League of Minnesota Poets Fall 2024 Conference Recap

I was not sure what to expect. They planned a Cowboy Poetry night as the first event at the start of Native American Heritage month. I was not sure how I could contribute; I do not write ballads and rhyming poetry. Both at odds with the event and wanting to be part of my writing community, I spent the afternoon before event in the evening listening to my recently acquired Sade album Love is Stronger than Pride in my sacred space – the string lights and salt lamp plugged in, Sacred Forest candle lit – and picked through Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses, thinking I might be able to find a scene to share to best capture and challenge the ‘Cowboy’ concept.

I chose the scene where John Grady Cole decides to go to Mexico with a friend to try his luck on a ranch there after his father dies and his mother sells the family land out from under him. His friend questions why anyone would leave Texas if born there. Alabama, yes, but Texas? I ended up not being allowed to share this scene because it is fiction, not poetry.

*The President Amanda introducing Cowboy Poetry night*

At the first event, I found myself a little more at ease when I sat at a table with an intersex model and a person wearing a Kamala button. Members of the League’s board also introduced themselves, and the Cowboy Poetry wasn’t too terrible. Still, I found myself pressed by the need to honor the land upon which we lived: Oceti Sakowin and Anishinaabe territories. I decided to read “Leave No Trace,” which appears published in the Rockvale Review: Issue Eleven, and make a statement about Indigenous land rights and the sovereignty of nature. After I delivered the final line: “Nothing less than divine,” Jana, a board member, pronounced it was her favorite. The intersex model followed with a wonderful statement about how the Spanish and Indigenous peoples were the original cowboys.

The night was ending, and somebody had to get in a statement about misgendering me, even knowing my name is Eugene. Jana quickly corrected them with my “he” pronouns. She did this frequently throughout the conference. Thank you. That is true allyship.

I was one of the first people to the conference the next morning. They had a full day planned for us, beginning with Open Mic. Taking a moment to arrange my books on the Member Books table, I decided I would read “Pronounced Love at the Scene.” This poem has been nominated by my acquiring editor at Finishing Line Press for Best of the Net. Somebody else opened with a morning poem similar to mine, and I felt like it was the perfect selection. Between Open Mic and the President of the League Amanda’s presentation on Lesbian Poetry, we gathered around the Member Books table and bartered. I gave away my Zines as free samples, which I think encouraged people to buy my books after previewing the poems represented in them. My Zines have queer, interracial, and art activism themes. During Amanda’s presentation, I was able to offer Queer Voices MN, specifically LM Brimmer and Sherrie Fernandez-Williams, as representative of the Minneapolis scene for those questioning. Amanda’s presentation was wonderful! She covered history as early as Sappho to discuss late 20th century lesbian poets, performers, and activists, such as Stonewall, Stormé, and those found in Lesbian Concentrate. We then broke for lunch before transitioning into a session in which we got to envision Paradise.

While I did not end up winning the Agates Award to which I submitted at the Gala or being published in the journal, I made many friends while there like Doug & Becky, Sangita, K, and Bethany. It also was great to get out and support other writers. I am not sure if it was the affectionate way Dennis called me “guy” every time he saw me, or that I think it is important to support Veterans, but I ended up buying his linked short story collection Free Fire Zone. I also traded my chapbook Tender One with Marilyn for a copy of her book Invisible Silken Threads as she told me it was a spiritual book and included Native American myths and friendships. I hope my friendships with Doug, Becky, and Sangita last beyond the exchanges of our books: We Look West and Mamina.

If anything, the one instance where hotel staff tried to correct me on which bathroom I was entering was worth it for the friendships I made, the poems I heard and got to read, and the resources I acquired. Dennis told me about an email service that keeps you updated biweekly on everywhere that is currently open to submissions called Authors Publish. Sangita told me about an easy tool for creating pamphlets and other craft materials called Canva.

Poems I read:

· “Leave No Trace”

· “Pronounced Love at the Scene”

· “Interruptions”

· “Bullet Hole”

· “Kindness Wishes Me to Be Haunted”

Our final day we wrapped up with Bethany Berry’s presentation on Animal Consciousness. Here is a fun little one I crafted during the session:

My Life as a Mustache Monkey – G. Gazelka

I have a long mustache

now! Yay! Swing Swing

Swing

Am I in a Zoo in

a cage? Is that

why they can see

me to respond and

react? Oohing and

aahing at how cute

he is

They peer into my wizened

face as I stroke

my mustache

my little agile body

my big child’s eyes

my squeaky voice

Swing Swing Swing

I am away playing

with friends

I left feeling invigorated to write more poems.

My Life as a mustache monkey

Publish.

Author photo shoot