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davigray.com
Better Things 5x5 Reading.
Tuesday, May 6th, 7pm, at Moon Palace Books. Featuring five fantastic writers: Halee Kirkwood, Danez Smith, Antonio Williams, Alice Paige, & Dralandra Larkins.

The main reading will be followed by an open mic.

See better-things.org for more info.

#reentrylab #tcpoetry
April 3, 2025 at 7:45 AM
davigray.com
…from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

#BetterThings
#ReEntryLab
#MPWW
#MoonPalaceBooks
#TCPoetry
#TCReadings
#TCOpenMics

4/4
November 4, 2025 at 12:14 AM
davigray.com
…through grants from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

#ReEntryLab #BetterThings #MPWW #MoonPalaceBooks #OpenMics #TCOpenMics #TCPoetry

(5/5)
September 15, 2025 at 6:02 PM
reentrylab.org
…from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

#ReEntryLab #BetterThings #MPWW #MoonPalaceBooks #OpenMics #TCOpenMics #TCPoetry

6/6

reentrylab.org/better-things/
January 21, 2026 at 9:30 AM
mauratwit.bsky.social
Danez is in town tomorrow! @moonpalacebooks.bsky.social !
Flyer for event at Moon Palace Books: baler tings MOON PALACE BOOKS 3032 MINNEHAHA AVE MAY 6, 2025 7PM ANTONIO WILLIAMS DANEZ SMITH ALICE PAIGE HALEE KIRKWOOD DRALANDRA LARKINS PALACE BOOKS REENTRYLAB MP WWV FOR MORE INFO THE READING EVERYBODY WILL BE TALKING ABOUT THE NEXT DAY Masks required at Moon Palace
May 6, 2025 at 1:02 AM
davigray.com
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

#ReEntryLab #BetterThings #MPWW #TCOpenMics #TCPoetry
August 8, 2025 at 6:30 AM
davigray.com
Next month we are doing big things! (We are always doing big things 😉.) Love to have you join us.

#ReEntryLab #ReEntry #MPWW #TCPoetry #TCEvents #TCLitEvents

reentrylab.org/better-things/
Better Things - a gathering for social change - the ReEntry Lab
Better Things is a series of events sponsored by the ReEntry Lab, in partnership with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop (MPWW) and Moon Palace Books.
reentrylab.org
March 6, 2025 at 9:27 PM
davigray.com
Han (he/him) is a justice-impacted artist, writer, and restorative justice practitioner whose work explores themes of healing, identity, and transformation. Through personal essays, he offers intimate reflections on lived experiences, resilience, and the intersections of… (1/5)
Photograph of Han, an Asian man with shaved head and glasses. For more, follow @reentrylab, or go to reentrylab.org
August 14, 2025 at 8:30 AM
davigray.com
One week away from the next installment of ✨BETTER THINGS✨ by our friends @reentrylab at @moonpalacebooks on Tuesday, October 7th at 7PM!

Hosted by @davigrayx and @erinjaws the 5X5 reading will feature stunning writers @dainstapoet @nanaj_xo @gates.coley @nickmetcalf23 and @taneshanicole313…

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Flyer with text reading: “Better Things - a 5x5 reading for social change - the reading everybody will be talking about the next day. Moon Palace Books, 3032 Minnehaha Avenue, October 7th, 2025, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Chaun Webster, Nana J, Coley Gates, Nick Metcalf, and TaneshaNicole. Text slide bearing words "For more: follow @reentrylab. better-things.org. reentrylab.org" and logos for the Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment. Photograph of Chaun Webster, a Black man with light skin; in this photo, he has a mid-length afro, glasses and trimmed facial hair, is wearing a denim shirt, and is seated in front of a brick wall.
October 1, 2025 at 8:00 AM
reentrylab.org
…from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

#ReEntryLab #BetterThings #MPWW #MoonPalaceBooks #OpenMics #TCOpenMics #TCPoetry

7/7

reentrylab.org/better-things/
January 19, 2026 at 9:30 AM
reentrylab.org
…from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

#ReEntryLab #BetterThings #MPWW #MoonPalaceBooks #OpenMics #TCOpenMics #TCPoetry

5/5

reentrylab.org/better-things/
January 13, 2026 at 8:16 AM
davigray.com
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. (5/5)

#ReEntryLab #BetterThings #MPWW #MoonPalaceBooks #TCOpenMics
Photograph of Kanoro Day, a Black man with short curls on top of his head and short sides; in this photo, he's wearing a pink suit jacket over a white shirt and standing next to a plethora of flowers.
August 26, 2025 at 8:30 AM
reentrylab.org
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

#ReEntryLab #BetterThings #MPWW #MoonPalaceBooks

7/7
December 9, 2025 at 11:17 PM
davigray.com
Final exhibition - ReEntry Lab's 2024-2025 Liberal Arts Engagement Hub Residency - May 24th, 2025.
We mounted displays of flyers, workshop materials and results, photos of our hosted events, and several zines put together by workshop attendees. We finished off the event with a reading.
#ReEntryLab
May 30, 2025 at 9:00 PM
davigray.com
Sherrie Fernandez-Williams (she/her) earned her MFA in Writing from Hamline University. She was a 2021-2023 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow and a 2021 Black Voices in Children’s Literature winner. Author of Goddess of the Whole Self and Soft: A Memoir. Fernandez-Williams has published…
Photograph of Sherrie Fernandez-Williams, a Black woman with glasses and very long dreadlocs. In this photo she is wearing a blue headband and patterned blue-and-gold shirt. For more, follow @reentrylab, or go to reentrylab.org
August 12, 2025 at 8:50 AM
davigray.com
Rosetta Peters (she/her) is a Dakota poet, an author, a public speaker, and an activist. A procrastinator to the point of detriment and lover of the natural world.
🎤
Please join us on Tuesday, March 3rd, at 7:00pm, at Moon Palace Books, for our next 5×5 Reading, featuring 5 fantastic artists:

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Photograph of Rosetta Peters, a Dakota woman with medium brown skin and long black hair. In this picture, she is wearing a navy blazer over a navy shirt, a sliced-stone pendant, and pendant earrings; in the background is a weathered wooden fence. Rosetta Peters (she/her) is a Dakota poet, an author, a public speaker, and an activist. A procrastinator to the point of detriment and lover of the natural world. Text slide bearing words "For more: follow @reentrylab. better-things.org. reentrylab.org" and logos for the Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment. Flyer with text reading: “Better Things - a 5x5 reading for social change - the reading everybody will be talking about the next day. Moon Palace Books, 3032 Minnehaha Avenue, March 3rd, 2025, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Rosetta Peters, Ashe Jaafaru, Cecily McMillan, Lester Batiste, and Lt. Sunnie.
February 10, 2026 at 9:30 AM
davigray.com
Suzanne Locke (she/her) is a writer, mother, grandmother, and a huge advocate for Raising Sisters, a support group for people previously incarcerated in the Shakopee facility. Originally from Bemidji, she now lives in Roseville, …

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Photograph of Suzanne Locke, a white woman with long blond hair. In this photo she's wearing a black coat over a fuchsia top, two necklaces, a nose stud, and glasses propped on top of her head. She's got a wide smile and freckles. Slide containing text with biographical information (duplicated in post). Text slide bearing words "For more: follow @reentrylab. better-things.org. reentrylab.org" and logos for the Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment. Flyer with text reading: “Better Things - a 5x5 reading for social change - the reading everybody will be talking about the next day. Moon Palace Books, 3032 Minnehaha Avenue, April 7th, 2026, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Sagirah Shahid, Suzanne Locke, Isavela Lopez, Ben Westlie, and Nick Metcalf.
March 19, 2026 at 9:00 AM
reentrylab.org
✨COMING UP!✨
Please join us on Tuesday, December 2nd, at 7:00pm, at Moon Palace Books, for our next 5×5 Reading, featuring five fantastic readers: Tyra Payer, Jen Bowen, Fong L., Sun Yung Shin, and Bao Phi, followed by an open mic.

Both reading and open mic will feature ASL interpretation.

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Flyer with text reading: “Better Things - a 5x5 reading for social change - the reading everybody will be talking about the next day. Moon Palace Books, 3032 Minnehaha Avenue, December 2nd, 2025, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Tyra Payer, Jen Bowen, Fong L., Sun Yung Shin, and Bao Phi. Text slide bearing words "For more: follow @reentrylab. better-things.org. reentrylab.org" and logos for the Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment. Photograph of Bao Phi, an Asian-American man with a black goatee and mustache. In this photo, he is standing in a wintry landscape with an orange sunlit cloudscape; he wears a blue coat, multicolored scarf, sweater, and hat, and black-framed plastic eyeglasses. His expression is fierce.
December 1, 2025 at 6:30 AM
reentrylab.org
Ashembaga (Ashe) Jaafaru (ashe or she/her) is an actor + dancer + writer + producer + director who creates art for liberation of the mind, body and SPIRIT. As the founder of Little Creatures, she will continue to write + produce imaginative stories. Upcoming productions include…

1/5
Photograph of Ashe Jaafaru, a Black woman with dark skin, wide eyes, and full lips; in this photo she's wearing short, curly, two-toned hair, nose piercings, earrings, and a gold multi-ring collar. She stares at the camera with a calm expression. Graphic contains text of bio. Text slide bearing words "For more: follow @reentrylab. better-things.org. reentrylab.org" and logos for the Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment. Flyer with text reading: “Better Things - a 5x5 reading for social change - the reading everybody will be talking about the next day. Moon Palace Books, 3032 Minnehaha Avenue, March 3rd, 2025, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Rosetta Peters, Ashe Jaafaru, Cecily McMillan, Lester Batiste, and Lt. Sunnie.
February 12, 2026 at 9:30 AM
davigray.com
Isavela Lopez (she/her) is a multidisciplinary Indigenous artist, storyteller, and activist of Zapotec heritage from Oaxaca, Mexico. Based in the Twin Cities, she brings together her gifts in spoken word, writing, dance, and film to illuminate issues of cultural resilience, climate justice,…

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Photograph of Sagirah Shahid, a Black woman with light brown skin. In this photo, her hair is pulled back into a low bun; she's wearing thin gold framed glasses, a tan sweater over olive shirt, a gold necklace, and a skeptical expression. Behind her on the wall, a framed print with Arabic writing and an English phrase, "IT MATTERS WHERE YOU START - A NARRATIVE." Graphic containing text of the featured artist's bio. Text slide bearing words "For more: follow @reentrylab. better-things.org. reentrylab.org" and logos for the Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment. Flyer with text reading: “Better Things - a 5x5 reading for social change - the reading everybody will be talking about the next day. Moon Palace Books, 3032 Minnehaha Avenue, April 7th, 2026, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Sagirah Shahid, Suzanne Locke, Isavela Lopez, Ben Westlie, and Nick Metcalf.
March 21, 2026 at 9:00 AM
davigray.com
Nana J (she/her) has been performing since childhood and started pursuing her own career in 2019. Writing and singing have not only been ways to process her own emotions but ways to find connection with like-minded individuals.

She has performed within many different spaces in the Cities…

(1/6)
Photograph of Nana J, a white woman with dark brown hair; in this photo she wears braids and a yellow dress and is almost smiling. Text slide bearing words "For more: follow @reentrylab. better-things.org. reentrylab.org" and logos for the Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment. Flyer with text reading: “Better Things - a 5x5 reading for social change - the reading everybody will be talking about the next day. Moon Palace Books, 3032 Minnehaha Avenue, October 7th, 2025, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Chaun Webster, Nana J, Coley Gates, Nick Metcalf, and TaneshaNicole.
September 18, 2025 at 8:01 AM
davigray.com
Chaun Webster (he/him) is a poet and graphic designer whose work contends with the spatial, temporal, and interpretive limitations of writing to represent blackness outside of regimes of death and dying. Webster's work has appeared in numerous journals including Obsidian, …

(1/6)
Photograph of Chaun Webster, a Black man with light skin; in this photo, he has a mid-length afro, glasses and trimmed facial hair, is wearing a denim shirt, and is seated in front of a brick wall. Text slide bearing words "For more: follow @reentrylab. better-things.org. reentrylab.org" and logos for the Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment. Flyer with text reading: “Better Things - a 5x5 reading for social change - the reading everybody will be talking about the next day. Moon Palace Books, 3032 Minnehaha Avenue, October 7th, 2025, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Chaun Webster, Nana J, Coley Gates, Nick Metcalf, and TaneshaNicole.
September 16, 2025 at 8:01 AM
reentrylab.org
Bao Phi (he/him) is a spoken word artist, poet, writer, and children's book author. His work can be found in two books of poetry both published by Coffee House Press, four children's books, all published by Capstone, and in anthologies such as Octavia's Brood, A Good Time for the Truth,…

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Photograph of Bao Phi, an Asian-American man with a black goatee and mustache. In this photo, he is standing in a wintry landscape with an orange sunlit cloudscape; he wears a blue coat, multicolored scarf, sweater, and hat, and black-framed plastic eyeglasses. His expression is fierce. Text slide bearing words "For more: follow @reentrylab. better-things.org. reentrylab.org" and logos for the Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment. Flyer with text reading: “Better Things - a 5x5 reading for social change - the reading everybody will be talking about the next day. Moon Palace Books, 3032 Minnehaha Avenue, December 2nd, 2025, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Tyra Payer, Jen Bowen, Fong L., Sun Yung Shin, and Bao Phi.
November 19, 2025 at 9:00 AM
davigray.com
Fong Lee (he/him) is a Saint-Paul-based artist. He is a celebrated poet, with publications through the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop and Asian American Writers Workshop, a beloved painter, and a published photographer.

🎤

Please join us…

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Photograph of Fong L., a Hmong-American man with a light mustache. In this photo, he is wearing red pants, a white shirt, red bow tie, and blue plaid jacket, with a paneled blue hat. He stands before a microphone. Text slide bearing words "For more: follow @reentrylab. better-things.org. reentrylab.org" and logos for the Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment. Flyer with text reading: “Better Things - a 5x5 reading for social change - the reading everybody will be talking about the next day. Moon Palace Books, 3032 Minnehaha Avenue, December 2nd, 2025, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Tyra Payer, Jen Bowen, Fong L., Sun Yung Shin, and Bao Phi.
November 15, 2025 at 9:00 AM
reentrylab.org
@bridgetgordon.gay (she/her, fae/faer) is a queer trans woman and emerging poet living in Chicago. A former MFA student and sports journalist, her current work with poetry and short-form writing is enraptured with queer longing, identity, and liminality. …

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Photograph of Bridget Gordon, a young white trans woman. In this photo, she's performing at a mic, eyes closed; she's wearing a wide-collared ripped black T-shirt with words beneath a black leather jacket, some metallic jewelry, and bright blue-and-purple bob-length hair. Slide containing text with biographical information (duplicated in post). Flyer with text reading: “Better Things - a 5x5 reading for social change - the reading everybody will be talking about the next day. Moon Palace Books, 3032 Minnehaha Avenue, October 6th, 2026, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Bridget Gordon, Wordsworth Musinguzi, Marquise Bowie, KJ Kieras, and Najeeba Syeed. Text slide bearing words "For more: follow @reentrylab. better-things.org. reentrylab.org" and logos for the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment.
September 15, 2026 at 1:30 PM