Heid E. Erdrich, a Hill & Lake Press neighbor and Minneapolis’ inaugural poet laureate, concluded her yearlong creative service on December 5 with a celebration of song and poetry collaboration at the newly refurbished Minneapolis American Indian Center on Franklin Avenue.
The evening featured remarks from Mayor Jacob Frey, who highlighted the vital role of the arts in city life, and City Council Member, and past President, Andrea Jenkins, herself a poet, who spent four years working to create the position.
City arts administrators praised Erdrich for setting a high standard during her tenure, and Arleta Little, executive director of the Loft Literary Center, returned from sabbatical to express her appreciation.
The Loft, one of the largest literary service organization in the country, administers the poet laureate program.
Erdrich, known for her collaborative approach to poetry and art, opened the celebration with songs by the Asiganaak Singers in the Anishinaabe language.
The event continued with readings from six poet collaborators and concluded with her “Poem for Minneapolis,” which explores the city’s four seasons in Anishinaabe, Dakota and English. The poem calls on the community to unite in a shared voice, ending:
Listen to the city dreaming, calling us home in many languages.
Listen to the city flowing, dreaming, moving toward its chorus, learning its multiple and singular voice.
