when he and his brother formed a band with others they met through that organization. “It is a great pleasure to perform under the banner of United Action for Youth,” Murray said. “That organization was instrumental in getting me out of the gutter and onto the stage. The opportunity they afford a young person with an artistic sense, but no strong direction, is invaluable. I found other kids doing stuff I thought I could do. Make art. Shoot a video. Play in a band.” Epstein also spent every possible moment at UAY as an adolescent—learning to play drums and guitar, figuring out how to use the studio’s recording gear or just hanging out. Now he has a 17-year-old son who is the exact same way. “He found his way there much as I did,” Epstein said, “and found the same sense of belonging and community that I did 35, 40 years ago. And the O.G. Old Thrasher, Kylie, is helping to make it such a great place.” “I’d say that continuum and multi-generational connection is pretty hard to miss,” he continued. “What’s old is new again, with regard to the challenges and stresses that kids face. I think this current generation of kids has so many more tools at their disposal, are so much more enlightened and in-tune, are able to face a good deal of this shit with much more alacrity and confidence than, perhaps, us Gen-Xers ever could. I find hope in these kids.” Trumpet Blossom owner Katy Meyer feels honored to have hosted the Old Thrashers Reunion over the years, especially because it’s a fundraiser for UAY, which she feels is an absolutely vital organization. Meyer wouldn’t be able to maintain her venue without the ongoing support of the community, which is why she is happy to offer her space for this benefit show. And the difference between an Old Threshers Reunion and an Old Thrashers Reunion, in Meyer’s view? “One involves harvesting grain and one involves imbibing it.”

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Culture

LittleVillageMag.com A-List

Welcome to the Machine A new opera launches audiences into a familiar dystopia imagined over a century ago.

BY LAURA JOHNSON

ot everyone sits at home dreaming of attending an opera. But it might just be time to start. The Machine Opera Company is bringing an exciting new modern opera to the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts. The Machine Stops will be staged for just two performances later this month. Librettist Cecile Goding has always been interested in opera. The poet, originally from South Carolina, was inspired to try her hand at the artform during her participation in a course at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop led by Marvin Bell and David Gompper. “It was magic to see my words put to music,” Goding said. As the project developed over the years, the Iowa Summer Writers’ Festival and Dreamwell Theatre were key supporters, lending their encouragement and expertise to the undertaking. The Machine Stops is based on E.M. Forster’s science fiction/dystopian story of the same name. Published in 1909, the story reaches across the century and imagines a world that is poisoned and uninhabitable. People live entirely separately from each other. Humans communicate using only technology, and when questions arise that is where the conflict begins. Goding noted that the questions raised in the opera are extremely relevant in today’s world: Who do humans trust to provide information? What do they do with that information; how might they choose to act on it? The ease with which the characters gather their information and the fact that it is controlled by technology has a profound impact on the worldview of the characters. While the production was in development, it was important to Goding and her colleagues that they develop a modern opera to excite and intrigue modern audiences. Accessibility in other ways was always top of mind as well. As the debut of the opera approaches, Goding said she is hoping to be able to add super titles to offer another level of access for theater-goers. Another important goal was to keep the production budget low enough that tickets are within the grasp of 32 July 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308

Claire Thoele / Little Village

The Machine Stops, Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, Saturday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, July 31 at 2 p.m., $17-20

a majority of theater audiences ($20). The team also wanted this to be an opera that would “be of use to small operas and university programs across Iowa,” Goding said. Composer John Lake joined Goding in the creation of this opera. The Iowa guitarist has explored a variety of genres in his nearly 50 years writing, teaching and performing. (Lake began his musical career in high school with northern Iowa band the Library, which was among the 2022 inductees into the Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.) The Machine Stops features elements of traditional opera alongside rock and roll and other popular music. Lake draws on myriad musical influences, the opera’s website notes: “from Frank Zappa and the Beatles to Igor Stravinsky and Richard Wagner.” In short, attendees should expect quite an eclectic score. Ed Kottick serves as conductor, music director and producer; he is joined by Josh Sazon as stage director. Both have decades of experience in the Iowa City area, and they have worked together as musical and stage director in many previous productions. The Machine Stops is presented in English by a cast of seven and a chamber group of 12 musicians who bring massive experience and talent to the production. The leads, Vashti and her son Kuno, are sung by Élise DesChamps, a Montréal native who teaches at the University

of Iowa, and Iowa City’s Jeremiah Shobe, who has been workshopping his role since the opera’s earliest iterations. “One challenge for me and John was to create enough involvement with other performers and musicians,” Goding said. “Organizing two workshops, in order to hear the singing and get advice from participants, was time-consuming yet essential.” Goding expressed admiration and appreciation for everyone involved in the production. She noted that the group of artists that workshopped The Machine Stops was crucial in making it a community production and “true collaborative experience.” Ultimately, the Machine Opera Company is striving to “create accessible operas that will appeal to people who don’t normally go to operas,” Goding said. She added that the company wants to “show people what opera has to offer.” People can approach this modern opera like attending a play or movie, as a “dramatic work of art that they can get caught up in and escape for a while,” Goding suggested. “People are not going to hear what they might think of when they think of opera.” With a modern production that has its roots in science fiction literature, includes a range of musical styles and speaks to the state of the world today, The Machine Stops offers the perfect opportunity to plan a night at the opera. Laura Johnson is a poet and writing coach who enjoys travel, books, and occasionally screaming into the void. Visit her website at laurajohnsonwriter.com

Summer Reading Challenge for all ages! Scan the qr code to learn how to sign up online and log your reading to win prizes!

www.CoralvillePublicLibrary.org Current Hours:

Mon-Th: 10 am - 7 pm Fri: 10 am - 6 pm Sat: 10 am - 4 pm Sun: 12 - 4 pm

NEW!

Watch for us checking books out from our Book Bike at the 4th Fest, the Fifth Street Social, & other outdoor Coralville events!

Check out our calendar online to see our many activities for kids, teens, adults and families. TEEN CRAFT KIT

It’s a Mystery! Book Group

pick up beginning July 6

CRAFT TO GO FOR ADULTS pick up beginning July 20

While supplies last.

1401 Fifth St. Coralville, IA 319-248-1850

reference@coralville.org

Hitchcock Movie Night JULY 14 WEDNESDAY 6:00 PM SCHWAB AUD

JULY 13 WEDNESDAY 10:00 AM ROOM A

Novel Conversations JULY 21 THURSDAY 7:00 PM ONLINE LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308 July 2022 33

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/CALENDAR

EVENTS: JULY JULY 2022

Porchlight Literary Arts Center

Planning an event? Submit event info to calendar@littlevillagemag. com. Include event name, date, time, venue, street address, admission price and a brief description (no all-caps, exclamation points or advertising verbiage, please). To find more events, visit littlevillagemag.com/calendar. Please check venue listing in case details have changed.

Prompt for the Planet: A Writing and Planting Workshop for Kids, Porchlight Literary Center, Friday, July 15 at 1 p.m., Free

Kids from eight to twelve are invited to a free art and writing workshop led by Tricia Windschitl of The Lena Project. Kids will work with a prompt from Amanda Gorman that asks them to create from the perspective of an element of nature as well as planting and tending in Porch Light’s new vegetable garden. All creative responses will be archived onpromptfortheplanet.com and represented in the Englert Event Prompt for the Planet: Community Creates on Sept 11th. (description via the event). Literary Luxuries Wednesdays, July 6, 13, 20, 27 at

Friday, July 8 at 6:30 p.m. The

3 p.m. Family Fun at Close House,

Writer Next Door Reading Series,

Iowa City, Free

Porchlight Literary Arts Center, Free

Thursday, July 7 at 6 p.m. Writers Workshop, Lucky Cat Comedy &

Saturdays, July 9, 16, 23, 30 at

Events, Cedar Rapids, Free

10 a.m. Queer Storytime, Close House, Free

34 July 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308

EDITORS’ PICKS: July 2022 AROUND THE CRANDIC Sunday, July 10 at 3 p.m. Reading

Saturday, July 16 at 4 p.m.

Wednesday, July 20 at 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, July 26 at 7 p.m. Read-

w/ Mary Wallis Gutmann, Prairie

Reading and Conversation w/

Next Page Book & Social Club,

ing w/Katherine E. Standefer w/

Lights, Iowa City, Free

Emi Watanabe, Sidekick Coffee &

Next Page Books, Cedar Rapids,

Thomas Mira y Lopez, Prairie

Books, Free

Free

Lights, Free

ning with Victor Piñeiro, Swamp

Sunday, July 17 at 1 p.m. After-

Sunday, July 24 at 8 a.m. IWP

Thursday, July 28 at 7 p.m.

Fox Bookstore, Online, Free

noon Tea with M.B. Henry, Craft’d,

Between the Lines: Peace and the

Reading w/Emily Ogden, Prairie

Cedar Rapids, Free

Writing Experience, Faculty Read-

Lights, Free

Tuesday, July 12 at 7 p.m. An Eve-

Thursday, July 14 at 7 p.m. Poetry

ing, Prairie Lights, Online, Free Monday, August 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Reading w/Dan Campion, Prairie

Monday, July 18 at 7 p.m. IWP

Lights, Free

Summer Institute Mentor Reading,

Tuesday, July 26 at 6:30 p.m. Eve-

An Evening with Sarah James,

Prairie Lights, Free

ning with Aprille Clarke, Craft’d,

Swamp Fox Bookstore, Online,

Free

CCAN-Con Community Engagement Fair, Ped Mall, Iowa City, Saturday, July 23 at 12 p.m., Free

via CCAN

The second Community Engagement Fair from Corridor Community Action Network promises, after its two-year hiatus, to vastly outshine the first. The organizers envision an event on par with many other downtown Iowa City festivals, with Dave Zollo opening the entertainment stage on the Ped Mall and workshops and trainings taking over rooms A-D at the Iowa City Public Library. Along with CCAN, attendees have the opportunity to engage with Deafinitely Dogs, Iowa City Mutual Aid Collective, Please Pass The Love, Repros For Iowa, Iowa City Green Iowa AmeriCorps, Iowa City DSA, Sustainable Iowa Land Trust (SILT) and many more local orgs. Community Connections Saturday, July 9 at 10 a.m. Monarch Fest,

Thursday, July 14 at 6 p.m. An Evening with

Saturday, July 15 at 7 p.m. Sewn Together: Fash-

Indian Creek Nature Center, Cedar Rapids,

Deidre DeJear and Lyz Lenz, The Tuesday

ion Show, CSPS Hall, $10-15

Free

Agency, Iowa City, Free

Saturday, July 9 at 11 a.m. Cedar Rapids

Thursdays, July 14, 21, 28 at 6 p.m. What is

Pride Festival, NewBo District, Free

Social Practice? PS1 – Close House, Iowa City,

Saturday, July 16 at 7:30 a.m. Cedar Rapids Farm-

$5-85 Saturdays, July 9, 16, 23, 30 at 1 p.m.

ers Market, Downtown Cedar Rapids, Free Saturday, July 16 at 9 a.m. Tour de Brew, Millstream Brewing Company, Amana, $30

Diversity Market, Pepperwood Plaza, Iowa

Friday and Saturday, July 15 and 16. Solon

City, Free

Beef Days, Main Street Gazebo, Free

Saturday, July 16 at 3 p.m. Self Managed Abortion Kit Making Day, Iowa City Public Library, Free

THE WEEKENDER YOUR WEEKLY EDITOR-CURATED ARTS COMPENDIUM, A.K.A.

st uf f to do IN YOUR INBOX EVERY THURSDAY LittleVillageMag.com/Subscribe

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308 July 2022 35

Sunday, July 17 at 10 a.m. Bikes

Sunday, July 24 at 12 p.m. Dona-

& Bloodies, NewBo City Market,

tion Drive-Thru, Chauncey Swan

Cedar Rapids, Free

Parking Ramp, Iowa City, Free

Sunday, July 17 at 1 p.m. Art in the

Saturday and Sunday, July 30

Afternoon: David Noyes, Artifacto-

and 31. Harmony Festival, Czech &

ry, Iowa City, Free

Slovak Museum, Cedar Rapids, $111

Monday, July 18 at 5 p.m. Panel

Saturday, July 30 at 2:30 p.m.

Discussion with the Parking Spac-

Willis Dady’s Hops for Housing, In-

es Artists, Iowa City Public Library,

dian Creek Nature Center, $35-40 Harmony Festival

EDITORS’ PICKS: July 2022 AROUND THE CRANDIC

Free Sunday, July 31 at 12 p.m. Art in Thursday, July 21 at 6 p.m. Neigh-

the Park, Redmond Park, Cedar

borhood Leisure Bike Ride, Grant

Rapids, Free

Wood Elementary School, Free

Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Willow Creek Theatre Company, Opening Friday, July 22, $26

This glam rock musical from John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask may have opened off-Broadway in 1998, but it hasn’t lost its edge in the two-plus decades since. Willow Creek Theatre, one of the region’s newest companies, is bringing the twohander to the stage with Aaron Longoria in the title role, with Kjerstin Miller as their Yitzhak and Will Asmus at the helm. The music is the big selling point of this story of communism and rock and roll, with beloved tunes like “Origin of Love.” The show runs through July 31.

Thursday, July 7 at 7 p.m. Improv

Saturdays, July 9 and 30 Summer

First Thursdays, CSPS Hall, Cedar

Comedy Showcase, Joystick Com-

Rapids, Free-$5

edy Arcade, Iowa City, $5

Opening July 8 at 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 10 at 7 p.m. Steve-O,

Elephant and Piggie’s “We are in

Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids,

a Play!” Theatre Cedar Rapids,

$35-100

Daniel Arzola

Theatrical Thrills

Brucemore, $10-25 Tuesday-Thursday, July 12-14 Friday, July 8 at 7 p.m. Bans Off

International Jugglers’ Associa-

Saturday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday, July 30 and

Our Comedy: A Fundraiser for

tion Festival, Paramount Theatre,

TellersBridge: Summer Stories,

31 The Machine Stops: An Opera,

IAAF, Lucky Cat Comedy & Events,

$15-35

James Theater, Iowa City, $15

Coralville Center for the Perform-

Saturday, July 16 at 8 p.m. Girlies

Sunday, July 24 at 1 p.m. National

Saturday, July 9 at 9 p.m. CR

for Emma Goldman, Willow Creek

Theatre Live: Prima Facie, Film-

Closing July 31 Mamma Mia, The-

Pride After Party, CSPS Hall, $20-

Theatre Company, Iowa City, $11-15

Scene—Chauncey, $13.05-15.93

atre Cedar Rapids, 27 - $54

Friday to Sunday, July 22-24 Chit-

Tuesday, July 26 at 7 p.m. Tom

ty Chitty Bang Bang Jr, Coralville

Segura, McGrath Amphitheatre,

Center for the Performing Arts,

Cedar Rapids, $49-99

ing Arts, $17-20

Cedar Rapids, $20-25

$11-17 36 July 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308

EDITORS’ PICKS: July 2022 AROUND THE CRANDIC

Lost Highway, FilmScene—Chauncey, Iowa City, Friday, July 29 and Tuesday, Aug. 2 at 7 p.m., and Saturday, July 30 at 9 p.m., $9.5012

In case you haven’t noticed, Little Village is home to a small but mighty contingent of David Lynch superfans. *Lost Highway*, his 1997 noir homage, is among his best. Starring Bill Pullman and Balthazar GGetty in two separate but intertwining stories. Don’t miss this chance to catch it on the big screen! Films In Focus Friday, July 8 at 7 p.m. Burn

Saturday, July 9 at 9:15 p.m. SotA

Saturday and Sunday, July 16-17

Saturday, July 23 at 8:30 p.m.

Like This, FilmScene—Chauncey,

Free Movie Series: Sing 2, Johnson

at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Distant, Film-

SotA Free Movie Series: Raya and

$9.50-12

County Fairgrounds, Iowa City,

Scene—Chauncey, $9.50-12

the Last Dragon, Upper City Park, Iowa City, Free

Free Saturday, July 16 at 7 p.m. Movies

Friday-Monday, July 8-11, Various Times. The Discreet Charm of the

Wednesday, July 13 at 9:15 p.m.

on the Riverbank: Luca, McGrath

Saturday, July 23 at 8:45 p.m.

Bourgeoisie, FilmScene—Chaunc-

The Discreet Charm of the Bour-

Amphitheatre, Cedar Rapids,

Singin in the Rain, FilmScene in

ey, $9.50-12

geoisie, FilmScene—Chauncey,

Free

the Park, Free

Tuesday, July 19 at 7 p.m. Distant,

Saturday, July 30 at 9:15 p.m.

FilmScene—Chauncey, $9.50-12

SotA Free Movie Series: Spider-

$9.50-12 Saturday and Sunday, July 9 and 10 at 11 a.m. The Picture Show:

Wednesday, July 13 at 10 p.m.

Ponyo, FilmScene—Chauncey,

Late Shift at the Grindhouse: Wolf-

Free-$5

cop, FilmScene—The Ped Mall, $15

man: No Way Home, City Park, Thursday, July 21 at 7 p.m. Pride

Hills, Free

at FilmScene: Desert Hearts, FilmSaturday and Sunday, July 31

Saturday, July 9 at 8:45 p.m. Film-

Thursday, July 14 at 3:30 p.m. The

Scene in the Park: Clueless, Free

Picture Show: Ponyo, FilmScene—

at 1:30 p.m. CatVideoFest2022,

Chauncey, Free-$5

FilmScene—Chauncey, $9.50-10.50

38 July 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308

Scene—The Ped Mall, $9.50-12

ISSUE 300!

November 2021 A L W A Y S

F R E E

EDITORS’ PICKS: July 2022

AROUND THE CRANDIC

Illiterati Fest, Gabe’s, Iowa City, Saturday, July

Local Nonprofit & Retail Spotlight 2021

A Y S A L W

Great Plains Action Society P. 34

Nikole Hannah-Jones 1619 Project P. 48

16 at 7 p.m.,

Local makers shopping guide P. 52

$10

E F R E c. Nov. 4–DE ISSU E 288

1, 2020

Spotlight Local Nonprofit and Retail Friendship community Project creates a ‘family’ of English language learners. pg. 12

Nonprofit dance, counseling and social groups helped one Iowa city teen beat the odds. pg. 22

cSPS, NcSML and AAMI join forces to bring new public art to cedar Rapids. pg. 36

Yes, it’s true. Anthony Worden is moving away from Iowa City. While both his fans and his collaborators are busy coming to terms with this, Worden has been busy doing what he does best: gathering brilliant artists together to create magic. Illiterati Fest, his big blowout final bash, will feature an eight-band lineup of some of the region’s best acts, including Penny Peach, Dryad, Joel Sires and Sinner Frenz. All proceeds will be donated to Inside Out Community Re-Entry. This show is not to be missed.

Anthony Worden, Alyssa Leicht

Friends of Hickory Hill Park P. 32

Music Marvels A L W A Y S

F R E E

ISSUE 274 Nov. 5–DEc. 3, 2019

Tuesdays, July 5, 12, 19, 26 at 6:30 p.m. SotA

Saturday, July 9 at 7:30 p.m. Lyle Lovett and

Music on the Move, Various Venues, Iowa City,

his Large Band, McGrath Amphitheatre, Cedar

Free

Rapids, $35-99

Wednesday, July 6 at 8 p.m. Chain Station, Wildwood BBQ & Saloon, Iowa City, $12-20 Thursday, July 7 at 7:30 p.m. Todd Rundgren, Englert Theatre, Iowa City, $22 – $199 Fridays, July 8, 15, 22, 29 at 6 p.m. Rock the Block Concert Series, NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids, Free Fridays, July 8, 15, 22, 29 at 6:30 p.m. SotA Friday Night Concert Series, Ped Mall, Iowa

GIVE GUIDE A local holiday nonprofit and retail spotlight issue COMING NOVEMBER 2022 Contact ads@littlevillagemag.com 40 July 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308

City, Free Saturday, July 9 at 10 a.m. North Liberty Blues & BBQ Festival, Centennial Park, Free Saturday, July 9 at 6 p.m. Polaris w/ Mooner, The Ex-Bombers, Union Specific, Codfish Hollow Barnstomers, Maquoketa, $25-30

via North Liberty Blues & BBQ Festival

2019 local nonprofit & retail spotlig ht

ARP. BEE SH IQUE. N U E BE RSELF. U BEE YO

755 S Gilbert St, Iowa City (319) 338-5589 honeybeehairparlor.com @honeybeehairparlor

AUGUST 10-12, 2022 | MAINFRAME STUDIOS 900 Keosauqua Way, Des Moines, IA 50309

The Iowa Arts Summit is the leading professional development and networking event for Iowa’s creatives, nonprofit professionals, and community leaders.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER, VISIT:

iowaartssummit.com

EDITORS’ PICKS: July 2022 Saturday, July 9 at 8 p.m. Melody Trucks and Chicago Farmer, Wildwood BBQ & Saloon, $15 Sunday, July 10 at 7 p.m. Feed Me Weird Things: Anteloper w/ Derek Monypeny, Trumpet Blossom Cafe, Iowa City, $10-20 Wednesday, July 13 at 7 p.m. Burlington Street Bluegrass Band, Wildwood BBQ & Saloon, $5 Thursday to Saturday, July 14-16. Camp Euforia, Jerry’s Farm, Lone Tree, $70-130 Fridays, July 15, 22, 29 at 7 p.m. Ranshaw’s House’s Weekly Concerts, Ranshaw House, North Liberty, Free Friday, July 15 at 6:30 p.m. Deterioration, Traffic Death Acoustic Guillotine, Gabe’s, $10 Friday, July 15 at 7:30 p.m. Mary Chapin Carpenter w/Emily Barker, Englert Theatre, $20-65 Saturdays, July 16 and 30 at 6:30 p.m. SotA Northside Concert Series, Northside Market Place, Free Saturday, July 16 at 7:30 p.m. Spoon, Englert Theatre, $35-69 Saturday, July 16 at 8 p.m. Dickie, James Theater, Iowa City, $25 Sundays, July 17 and 31 Summer Jam Concert Series, Big Grove Brewery, Iowa City, Free Sunday, July 17 at 7:30 p.m. Deb Talan of the Weepies w/Dan Padley, James Theater, $20 Tuesday, July 19 at 7:30 p.m. “Weird Al” Yankovic w/Emo Philips, Paramount Theatre, $35-329 Friday-Sunday, July 22-24. Kalona Bluegrass Festival, Windmill Ridge Campground, $5-25 Friday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m. Catfish Keith, Englert Theatre, $15-25

FIND MORE EVENTS!

AROUND THE CRANDIC Friday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m. Prevention, Direct Measure, PSYOP, Death Kill Overdrive, Close House, Iowa City, $5-10 Saturday, July 23 at 6:30 p.m. One World: The Uniphonics and Jumbies, The Olympic South Side Theater, Cedar Rapids, $15-18 Saturday, July 23 at 7 p.m. Old Thrashers Reunion: Scorched Earth Policy, Shining Realm, instant deTh, Maaaze, Trumpet Blossom Cafe, Freewill donation Saturday, July 23 at 8 p.m. Shamarr Allen, CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids, $20-25 Sunday, July 24 at 7 p.m. The Collection, CSPS

CHIPMUNK’D THE WEIR THE FLICK

Hall, $20-25

A WALK IN THE WOODS

via Wombat

FEFU AND HER FRIENDS

Monday, July 25 at 7 p.m. Wombat w/David Hurlin and Christine Burke, PS1 Close House, $10 Wednesday, July 27 at 8 p.m. James McMurtry w/Jonny Burke, Wildwood BBQ & Saloon, $15-20

RIVERSIDETHEATRE.ORG

Friday, July 29 at 7 p.m. Reproductive Freedom Benefit Concert: Funkatude Live, Wildwood BBQ & Saloon, $10-15 Friday, July 29 at 8 p.m. Lilli Lewis, CSPS Hall,

Vintage, Second-Hand, Eclectic Finds & Oddities

$20-25 Saturday, July 30 at 7:00 p.m. The Pork Tornadoes, McGrath Amphitheatre, $20-50 Tuesday, August 2 at 7:30 p.m. Simon Joyner w/Samuel Locke Ward, Trumpet Blossom Cafe, $10-15

@TRUNKIOWACITY 209 Scott Ct. Iowa City

EDITORS’ PICKS: July 2022

DES MOINES

via Des Moines Art Center

CEDAR RAPIDS NEW BOHEMIA / CZECH VILLAGE

Thursday, July 7 at

Saturday, July 9

Thursday, July 14 at

5:30 p.m. Feminist

at 11 a.m. Taco and

8 p.m. Bad Bad Hats,

day, July 20 Amer-

Film Screening &

Margarita Festival,

xBk Live, Des Moines,

ican Apollo, Des

Community Conver-

Principal Park, Des

$15

Moines Art Center,

sation, Des Moines

Moines, $15

JOHN@NEWBO.CO • (319) 382-5128

$30 Friday and Saturday,

Art Center, Free

Come work with us

Saturday and Sunday,

July 15-16 Waukee

Opening Friday, July

Thursday-Saturday,

July 9-10 Indie Au-

Arts Festival, Waukee

22 Heathers: The Mu-

July 7-9 Shakunta-

thor Book Expo, Val-

Centennial Park, Free

sical, Stoner Theater,

la, Gateway Dance

ley West Mall, West

Theatre, Jamie Hurd

Des Moines, Free

Des Moines, $24.50 Friday, July 15 at 7 p.m. Alien Head Eo-

Saturday, July 23 at

Des Moines, $20 sug-

Saturday, July 9 at 8

mji, Teehee’s Comedy

4:30 p.m. Ryan Burns

gested donation

p.m. Paul Lichty Jazz

Club, Des Moines,

& The Vocal Ghosts,

Orchestra, Noce, Des

$15-20

Joel Sires, Andrew

Amphitheater, West

Opening Friday, July

Moines, $12-50

8 Matilda the Musical,

Hoyt, Gaslamp, Des Friday-Sunday, July

Sunday, July 10 at

15-17. Hatchlings

house, $29-53

10 a.m. Garden Art

Game Jam, Gravi-

Saturday, July 23 at 5

Fair, Reiman Gardens,

tate Coworking, Des

p.m. Catalyst! 2022 A

Ames, Free-$12

Moines, Free

LQBTQIA+ Art Exhibi-

w/Whitechapel,

Sunday, July 10 at

Saturday, July 16 at 1

Shadow of Intent and

2:30 p.m. Meet the

p.m. SpiceFest, Exile

Brand of Sacrifice, Val

Author: Mary Gordon

Brewing Company,

Closing Saturday,

Air Ballroom, West

& Candace Camling,

Des Moines, $10

July 23 A Midsummer

Des Moines, $27.50

Beaverdale Books,

p.m. As I Lay Dying

tion, The Venue, West

Des Moines, Free Friday, July 8 at 9

319.247.2665 | npb.newbo@gmail.com 1105 Third Street SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401 44 July 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308

Moines, $10

Des Moines Play-

Friday, July 8 at 7

NEXT PAGE BOOKS

Opening Wednes-

Des Moines, Free

Night’s Dream, Blank Saturday, July 16 at

Performing Arts Cen-

5 p.m. Beaverdale

ter, Indianola, $27-134

p.m. STRFKR, the

Tuesdays, July 12, 19,

Bluegrass Festival,

Undercover Dream

26 at 5 p.m.

Tower Park, Des

Monday, July 25 at 7

Lovers, Das Kope,

Jazz in July, Hoyt

Moines, Free

p.m. Stand-Up Com-

Wooly’s, Des Moines,

Sherman Place, Des

$20

Moines, Free

edy: Eddie Pepitone, Tuesday, July 19 at 7

Teehee’s Comedy

p.m. Final Act Ensem-

Club, $20-25

Friday and Saturday,

Wednesday-Sunday,

ble: Mystery Meets

July 8-9 80/35 Festi-

July 13-17 Shake-

Comedy, Des Moines

Saturday, July 30 at

val, Western Gateway

speare on the Lawn:

Playhouse, $10

8 p.m. Karen Meat

Park, Des Moines,

King Lear, Salisbury

w/The Vahnevants &

$55-220

House & Gardens, Des

Dubb Nubb, xBk Live,

Moines, Free-$35

$10-15

PRESENTED BY

Vino Vérité is a series of thought-provoking, chance-taking, and visually-arresting films paired with hand-selected wines and dessert. Naked Gardens is a revealing look at a Florida naturist resort from two filmmakers devoted to pure observational filmmaking, giving new meaning to our pursuit of the naked truth.

www.icﬁlmscene.org/vino-verite

EDITORS’ PICKS: July 2022

CEDAR FALLS / WATERLOO

Thursday-Saturday, July 7-9 Fiesta: A Celebration of Latino Culture, RiverLoop Amphitheatre, Waterloo, Free Friday, July 8 at 9 p.m. Cinema on the Cedar: Encanto, RiverLoop Amphitheatre, Free Friday and Saturday, July 8 and 9. North End Arts and Music Fest, Waterloo, Free Saturday, July 9 at 4 p.m. Feelin’ Sour? Sour Beer and Cider Festival, Waterloo, $40-50 Fridays, July 15 and 29 Movies Under the Moon, Overman Park, Cedar Falls, Free Opening Friday, July 15 Footloose: The Musical, Waterloo Community Playhouse, $10-25 Friday, July 15 at 9 p.m. Anthony Worden and the Illiterati w/Joel Sires, Octopus College Hill, Cedar Falls, $10 Friday, July 22 at 9 p.m. Good Morning Midnight, Haploid, Maaze, Octopus College Hill, $10 Saturday, July 30 at 9 p.m. Mr. Softheart and Blanky, Octovia QuadCon

pus College Hill, $10 Sunday, July 31 at 11 a.m. Quad Con Comic & Toy Show, College Square Mall, Cedar Falls, Free

46 July 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308

LET US HELP YOU WITH YOUR

NEXT ADVENTURE

723 S Gilbert St Iowa City, IA 52240 (319) 351-8337 worldofbikes.com

QUAD CITIES

Jason Smith / Little Village

EDITORS’ PICKS: July 2022

War For the Uterus, Sunday, July 24 at 12 p.m., LeClaire

uscatine

SUMMER MUSIC IN MUSCATINE Enjoy live music all summer long at our local businesses! Check out the event calendar on Muscatine.com for details!

Park, Davenport, Free (Donations welcome) Community members and local organizations will gather to-

gether in LeClaire Park in Davenport to distribute resources, information and action items in support of reproductive rights. The event will include speakers, performers and on site therapists. Quintessential QC Saturday, July 2, All Day

Thursday, July 21 at 7 p.m.

Coal Valley Days Parade, Coal

Young Emerging Writers Show-

Valley Municipal, Park, Coal Valley,

case, Rozz-Tox, Rock Island, Free

Free Saturday, July 23 at 9 a.m.

411 W Mississippi Dr

2108 Grandview Ave

107 Iowa Ave

208 W 2nd St

ALMOST FRIDAY FEST

A festival held each month on Muscatine’s beautiful riverfront! Featuring live music, food trucks, beer tent, bounce houses. FREE ADMISSION!

5:00PM - 8:00PM JULY 21 AUGUST 25 SEPTEMBER 22

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48 July 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308

Wednesday, July 6 at 5:30 p.m.

Jurassic Quest, QCCA Expo Cen-

ACLU of Iowa Meet And Greet,

ter, Rock Island, $19-36

LULAC Center, Davenport, Free Saturday, July 23 at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 7 at 6:30 p.m.

Kind Kids Activity Hour, Quad City

KAS Music, Gypsy Highway, Dav-

Animal Welfare Center, Milan, Free

enport, Free Saturday, July 16 at 2 p.m. Encanto in the Park, Veteran’s Memorial Park, Bettendorf, Free

—Sarah Elgatian

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Y L U J 2 2 0 2 E L U D E SCH HEARTS.ORG

ROFT WWW.SUMME

2022 IOWA CITY

1-3 JAZZ FESTIVAL

5 8 9 12 15 16

Dave Zollo

N. Hickory Hill Park Freegrass String Quartet AND James Tutson & the Rollback

Sing 2 (2021 - PG) Johnson County Fairgrounds

Annie Savage

Upper City Park

REUNION NIGHT: City Park AND Fairchildren Slim Chance & the Can’t Hardly Playboys AND Dave Zollo & the Body Electric

19 22 23 26 29

James Tutson Terry Trueblood Park

Heads in Motion Raya and the Last Dragon (2021 -PG) Upper City Park

Annie Savage

Riverfront Crossings Park

The Beaker Brothers The Sons of Zebedee DooDah AND Wave Cage Spider-Man: No Way Home Hills, IA

DEAR KIKI

ear Kiki, I am a man in my mid 20’s. The metro area I live in has around 130,00 people living here. Growing up, my friends and I always felt like outcasts. We tended to keep to ourselves somewhat and didn’t relate well to others. Other people’s actions always seemed shortsighted and their tastes very crude (Insane Clown Posse was very prominent, if that tells you anything). Only recently did the revelation come that we weren’t simply socially inept. It turns out we were actually extremely nerdy and didn’t have any role models to help us direct our creativity and curiosity. This revelation came as we are now rather involved in many hobbies/pursuits and are curious about pretty much everything. E.G. the kind of people who spend hours reading Wikipedia for enjoyment, know how to fix everything, etc. My problem is that we seem to have trouble with making casual conversation with most others, especially women. Interestingly we can have perfectly fluent conversations with certain people, but many quickly become confused about what seems to us like basic observations anybody should understand. I have been told by a friend that his girlfriend doesn’t like me coming over because I make her “feel stupid”. Many even seem resentful that I made it through college and act like I am somehow superior to them (although I make a particular effort not to bring up college or appear arrogant). I haven’t been in a long-term relationship since high school. There have been a few women who I could have good conversations with and relate to well but they have been significantly older than I, hence not really an option to date. I don’t look for particulars (e.g. sharing the same hobbies) and am mostly concerned about simply enjoying each other’s company. To complicate things further, the above stated difficulties tend to drive people like us to more solitary activities and shy away from crowds and events (introversion seems to be kind of a feedback loop). What kind of advice could you offer as to how to connect with somebody I could get along with? ––Outcast

ear Outcast The feedback loop of introversion is legit, definitely. But there are ways to put yourself out there that don’t involve crowds, per se. And I’m sorry, Outcast, but putting yourself out there is what you’re going to have to do. Volunteer opportunities are always my goto advice for folks looking to expand their social circles: smaller numbers, built-in topics of

LittleVillageMag.com/DearKiki

conversation, baseline shared acceptance that the world around you matters. In your case, given the interests you lay out, I’ve got two suggestions for you. The first: Is there a makerspace in your metro that you could either join or volunteer at? Curious, intelligent people who gravitate toward mechanical, hands-on pursuits (“know how to fix everything”) can often be found at such places. In the absence of a stand-alone business of that sort, you might look into partnering with your local library to create such a thing for your community. The second: Look into programs that offer you the opportunity to mentor. You had the experience of struggling through high school due to a lack of like-minded role models; now, as an adult, you have the chance to serve as that role model for some other kid in your community. Big Brothers/Big Sisters is the most common such program, but most metro areas have less formal versions at local youth centers, etc. You get to make life easier for someone like you, and you can meet others your age doing the same. The thing to avoid, Outcast, is any impulse to be anything other than yourself. There are people out there of all genders and backgrounds who share your way of experiencing the world. You won’t find them if you spend your time with people who are resentful of you or accuse you of making them feel “stupid.” Don’t stress over “making casual conversation”—your ideal matches will likely be as bad at it as you are. If you dedicate yourself to finding less isolated ways of chasing the passions you already have, you’ll start to find the people you are meant to know. Good luck; let me know how it goes for you! xoxo, Kiki

KIKI WANTS QUESTIONS! Submit questions anonymously at littlevillagemag.com/dearkiki or non-anonymously to dearkiki@littlevillagemag.com. Questions may be edited for clarity and length, and may appear either in print or online at littlevillagemag.com. LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308 July 2022 51

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CANCER (June 21-July 22): Filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard believes there’s only one way to find a sense of meaning, and that is to fill your life to the bursting point; to be in love with your experience; to celebrate the flow of events wherever it takes you. When you do that, Godard says, you have no need or urge to ask questions like “Why am I here?” or “What is my purpose?” The richness of your story is the ultimate response to every enigma. As I contemplate these ideas, I say: wow! That’s an intensely vibrant way to live. Personally, I’m not able to sustain it all the time. But I think most of us would benefit from such an approach for brief periods now and then. And I believe you have just entered one of those phases. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I asked Leo readers to provide their insights about the topic, “How to Be a Leo.” Here are responses that line up with your current astrological omens. 1. People should try to understand you’re only bossing them around for their benefit. —Harlow Hunt. 2. Be alert for the intense shadows you may cast with your intense brightness. Consider the possibility that even if they seem iffy or dicey, they have value and even blessings to offer. —Cannarius Kansen. 3. Never break your own heart. Never apologize for showering yourself with kindness and adoration. —Amy Clear. 4. At the moment of orgasm, scream out your own name. —Bethany Grace VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): It’s your birthright as a Virgo to become a master of capitalizing on difficulties. You have great potential to detect opportunities coalescing in the midst of trouble. You can develop a knack for spotting the order that’s hiding in the chaos. Now is a time when you should wield these skills with artistry, my dear—both for your own benefit and for the betterment of everyone whose lives you touch. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): One of my heroes died in 2021: the magnificent Libran author bell hooks (who didn’t capitalize her name). She was the most imaginative and independent-minded activist I knew. Till her last day, she articulated one-of-a-kind truths about social justice; she maintained her uncompromising originality. But it wasn’t easy. She wrote, “No insurgent intellectual, no dissenting critical voice in this society escapes the pressure to conform. We are all vulnerable. We can all be had, co-opted, bought. There is no special grace that rescues any of us. There is only a constant struggle.” I bring this to your attention, Libra, because I suspect the coming weeks will require your strenuous efforts to remain true to your high standards and unique vision of reality. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You now have the power to make yourself even more beautiful than you already are. You are extraordinarily open to beautifying influences, and there will be an abundance of beautifying influences coming your way. I trust you understand I’m not referring to the kinds of beauty that are worshiped by conventional wisdom. Rather, I mean the elegance, allure, charm, and grace that you behold in old trees and gorgeous architecture and enchanting music and people with soulful idiosyncrasies. PS: The coming weeks will also be a favorable time to redefine the meaning of beauty for yourself. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): It’s the Season for Expressing Your Love—and for expanding and deepening the ways you express your love. I invite you to speak the following quotes to the right person: 1. “Your head is a living forest full of songbirds.” —E. E. Cummings. 2. “Lovers continuously reach each other’s boundaries.” —Rainer Maria Rilke, 3. “You’re my favorite unfolding story.” — Ann Patchett. 4. “My lifetime listens to yours.” — Muriel Rukeyser. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In the coming weeks, make sure you do NOT fit this description articulated by Capricorn novelist Haruki Murakami: “You’re seeking something, but at the same

By Rob Brezsny

time, you are running away for all you’re worth.” If there is any goal about which you feel conflicted like that, dear Capricorn, now is a good time to clear away your confusion. If you are in some sense undercutting yourself, perhaps unconsciously, now is the time to expose your inner saboteur and seek the necessary healing. July will be Self-Unification Month. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A Tweeter named Luxuryblkwomen articulates one of her ongoing goals: “bridging the gap between me and my ideal self, one day at a time.” I’d love it if you would adopt a similar aspiration in the coming months. You’re going to be exceptionally skilled at all types of bridge-building, including the kind that connects you to the hero you’ll be in the future. I mean, you are already a hero in my eyes, but I know you will ultimately become an even more fulfilled and refined version of your best self. Now is a favorable time to do the holy work of forging stronger links to that star-to-be. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A blogger named Lissar suggests that the cherry blossom is an apt symbol for you Pisceans. She describes you as “transient, lissome, blooming, lovely, fragile yet memorable and recurring, in tune with nature.” Lissar says you “mystify yet charm,” and that your “presence is a balm, yet awe-inspiring and moving.” Of course, like all of us, you also have your share of less graceful qualities. And that’s not a bad thing! We’re all here to learn the art of growing into our ripe selves. It’s part of the fun of being alive. But I suspect that in the coming weeks, you will be an extra close match for Lissar’s description. You are at the peak of your power to delight and beguile us. ARIES (March 21-April 19): In her poem “Two Skins,” Bahamanian writer Lynn Sweeting writes, “There is a moment in every snake’s life when she wears two skins: one you can see, about to be shed, one you cannot see, the skin under the skin, waiting.” I suspect you now have metaphorical resemblances to a snake on the verge of molting, Aries. Congratulations on your imminent rebirth! Here’s a tip: The snake’s old skin doesn’t always just fall away; she may need to take aggressive action to tear it open and strip it off, like by rubbing her head against a rock. Be ready to perform a comparable task. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Imagine a world 300 years from now,” writes Japanese novelist Minae Mizumura, “a world in which not only the best-educated people but also the brightest minds and the deepest souls express themselves only in English. Imagine the world subjected to the tyranny of a singular ‘Logos.’ What a narrow, pitiful, and horrid world that would be!” Even though I am primarily an English speaker, I agree with her. I don’t want a world purged of diversity. Don’t want a monolithic culture. Don’t want everyone to think and speak the same. I hope you share my passion for multiplicity, Taurus—especially these days. In my astrological opinion, you’ll thrive if you immerse yourself in a celebratory riot of variety. I hope you will seek out influences you’re not usually exposed to. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Imagine you’re not a person, but a medley of four magical ingredients. What would they be? A Gemini baker named Jasmine says, “ripe persimmons, green hills after a rain, a sparkling new Viking Black Glass Oven, and a prize-winning show horse.” A Gemini social worker named Amarantha says she would be made of “Florence and the Machine’s song ‘Sky Full of Song,’ a grove of birch trees, a blue cashmere knee-length sweater, and three black cats sleeping in the sun.” A Gemini delivery driver named Altoona says, “freshly harvested cannabis buds, a bird-loving wetlands at twilight, Rebecca Solnit’s book *Hope in the Darkness*, and the Haleakalā shield volcano in Maui.” And now, Gemini, what about you? Identify your medley of four magical ingredients. The time is right to re-imagine the poetry of YOU. LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308 July 2022 53

LO C A L A L B U M S

FLYLIFE A Different View SOUNDCLOUD.COM/FLYLIFEDMON3YY

“C

ause who the fuck gon’ save your family if it isn’t you?” raps FlyLife on the title track from his recently released album. “I know it’s usually guns and drugs but this a different view.” The song serves as the culmination of a broader idea, each prior track helping to redefine a concept of what it means to be successful. Throughout the release, the Des Moines-based MC does this by addressing cultural archetypes and challenging the proliferation of stereotypes in his own life—a contrast which speaks to the promise behind the album’s title. Despite being deeply personal, A Different View incorporates features and production from a dozen collaborators, including Teller Bank$, Juliano Dock and other members of FlyLife’s Us Vs Them collective. There’s no shortage of lyrical boasting and one-upmanship, but it more closely reflects a rising tide outlook than a crabs-in-a-bucket mentality. This theme echoes through Dominic Harrington’s verse in the methodical stomper, “Enormous,” where he adds, “They don’t want me to win, they hopin’ I catch a big L / They see my potential and wanna do me like Big L.” It makes you wonder what could have been for the New York MC if he hadn’t been gunned down at the age of 24. Several tracks depict gun violence and drug running as vehicles some use to try to escape their situation. But leveraging those themes to communicate a story reveals a vulnerability in the style: potentially reinforcing negative stereotypes

Submit albums for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240

by poetically incorporating them. This problematic trade-off is understood, as FlyLife raps on “Seven Days”: “They wanna put us all in a box and see us on Fox.” This isn’t to overlook the album’s musical cohesion—it incorporates everything from trap to R&B and shines through on several tracks produced by Cartier Cookin’, including “Oceans Thirteen.” But its selfaware concepts resonate as much as WILLIAM J LOCKER its sounds do. BRAINWASH Much of the album goes on to WILLIAMJLOCKER.BANDCAMP.COM challenge other concepts relating to achievement, with FlyLife attempthose of us of a certain age who ing to reconcile desires for financial spent any time on the rave or and material gain, companionship club scenes during their heyday are and personal satisfaction with so- familiar with that distinct sensation ciety’s conflicting messaging. In of coming out the other side of a “Enormous,” for example, he and night of partying, with the sun startHarrington trade bars, referencing ing to rise and the DJ lifting the muJay-Z and Michael Jordan as child- sic along with it to something bright hood heroes while FlyLife later and effusive. criticizes certain ideological blueMaybe you’re rolling, maybe prints laid out by past generations. you’re tripping; maybe you’re ridIn “A Different View” he raps, ing the inevitable high of a night “I ain’t respect your ways but I spent dancing with reckless abanknow you ain’t to blame / You OGs don. But has the sun ever felt like dropped the ball, truthfully them this? You’re sweaty and hot from n____s lame.” While not a direct referTHERE’S NO SHORTAGE OF ence to the aforementioned icons, this line provides an LYRICAL BOASTING AND interesting point of conONE-UPMANSHIP, BUT IT trast to their position as MORE CLOSELY REFLECTS A sources of inspiration. In a way, it recognizes society’s RISING TIDE OUTLOOK THAN use of “successful” outliA CRABS-IN-A-BUCKET ers to weaponize idealistic MENTALITY. versions of Black masculinity in undermining and dismissing certain realities facing those stuck within genera- giving your all on the floor, but this tional cycles of struggle. How does rising sun on your face imbues a someone pull themselves up by different kind of warmth. You feel their own bootstraps like Jay or MJ awake, maybe even hopeful. Just when they don’t even have boots? existing is the greatest thing you The close of the album brings with can imagine. it no specific view of what success William J. Locker’s newest alis, but instead, FlyLife encourages bum, BRAINWASH, hits those same the idea that success is what you notes. make it, depending on your own Opening track “Flow” is a dancecontext. Each listener needs to de- pop banger, guaranteed to drag you termine what that means for them- to your feet. Its dense layering is self. Therein resides the different like a dance floor in miniature, with view at the heart of this release. disparate lines weaving in and out —Chris DeLine and something new to listen to on

each repeat. “Flow” rises and rises with no release into “Free My Mind,” which lands heavier but with no less urgency. “No longer alone on this megaphone / Get outside, feel the love, you’re alive / I’m gonna free my mind,” Locker sings. It’s a manifesto and call to action in one, adamantly positive and delightfully rocking. He flips listener expectations again with the bluesy “Walkin On” at track three. Locker has a Scissor Sisters-esque ability to genre surf while still keeping the energy up (complete with Jake Shears’ vocal flexibility, sounding good doing it all). The silky-voiced Nella Thomas guests on track six, “Good Thing Goin’.” The sunny early ‘60s vibe is pure joy, right through the sounds of the surf in the outro. The title track pulls things back into a more traditional dance vibe. Wordless vocals emphasize the steady pulse, and the simple, repetitive melody is deconstructed by a dozen different kinds of sound. “I love you more than I can hide,” Locker sings on the ‘70s rocker “Young,” a genre smash that seems to ask the musical question, “What if Tom Petty had given glam a try?” Love is persistent through this album, and Locker wants the listener to not just know it, but share it. Things slow down with “Infinite,” a thoughtful instrumental that exemplifies wistfulness, a last indulgence of memory, perhaps. An echo of happiness. Then track 12, “Hear My Name,” closes things out on a slightly different note, with an energy that extends from defiance rather than joy. But it’s no less open-eyed and engaging. BRAINWASH would be one hell of an album to see performed live. If Locker has a fraction of the energy on stage that he pours into these recordings, the audience would be brainwashed indeed, swept into a communal experience of activated love and joy. ––Genevieve Trainor

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308 July 2022 55

THE WAR AND TREATY plays at 9 p.m. live music all day. admission is free.

J ULY 9 THE SUMMER TRADITION RETURNS TO CENTENNIAL PARK IN NORTH LIBERTY

Find your next read. Discover new authors. Explore Iowa’s culture.

Charity Nebbe, Host

ipr.org/talkofiowa 56 July 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308

FREE KIDS’ INFLATABLES 10 a.m.– 2 p.m. BARBECUE + MORE starting at 10 a.m. IOWA CRAFT BEER starting at 11 a.m. ADMISSION TO THE FESTIVAL IS FREE full details at NORTHLIBERTYBLUES.org

LO C A L B O O KS

DAN CAMPION A Playbill For Sunset ICE CUBE PRESS

Dan Campion, Prairie Lights, Iowa City, Thursday, July 14 at 7 p.m., Free

ormulaic poetry seems to be simultaneously under- and overrated, something force-fed us by teachers and then never seen again— as though only the archaic men of our textbooks were allowed to use the respective forms. Truthfully, formulaic poems have never actually left the literary milieu. In A Playbill For Sunset (Ice Cube Press, 2022), Dan Campion brings new light to the sonnet, the form which dominates this book. Campion offers tribute to his intellectual and artistic heroes in both form and name. Opening with “Time’s Arrow,” Campion advises readers in his very first line, “We are not in any rush,” which is true of the anthology as a whole. He takes his time meandering through nature scenes and emotional revelations, never hurrying a poem or belaboring a point. His poems are leisurely, and he seems to want his audience to experience them as such. Much of the content of these deliberate, gentle poems will be inaccessible to a large swath of the potential readership. The poems are sometimes about, if not overtly referencing, esoteric intellectual content. I found myself keeping my search engine open throughout reading, realizing early on I’d need background information on some references, as with the poem “Das Boot.” The selection references surrealist and dadaist artists, Chicago architecture

Submit books for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240

and the Greek mythological character Proteus. While, in the end, I liked the poem, it was necessary that I ingest the background information and come back to it later to understand it. That said, “Das Boot” makes the important point that art about war often makes war more palatable, despite war being surreal and traumatic. This, maybe, is the power within a leisurely book of poetry. When absorbed as it’s meant to be—slowly and deliberately—the points are made and internalized in a subtle manner. Favorite poems of mine used concrete images as metaphors for the human condition. In “The Parrots,” there is no rush to get to the point. It opens describing a collective of birds and the life of parrots in general, slowly distilling the poem to its final three lines, “It’s marvelous how we clutch, over time, / a perch so slick, so worn, so hard, so slight. / Flung to the gutter, even there we’re chic.” This ending is obviously not a heroic couplet (the final two lines of a traditional sonnet, which rhyme with each other, while the preceding follow an ABAB / CDCD scheme). Other of the 14-line poems do not follow the formal rules of the sonnet, and a small handful of the poems are not sonnets at all. Longer poems with shorter lines offer a literal break from form, but they also signal narrative and rhythmic change, a break from expectations. My favorite of these is “Out on Route 6,” which feels like the soundtrack for a roadtrip in the country. Campion is your companion and nature is your guide. So much of this book feels like an homage to transcendental poets and Americana that it almost seems out of time. Campion, maybe, lives in the woods learning writing from birdsong and watching both sunrises and sunsets. A perfect set of bookends, the “Time’s Arrow” line “We are not in any rush” is balanced by the final lines of the collection, closing the titular poem, “A Playbill for Sunset”: “There’s always time. The sun will always set. / In mask and buskins, dusk may answer yet.” —Sarah Elgatian

LAUREL SNYDER; ILLUSTRATED BY DAN SANTAT Endlessly Ever After CHRONICLE BOOKS

oet Laurel Snyder, an Iowa Writers’ Workshop alum, is a Geisel Award-winning children’s book author. Endlessly Ever After is her first collaboration with Caldecott Award-winning illustrator Dan Santat (beloved in my home for his work on Corey Rosen Schwartz’s The Three Ninja Pigs). It is not, however, her first pickyour-path book.

THIS WINSOME FRACTURED FAIRY TALE IS UN-PUT-DOWN-ABLE. Her first published work, in 2005 (written before she went down the path to writing for children), was a chapbook called Daphne & Jim: A choose-your-own-adventure biography in verse. There, she turned the form to the task of exploring a couple’s courtship. That couple was based on her own parents, a sign of an intimacy with and trust in that form that is also evident in Endlessly Ever After (Chronicle Books, April 2022). This winsome fractured fairy tale is un-put-down-able. Of course, I had my own period of obsession with the original Choose Your Own Adventure series of books. They’re a deeply safe way for children to explore both the freedom and the fatalism of decision making. They make a reader feel as though they are collaborating in the act of creation, spinning alternate

universes into being. The struggle with a picture book crafted this way is that there is, necessarily, a hero to the story. The “you” isn’t solely a cipher, but a character whose role you step into. In this case, Snyder and Santat have created Rosie, a delightful amalgam of storybook tropes who, even while beholden to the reader’s choices, manages to exhibit consistent character traits of compassion, resilience and curiosity. Through a particular gift for facial expressions, Santat offers a visual of Rosie that seems to mature as more choices are made, a pragmatic child who learns enough from her choices that she wouldn’t dare call any of them “mistakes.” Snyder’s snappy rhymes guide Rosie and the reader on a journey through a whole forest of fairy tales. The third little pig’s sturdy home lies just a few paths over from a gingerbread house where two hapless children await rescue. Jack is searching for his goose, dwarves hold a wake and a princess waits in a tower for a kiss. The storytelling is done in verse, but each choice is laid out plainly in prose. That break in flow and form drives home the importance of pausing before choice-making, something children—and all of us—could use more reminders about. There are plenty of unhappy endings included in Endlessly Ever After. This book embraces the darkness of fairy tales as well as their joy and their effortless moralizing. But at no point does the reader feel trapped, or disappointed, or let down. The poetry of the text and the warmth of the illustrations make sure that the harshest lessons are graciously and gratefully received. And the happy endings are like hidden treasures, shining brightly when found. Snyder and Santat have crafted a book that children (and their adults) will want to read and reread again and again. It’s perfect for curling up in a cozy chair on a cold or rainy day and escaping into a world where all things are possible. —Genevieve Trainor

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV308 July 2022 57

OPEN LETTERS 1

by Brendan Emmett Quigley 5

The American Values Club Crossword is edited by Ben Tausig.

in this puzzle’s game of 66-Across, preceded by a description of it) 48. Scarcity subj. 49. Fill with joy 50. Lower edge of the strike zone 51. New York Red Bulls league 52. Being risked 58. A/C measure 59. Garment designed to be covered in mushed apple and avocado smears 60. “I can’t even!,” more quaintly 61. Lil ___ Vert 62. Nat. with a cedar tree on its flag 63. Female grouse 64. ___ Faire (event with breeches and cloaks) 65. Counsel provider: Abbr. 66. Daily internet puzzle game in which green indicates right-letter-rightspot, and this puzzle’s theme 67. Criticize, briefly

32 35

40 46

33 38

34 39

ACROSS 1. Form 4506-T org. 4. Color for right-letterwrong-spot in a game of 66-Across 10. Hit playfully on the head 13. “Sorry, boss” 14. Common names in espionage 16. “I’ll take that as ___” 17. Alex and ___ (charm bracelet giant)

18. Enfamil rival 19. Stitch together, say 20. Campy neck covering 21. ___ Moon (half-fairy, half-vampire in books for young readers) 22. Office tower abbr. 23. Italian soccer juggernaut based in Milan 25. Tracking device at spring training :( 27. Agcy. with an aviation accident database

28. Takes precedence over everything else (or the original guess in this puzzle’s game of 66-Across, followed by a description of it) 29. The act of playing two notes at once on a stringed instrument (despite the name, the piece doesn’t have to end there) 31. Indian bread made with whole wheat flour

32. Transitions, from one scene through the start of the next 34. Make a pit stop, as it were 35. Tailor-made 38. An ocean away 40. Topical butter type 42. Set with a strainer, salver, pot, etc. 46. Intuition sometimes needed in a pinch (or the final, winning guess

LittleVillageMag.com corporate wardrobe 15. Winter wrap 24. Recedes at the beach 26. It might be deeply inspired 30. August zodiac sign 33. Stick in the pond? 35. Flock together 36. Baseball club that was the first American team to reach 10,000 losses 37. Southern cookin’ sometimes served “cowboy style” 39. “Reindeers are better than people / ___, don’t you think that’s true?” (lyrics from a Frozen song) 41. Try by Brady: Abbr. 43. Damage done to exposed skin in extremely cold temperatures 44. Elizabeth Costello author J.M. 45. Following 47. Throws in the oven 50. The Family Circus cartoonist Jeff 53. Spring occurrence 54. Lily that is the state flower of Utah 55. Area of an arena 56. Distracted condition, for short 57. Frigate spine

DOWN 1. Trapped, decision-wise 2. Invaded, as a ball field by a streaker 3. Massage technique based on meridians 4. Nobelist Arafat 5. Students who run WYBCx radio, for short 6. Capital with a 250-yearJUNE ANSWERS old bullring 7. Put (down), as a Y U P RC A E N I GMA S A P E A RC L I B E R T E track in the studio CHO Z A C T R I MS P A 8. Astrup Fearnley H E R T Z SOGOOD P E R T R I O S L UR WA A C Museum of Modern S E AMY A T OMY A UCH Art city J OA D S E AG L E 9. Sign of use J OU L E BOX E S Y A NN I L EW I S 10. Moment in grime GE N EGE N I E SWA B S and dubstep songs I S I S OK R A A CH E when the low end L O T P E T E R T ORQU E P ROD I GY UR L U T I enters dramatically I NR A NGE N I A I A N 11. Brief sample NOS I E S T S A Y T NG 12. Piece in a

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