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Artist Name (click below for more info)	Artform
DANA JENSEN	POETRY	While working in a 1st grade classroom we were creating comparisons for things that are in the sky. One student wrote “the sun is the last coin in a poor family’s savings,” and another wrote, “the wind is the breath of...
DIEGO VAZQUEZ	POETRY & SPOKEN WORD	I was born in Chicago, but raised in the southwestern desert town of El Paso, Tejas. In schools on this side of the border, we were not allowed to speak our Mejicano Spanish. I began writing to explore the experience of inheriting two worlds...
FRANK SENTWALI	POETRY, SPOKEN WORD, HIP-HOP AESTHETIC	Edu-Poetic-Enter-Brainment, educational poetic entertainment for the brain, is the moniker for my brand of poetry fused with verbal rhythms and theatrical expression. For the last 12 years I have been exposing young people to the more social...
JOHN MINCZESKI	POETRY	I have worked in the COMPAS program since 1975; and was a founding member of The Loft and S.A.S.E.: The Write Place. I have an MFA in poetry from Warren Wilson College and work occasionally as an adjunct professor at Macalester and other...
JON LURIE	MEMOIR WRITING	As a child growing up in Minneapolis I would spend hours in that urban forest climbing trees, playing in the rocky creek, and digging my hands into the damp soil hoping to discover clues that would tie me to this ground, this place. Looking...
JOYCE SIDMAN	POETRY	Writing has helped me to understand and celebrate life. My recent poetry books for children include Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors (a Caldecott Honor Book and a Minnesota Book Award Winner) and This Is Just to Say: Poems of...
JULIA KLATT SINGER	FICTION & POETRY	I left writing to teach high school social studies, then left teaching to write. As a COMPAS artist-in-the-schools, my two favorite occupations collide. I have my MA from Hamline University in Creative Writing. I’ve had over thirty...
KELLY BARNHILL	FICTION	I’m a writer; I’m a teacher. I like being both. As a writer, my primary concern has been the creation of fully realized characters. I spend quite a bit of time with my characters before they emerge in the context of a story. I...
KEVIN STRAUSS	FOLKTALES & STORYTELLING	My goal in residencies is to inspire students to find and create their own written or spoken stories and to help them discover the magic of bringing those stories to life. Fiction Residency: I help students define what makes...
KYLE MYHRE	Spoken-Word/ Rap	I am a spoken-word poet and hip hop artist and am available for workshops and demonstrations for either one. I've been Grand Poetry Slam champion of Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Madison, and took first place at the National Poetry Slam in 2009...
LAURIE LINDEEN	MEMOIR & PERSONAL ESSAY	Did you ever want to be a rock and roll star? I certainly did, and in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s my all-women band, Zuzu’s Petals, was poised for stardom. Things didn’t turn out the way I had hoped for Zuzu’s...
LOUIS PORTER II	MEMOIR & POETRY	A native of New Orleans, the sights, sounds and soul of the South are very much a part of my own writing. As an African American, my culture plays a critical role in my work as well. My love for writing and stories began as a youngster...
MAY LEE YANG	CREATIVE WRITING	Since 1997, I’ve spent the better part of my professional career delivering programs to youth; I not only write, but I also often perform my writing in public. I’ve received grants from the MN State Arts Board and COMPAS; and I...
MICHAEL BERHANE	CREATIVE WRITING/SHORT STORY	I was born and grew up in the East African country of Eritrea, in the midst of one of the longest wars in Africa. My father was an excellent and well-known storyteller, and from a very early age I knew that when I grew up I should be a writer or...
STEPHEN PETERS	STORY WRITING	My residencies aim to foster a love of reading and writing. They inspire, energize, and encourage students to begin thinking of themselves as writers—and as readers who think like writers! My joy in working with children is contagious;...
SUSAN MARIE SWANSON	POETRY	When I come to school, we explore poetry with activities that involve everyone, brainstorming about the playground or the shoes on our feet, or working out new ways to describe a person who delights or puzzles us. Often, exploring ways to work...
TOU SAIK LEE	SPOKEN WORD, RAP, Hmong Traditional Poetry	I was recently featured in the New York Times in a video documentary titled “Hmong Hip Hop Heritage” about my community work through hip-hop and collaboration with my grandmother performing traditional Hmong poetry chanting. As a Hmong...

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