Schedule

NOTSTOCK day-by-day schedule and schedule of events by artistic area are posted. A music schedule is yet to come. Check it out!

Day-by-day schedule
 
Schedule by artistic area

Guante Opens NOTSTOCK 2016

WordStock kicks off NOTSTOCK with Guante, two-time National Poetry Slam champion, MC, activist, educator, and writer from Minneapolis. He has performed everywhere, from the United Nations to the Soundset Hip Hop Festival, to countless colleges, universities, clubs, theaters, and rallies across the US.. His work has appeared on Upworthy, MSNBC, Welcome to NightVale, Everyday Feminism, BBC Radio 6 Music, Button Poetry, and beyond.

Unapologetically social justice-minded, Guante strives to push boundaries in terms of both form and substance. He facilitates workshops and classes that use art as a jumping-off point for deeper conversations about identity, power, empathy, and agency. Guante also just completed his Master's studies at the University of Minnesota with a focus on the intersections of spoken word, critical pedagogy, and social justice education.

Guante will perform Sept. 21 at 7:00 p.m. in Aleshire Theatre. He will also conduct workshops with students on Sept. 22-23 and will host the Poetry Slam in the Beaver Dam on Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. MSU alumnus and fellow writer, performer, and educator, Joe Davis, will assist Guante and work with students at area high schools.

Check out some of his spoken-word videos, like this one:


Make sure you sign up for the Poetry Slam in the Dam!

NOTSTOCK 2016 - 10 Years of Arts Education

You are invited to the 10th NOTSTOCK, the signature fall ARTS event at Minot State University, SEPTEMBER 21-24. This is THE BIGGEST NOTSTOCK yet! The array of talented guests and activities include: theatre, printmaking, ceramics, poetry, music, film, language arts, broadcasting, art exhibits, and more! All events take place on MSU’s campus and all are free of charge.

NOTSTOCK will begin on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 7:00 p.m. with our guest poet, GUANTE, a two-time National Poetry Slam champion, activist, educator, and writer. Minot native and fellow writer, performer, and educator, Joe Davis, will also participate in the WORDSTOCK poetry events. 

SCREEN-PRINTING with artist phenoms, Neal Williams of Epic Problems and Dan McCarthy. BOTH will print LIVE at the event. Attend artist presentations and learn about careers, education, and the printmaking process.
 
DO-IT-YOURSELF screen-printing with MSU’s Art Students. Bring your t-shirts, tote bags and hoodies! 
 
THREE on-campus art exhibits! A Dan McCarthy and Neal Williams exhibit will be showcased in our library gallery. In Our Own Words: Native Impressions, an exhibit on loan from the North Dakota Museum of Art, will be on display in our Student Center Conference Center. Finally, a comprehensive 10-Year NOTSTOCK Retrospective exhibit will be in our new Flat Tail Press Gallery located in the west stairwell landing of the Administration Building.
 
FILMSTOCK debuts with LOVE FILM workshops hosted by representatives of ND STRONG.
 
THEATRE guests from the Center for Applied Theatre and Drama Research will offer an array of interactive workshops and theatrical experiences.
 
POTSTOCK returns with guest ceramicist Danielle O’Malley. LOTS of wheel throwing, hand-building, and raku opportunities for all!
 
BROADCASTING will host LIVE TONGUE-TWISTING contests for students in the Beaver Dam!
 
Foreign Language faculty member, JF Mondon, delivers a language inspired workshop "POETRY AROUND THE WORLD."
 
TENNESSEE JET is our special MUSIC GUEST! He is a one-man Americana-rock band from Nashville influenced by the hard-core honky-tonk of Dwight Yoakam, the writings of John Steinbeck, and the raw minimalism of The White Stripes. VANITY PLATE opens the show at 8:00 p.m. in the MSU outdoor Amphitheater on Friday, Sept. 23. Be prepared to clap, stomp, and chant along. Free will donations accepted.
 
Finally, on Saturday, Sept. 24, stop by CRAFTSTOCK outside the Student Center. The craft fair will feature approximately 12 local artists and their work for purchase. LOCAL LIVE MUSIC provided by Pangea House. 
 
The event will culminate with a CLOSING RECEPTION, Sept. 24, 7 p.m. at 62 Doors Gallery and Studios. Food, music, art, and fun for everyone. 

ALL EVENTS are FREE and open to the public. All artists and other guests will have work for sale. See the enclosed schedule and visit www.msunotstock.org for blog updates, band lineup, art curriculum, and online events schedule. Also check out MSU NOTSTOCK on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook (@msunotstock). We look forward to seeing you on campus!

WordStock 2015

Jason McCall was great. His workshops helped others learn about writing poetry, and he shared his love of comics and superheros during his reading. A great crowd turned out to listen to their peers read and perform poetry at WordStock's Slam in the Dam 2015. Thanks, Jason, for hosting and being an amazing guest!

Jason McCall, Award-Winning Poet, at WordStock 2015

WordStock kicks off NOTSTOCK with award-winning poet, Jason McCall. He will visit MSU classrooms Sept. 23. On Sept. 24-25, McCall will conduct workshops in the Student Center Conference Center and host a Poetry Slam in the Beaver Dam on Sept. 25 at 1:00 p.m. McCall will perform his work Sept. 23 at 7:00 p.m. in Aleshire Theatre with a reception to follow.

McCall is from the great state of Alabama, where he currently teaches English and Literature at the University of Alabama. He holds an MFA from the University of Miami, and his poetry has been featured in Cimarron Review, The Los Angeles Review, Mythic Delirium, New Letters, Poems & Plays, and other journals. He is the author of Silver (Main Street Rag), I Can Explain (Finishing Line Press), Dear Hero (Winner of the 2012 Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Prize), Mother, Less Child (Winner of the 2013 Paper Nautilus Vella Chapbook Prize), and he is the co-editor of the forthcoming anthology It Was Written: Poetry Inspired by Hip-Hop.

Four Poems by Jason McCall

Remix

Friends pass you a link,
tell you there’s something

you need to hear, a video
you have to see. A few seconds

in and you recognize
the beat, recognize the hook

comes from a song your mom used
to hum in the kitchen while she waited

for the apple pie to cool.
And you turn it off, disappointed again,

tired of hearing the same song.
You know every myth

is a retelling, a sample
of the music that moved

your parents hips, no matter
how hard it is to imagine

your folks grooving at prom,
slow dancing with the lump

that will be your sister between them.
You know this song;

you don’t need to finish the first verse
to guess it begins with a black boy leaving

home too soon and ends with a father sad
for all the times to told the boy to stand up

and act like a man, a mother
begging to put her baby back in her body

instead of handing him over
to the earth.


Sidekick Funeral: John the Baptist

Every MC needs a hype man,
Chuck D had Flav.
Biggie had Diddy.
And Jesus had you
to get the crowds ready,
to make sure the world knew
new shit was on the way.
You never loved yourself
too much or fell in love
with the idea that you could go
solo. You knew it wasn’t about you;
it wasn’t even about Jesus

and the whole “son of God”
tagline. It was about the message,
about the music of a million knees
dropping to the earth and dropping
their burdens at your boy’s feet.
And that’s why the message had to live
even if the body was on the cross,
in a Galilee grave, on his father’s throne.
And you made sure the message pumped
through every speaker in heaven, hell, and earth.


Sidekick Funeral: Ricky Baker

We were all running with you
in that alley, little
brother, every one of us

who chased a job that was gone the second
the secretary barked “can I help you?”
and demanded to see ID, every one of us

who couldn’t pay for condoms and now
can’t afford a car seat because we blew our wad
on Ruby Tuesday and haircuts for prom, every one of us

who had to pretend it was fun
sleeping on the floor
for three years, every one of us

who begged our friends not to read
the tags on our jeans or the tongue
of our shoes, every one of us

who thought we could outrun this world
until the sun marked us black
and cut through our dreams like a shotgun.


SYG

Only history I remember is John
Brown’s raid, Jim Brown running, and Joe Louis
putting a white boy on his ass.
What makes you think I’m ready
to run tonight? Think I care about your badge?
Your polo shirt and whiskey threats?

I’d rather go toe-to-toe with all of y’all.
Running ain’t in my protocol.

Big brother says keep my head
down and work hard.
Father says sweat and the world will
notice. Mama wants
me to slow down
and pray, but how long
could you kneel
in another man’s shit?

I’d rather go toe-to-toe with all of y’all.
Running ain’t in my protocol.

Gunshot and cover
page in tomorrow’s paper.
They’ll talk about my neighborhood,
about the nights I spent in police cars, days
I skipped school. They won’t say I died
face up, daring God to look me in the eye.

I’d rather go toe-to-toe with all of y’all.
Running ain’t in my protocol.

  

Slam in the Dam 2014

A great crowd turned out to listen to their peers read and perform poetry at WordStock's Slam in the Dam 2014. Thanks, Sierra and Joe, for hosting.