Representing nothing less than a tour-de-force of formal invention and emotional intensity, Oni Buchanan’s Spring encompasses radically contrasting work. Ecstatic, visually intricate rhapsodies are juxtaposed with tight, sonnet-like poems, and wispy columns of verse brush up against large-scale epics and kinetic text. A 2009 Massachusetts Book Awards winner, this collection’s point of departure is the paradox of existence as an individual in a political and violent world. All of the formal innovations in this book have in common an urgent need for texture and polyphony, and the poems attempt to discover how to fulfill the individual human responsibility of surviving as a resiliently loving and hopeful living creature. An accompanying multimedia compact disc offers a full Flash-animated version of the printed kinetic work, “The Mandrake Vehicles.” –Charlie Leonard
607 E. Lake St., Wayzata
952.473.8341
Besides being the owner of the Bookcase in Wayzata, the Twin Cities’ oldest independent bookstore, Charlie Leonard has been at various times a writer, editor and teacher, and is currently the founder and executive director of Blue Water Theatre Company in Plymouth.
The Brunori family has been producing wine for many decades, with their first bottling in 1956, and though times might have changed, they have always produced verdicchio. The verdicchio grape creates a full-bodied, rich white wine that is fermented in steel, cement and wood. The name of the grape comes from the word verde, named after its greenish, straw-colored hue. From the Verdicchio DOC in east/central Italy comes Brunori ‘Le Gemme’ 2009, a wine that’s clean, crisp and rich yet high in acidity. It’s heavy on the palate with flavors of green apple and melon. While this wine is great for drinking on its own, you can also pair it with salad, seafood or fish. If you enjoy pinot grigio or a lighter-bodied chardonnay, you should really try verdicchio! –Ryan Sadowski
17521 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka
952.988.9463
Ryan Sadowski is the general manager of The Wine Shop. Sign up for his weekly recommendations by e-mailing info@the-wineshop.com, and read his best seasonal wine pick on this page each month.
It’s been 11 years since Radiohead released its most challenging record, and now Kid A seems like an imposing tower in the desert, impossible to critique or listen to with fresh ears. Icy opener “Everything In Its Right Place” sets the tone, but the title track lays bare the skittish terror of the modern world. Thom Yorke found the song’s subject too ghastly to sing, so he transformed himself into a malfunctioning robot, hissing haunting lyrics like “We've got heads on sticks” and “Rats and children follow me out of town.” Kid A sets the template for an album wary of the shiny lights of the millennium, and behind the digitized production are human voices terrified at getting swallowed up in an increasingly technified landscape. –Jack Kentala
FIND THE ALBUM AT:
13131 Ridgedale Dr., Minnetonka
952.546.2006
Jack Kentala, a local freelance writer/filmmaker/musician, haunts most Twin Cities indie rock shows. He’s the tall guy blocking your view of the stage. He also recently directed his second feature film, which will hit the festival circuit this year.
