The Glass Breakers

by William Meissner

Beware. They might approach your car any time:
In the splintering light of early morning,
or out of the frightening silence of night.

They are the glass breakers.

They arrive suddenly with guns, with tear gas,
with blunt instruments,
their dull fatigues blending in so it's hard to distinguish them
from the grey shadows in an alley.
There are no laws for them. Anger is the only law they follow.

Do not try to speak to them. They have no use
for words or declarations of innocence--
their mouths are sealed tightly under ash-colored masks.

They’re idling right now in vehicles
on your neighborhood streetcorner, just waiting
to angle in front of your car
and block the path to your future.

So please beware. They're ready
to strut up to your driver’s side window, anxious
to break through the glass, anxious
to send sharp icy pieces flying into your face,
blinding you like bullets, like tears.

St. Cloud writer/teacher Bill Meissner is the author of twelve books, including five books of poetry, four collections of short stories, and three novels. His politically-charged family drama novel, Summer of Rain, Summer of Fire, is set in the turbulent late 1960s and parallels much of the divisiveness in today's America. His 2024 novel is The Wonders of the Little World, featuring a fortune teller in a suffocating small-town Minnesota carnival, and his most recent book of poetry is The Mapmaker's Dream.

The Poem Is Good

by Muna Abdulahi

an excerpt

"The poem shows up
The poem looks out for their neighbors
The poem does not allow their joy to be taken
The poem does not apologize for the languages they hold in their mouth
The poem shows up for us, for you, for we
The poem is 10,000 lakes and 10,000 ways to support one another
The poem is Minnesota
The poem stands up for their neighbors
The poem bears witness"...

Muna Abdulahi is a Somali American poet and performance artist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her work has appeared in Poetry Foundation and Button Poetry and has been showcased at the Minnesota History Center, among others. She is a recipient of the Fredrick Bock Prize.

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No Kings!

People have the Power

When:

March 28

Where:

All over the state!

When our families are under attack and costs are pushing people to the brink, silence is not an option. We will defend ourselves and our communities against this administration’s unjust and cruel acts of violence. America does not belong to strongmen, greedy billionaires, or those who rule through fear. It belongs to us, the people.

Write Circles

Margaret Hasse offers a guide to start your own Write Circle

According to the ACLU: "Letters and emails are an extremely effective way of communicating with your elected officials. Many legislators believe a letter represents not only the position of the writer but also many other constituents who did not take the time to write."

What / Why

A Write Action Circle is a group of people committed to conveying their opinions about current events to leaders in order to influence decisions, and to meet together periodically to exchange ideas and rally commitment.

The main task of each person in a Circle is to take action: write, email, or call leaders such as Congresspersons, members of the MN Statehouse, top officials in government, etc. and express their opinion on specific issues that the group takes on.

The group may also play a role in encouraging more people to stay abreast of issues and opportunities in order to shape the direction of political events by writing newspaper editorials, posting on social media sites, starting new Write Action Circles, writing friends to get them involved, and more.

The Great American Think-off

Call for Submissions

Deadline:

April 1

People of all ages and backgrounds are encouraged to submit an essay of no more than 750 words for a chance to win one of four $500 cash prizes and participate in the live debate to ultimately answer the question, determined by audience vote. 2026 Question: Has the pursuit of happiness made Americans unhappy?

Writers are encouraged to ground their essays in personal experience rather than philosophical abstraction. Finalists will be announced May 1. The 33rd annual live debate will be held in New York Mills, Minnesota, on Saturday, June 13, 2026 at 7PM.

Saint Paul Almanac's The Magazine

Call for Submissions

Deadline:

April 3, 11:59pm

How are you being resilient and helping your neighbors be resilient during this time? How are you and your communities unifying to stay creative and strong in the face of danger, disruption, and hardship? What are you learning from challenges that can equip you to move forward with others in cooperation and peace? Given the incalculable impact of the recent upheaval in our Twin Cities, our collective work must persist. To recover and rebuild, we must continue to love our neighbors with fearlessness, intentionality, and generosity. This unprecedented time must be documented.

This call is an invitation for you to offer your poems and stories in helping to build community. Let’s gather our collective voice so we can connect and sustain our unique, diverse, and vibrant communities. We want to see work from YOU, from those living in the Twin Cities and around Minnesota, who are experiencing and want to respond to the current historical, social, and political circumstances regarding the recent federal occupation of the Twin Cities.

Thawlight

League of Minnesota Poets Spring Conference

When:

April 10–12

Where:

Grand Ely Lodge
Ely, MN

Highlights of the conference will include workshops from Sheila Packa from Duluth, Ryan Leng from Grand Marais, and Donna Isaac from Inver Grove Heights.

Come enjoy the Northwoods with your fellow poets. Bring lots of poetry for the open mics. Enjoy a reading from our most recent John C. Rezmerski Award winner, Annette Gagliardi, at the launch of the award-winning book. Tour the Bear Center and/or Listening Point.

Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference

When:

June 23–26

Where:

Bemidji State University

"We’re excited to announce, after having to cancel our 2025 conference due to a powerful storm hitting Bemidji on the eve of the event, the Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference will return to Bemidji State University this summer, with six intensive writing workshops beside beautiful Lake Bemidji. Our faculty so far includes four members of the MNWC25 faculty: Jennifer Foerster (poetry), Toni Jensen (creative nonfiction), Douglas Kearney (poetry), and Joni Tevis (creative nonfiction). The award-winning novelist Debra Magpie Earling (fiction) and the acclaimed poet Layli Long Soldier (poetry) will be joining the faculty this year. Please check our website periodically for updates. We will open registration in March."

Ways to Help

Supporting our Community

Get involved in Grassroots Mutual Aid work in your neighborhood.

Book the Vote

from National WDA

A national drive bringing together readers, writers, booksellers, publishers, and librarians to register voters

"Democracies die by foreign invasion, but they also die by homegrown authoritarian malignancies. That is happening now in the United States, and Writers for Democratic Action calls on YOU to stop it! Join us in protecting representative government with the most powerful weapon we still have: the Vote in 2026.

"WDA is launching BOOK THE VOTE, a drive to bring together readers, writers, booksellers, publishers, and librarians to register voters before the next elections. Books themselves are threatened now, which is no surprise since books have always been essential to democracy. The Bookstore and the Library can be the frontline of the campaign to rescue it."