Saint Louis Speaks Podcast

Stef Russell talks to Maryville University's Germaine Murray (Professor of English & Humanities) and Dana Levin (Distinguished Writer-in-Residence) as they walk us through "Whitman: Up Close," an exhibit at the May Gallery. The show, on view through October 18, is part of "Whitmania!", a semester-long celebration of all things Whitman on the occasion of his 200th birthday. Germaine and Dana talked about why Whitman considered himself more printer than poet, his love of technology, and his surprising ties to St. Louis. Note: because this is a field recording, there's some mic noise throughout, most noticeably at the halfway point; rather than pull that section (where mic noise overlaps voices), we left it intact, because we didn't want to lose the commentary about naked Walt Whitman (!) and the photographer Thomas Eakins. "Whitmania!" wraps up on November 3 with "Whitman Set to Song," a concert in the Maryville University Auditorium.

Whitmania!
https://www.maryville.edu/whitmania/
https://stlouispoetrycenter.org/whitmania/

The Morton J. May Gallery
https://www.maryville.edu/about/news-and-events/morton-j-may-foundation-gallery/

The Walt Whitman Archive
https://whitmanarchive.org

Artist Dail Chambers and poet Treasure Shields Redmond talk about their new project, the Fannie Lou Hamer House. Located in Belleville, it's a container for a multitude of creative people and creative projects. They also talked about their respective art practices; the importance of family and intergenerational dialogue within art; nature; the Mississippi River; the many other projects they're engaged in; and of course, Fannie Lou Hamer herself.

https://www.instagram.com/FannieLouHamerHouse
https://snccdigital.org/people/fannie-lou-hamer/
https://instagram.com/blackskilletfunders
https://itshanapa.tumblr.com
http://www.breadandrosesmo.org
https://www.facebook.com/WUArcadeProjects/
https://femininepronoun.com
https://www.whoraisedyoupodcast.com
https://anchor.fm/treasure-shields-redmond

In 1969, a St. Louis teen named Robert Rayford became the first person in America known to have died of HIV/AIDS. His story was the starting point for Impact HIV/AIDS, a longterm initiative launched last year by the Griot Museum of Black History. The project combines art, culture, history, public health events, lectures and more, with the goal of documenting and raising awareness of the ongoing impact of HIV/AIDS on St. Louis' African American community. Stef Russell spoke with museum founder and executive director Lois Conley and museum assistant Ian Darnell about past events, the exhibit opening later this fall, and the future of the project.

https://www.thegriotmuseum.com
https://www.facebook.com/TheGriotTellsOurStory/
https://www.stlmag.com/history/architecture/the-historic-griot-museum-hosts-events/
http://drainmag.com/aids-1969-hiv-history-and-race/?fbclid=IwAR0kmBuWHw6pvr8BlQGnom_eHtY13Q6pGgKWASEgKxd10GYS_lGMGbxt1yM#ftn16
https://www.kff.org/hivaids/fact-sheet/black-americans-and-hivaids-the-basics/
https://www.stlmag.com/The-Pre-Pandemic-Puzzle/

Host Umar Lee chats with documentary filmmaker, Alana Flowers about her upcoming film "The Kinloch Doc" which will be screened August 15th at the Grandel (Hosted by Arch City Defenders).

Charles Klotzer, longtime free-speech activist and holocaust survivor joins host Umar lee on the St. Louis Speaks Podcast (available thru Spreaker). At 93, Klotzer has a lot to reflect on, from his family's flight out of Nazi Germany and settlement in a Jewish ghetto in Shanghai, to his storied publishing career in St. Louis.

Stef Russell talks to Che Applewhaite, Catie Barr, Kale Catchings and Saul Glist, a team of four Harvard undergraduates who have traveled from Boston to spend 10 weeks in St. Louis under the auspices of The Commonwealth Project. A Harvard initiative founded by Tef Poe and Walter Johnson, it models a new way for universities to engage with social problems through service and collaboration with professors, students, cultural producers, activists, attorneys and others. Also on deck was Commonwealth Project co-coordinator Robin McDowell, Ph.D. candidate in African and African American Studies at Harvard. The group talks about the projects it undertook this summer with its St. Louis partners, including EHOC (Metro St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council).

The Commonwealth Project
https://warrencenter.fas.harvard.edu/commonwealth-project

Metro St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council
https://ehocstl.org/

Equity Legal Services
https://www.equitylegalservices.org/

RC Striders Track & Field Team
https://www.instagram.com/rcstridersstl/

Organization for Black Struggle
https://www.obs-stl.org/

The Griot Museum of Black History and Culture
https://www.thegriotmuseum.com/

The Venable Park Coalition FB Page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/738798083251934/

A vision for a St Louis future

Stef Russell sat down with Belt Magazine founder Ann Trubek and St. Louis (Kirkwood) native, Ryan Lee Schuessler, editor of Belt's St. Louis Anthology for a great podcast. Stef leads listeners on a spoiler free exploration of some of the poems and short stories from the Anthology, Kinloch to Little Bosnia.

Umar Lee gives his thoughts on the Game of Thrones series finale, gives a little St Louis Muslim history, and talks about Deontay Wilder's sensational knockout.