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Maeva Ordaz is the Alaska state Poetry Out Loud champion for the second year in a row. Now in its 10th year, the competition begins in classrooms, goes school-wide, statewide and eventually culminates in Washington, D.C., for the national championship. Ordaz says the competition is fulfilling its mission to expose youth to great literature.

“Poetry Out Loud has had a big impact on schools in terms of getting people, teenagers especially, more involved in learning poems, reading them, analyzing them, and I think the program has been very successful in doing that,” she says.

On Tuesday, Ordaz competed against nine other Alaskan high school students who had memorized poetry from an anthology of more than 800 poems. Ordaz says the competition is also fulfilling its other goal of engendering confidence.

“Standing up in front of an audience of 100, 200 people and reciting—that was something that I hadn’t done before, so that was an excellent experience for me and it’s given me that confidence to go out whether I’m doing a poetry recitation or a speech or I’m debating,” says Ordaz.

Ordaz will join state champions from around the country for nationals in Washington, D.C., in late April.

Juneau writer Libby Bakalar’s blog “One Hot Mess” is getting national attention. Boston’s Women in Comedy Festival, where notable comic Lily Tomlin will headline, has asked Bakalar to submit to their blog.

Bakalar is the mother of a 4- and 7-year-old who are often the subjects of her entries which range from rap, to essays, to comics, to flow and pie charts, haikus and more.

Bakalar recited her rap “Who Da Boss?” for us here.

“The funnest part for me about the blog is having a shared experience with the audience about experiences they can all relate to, like getting your kid geared up for the rain and snow,” says Bakalar.

Or not knowing certain etiquette as in “If I Actually Said What I Was Thinking at a Wine Tasting…” she also read for us.

Bakalar says she tries to be revelatory and analytical.

“I try to get to the root of pretentions and phoniness and all kinds of insecurities and things like that that people appreciate honesty about. This whole wine-tasting routine has all of those elements. It’s this first world, kind of pretentious thing that deserves to be made fun of a little bit. And I am going to make fun of myself and it at the same time,” says Bakalar.

But she’s not always rapping, humorous or irreverent. About once a month she writes an earnest piece, too, like in a November post about how cathartic crying can be.

“One of the things I hear a lot about the blog is, ‘You’re always saying what I’m thinking,’ or, ‘You’re always saying what I’m afraid to say,’ and that is the highest compliment I can get because it means I’m writing something that’s resonating with people on a real level,” she says.

Sometimes Bakalar posts as many five entries a day—most composed on her smartphone. She says she’s inspired by her husband and comic writer Geoff Kirsch, David Sedaris, Louis C.K., Margaret Cho and Stephen Colbert.

“There’s a little bit of a fourth wall, sort of Stephen Colbert-esque character developing. I’m not trying to compare myself to someone as awesome as Stephen Colbert mind you, I’m just saying he’s another person I really admire in terms of his ability to straddle that meta-line between reality and fiction. You know it’s sort of in that middle gray area between a character and a biographical representation of me.”

That version of herself recently wrote a flirtatious open letter to a guy who works at Kindred Post. As usual, Bakalar linked to her entry on Facebook and, in a Juneau-way, it’s gone viral. She likes the interactivity.

“It was all very true. Everything I said in there about how I thought this guy was cute and I feel like an old lady every time I go in the store and blah, blah, blah, he’s listening to this great music, et cetera, et cetera. But I wanted him to know all that, and I was good with that. And at the same time I was curious, is all of this going to get back to him and his friends? And sure enough it did and it was very funny and he was hilarious about it and his responses were awesome.”

One Hot Mess posted “Open Letter to Cute Dude at The Post Office Store” on Monday afternoon. Someone responded with his name within an hour and he got the link soon thereafter. It took a little investigating, but he figured out who she was.

Conor Lendrum says,“I was like, ‘Oh! It’s that fox who I made eyes at, like, that day!”

Lendrum, who has adopted the alias C-DAT-POS, says it’s all surreal—an interesting intersection of the virtual and the real. He’s looking forward to talking to her in person.

“How much of this internet personality is her true personality? How much of it is a construction for this art that she works on? She’s a very good writer. She has a wonderful self-deprecating style and very casual but precise and I really enjoy it,” says Lendrum.

C-DAT-POS will get to ask Bakalar about her and the character. After a bunch of Facebook correspondence, he’s committed to making dinner for Bakalar and her family soon.

The producers behind the Women in Comedy Festival like Bakalar’s work, too. They’re posting a “One Hot Mess” entry on their blog. Other than that, she has no agenda.

“I never want to advertise on it. I never want to commodify it in any way. I just want to have fun with it and continue to entertain my friends and family with it.”

From Hogwarts to lost cities above the clouds, Kazu Kibuishi’s illustrations have introduced fantastical places to legions of young readers. The graphic novelist visited Juneau over the weekend to teach workshops for aspiring artists.

Kazu Kibuishi is an artist who doesn’t like to overthink his work.

“Every time I draw, I really try not to be present. Me as an artist, I don’t want to get in the way of the reader and the experience. My job is to clarify it for them,” Kibuishi says.

Scholastic Books approached him in 2013 to submit sketches for the new cover art of the Harry Potter series; Kibuishi says he didn’t want to do it. He was intimidated by thinking of the popularity surrounding J.K. Rowling’s books.

“I didn’t want to be the guy responsible for this because I liked the covers as they were,” Kibuishi says.

After collaborating with fellow artist Jason Caffoe, the two submitted some sketches to Scholastic Books. The publishing company picked Kibuishi to design the seven new covers within three months.

The Washington-based artist approached the project using skills he learned as a film student at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

“I just thought of myself as a cameraman that visited Hogwarts…” Kibuishi says. “I was just there to photograph it with my artistic technique and style.”

Kibuishi’s final seven covers showcased a new, modern perspective distinct from Mary Grand Pré’s originals. He used sharp, vibrant colors to depict different icons of Rowling’s world such as dementors and Diagon Alley.

Finding the right moment to capture in the covers was not always easy. Kibuishi says the second book in the series, “The Chamber of Secrets,” was the most challenging to design. After sketching over 70 drafts, he still could not find the right picture to communicate the book’s tone.

Kibuishi says he went back to the source material to solve this predicament. He asked himself what his emotional reaction was when he first read Rowling’s book.

“What do I feel about this book? What is it about this book? I feel like it’s a cup of tea. It feels like a tea party to me. It’s the one book that feels like a kid’s book almost. It’s the calm before the storm,” Kibuishi says.

Kibuishi decided on the elaborate home of Ron Weasley, best friend to Harry Potter, to put on the cover. Kibuishi says the setting is a place of comfort for Potter before battling his main antagonist, ‘He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.’

Kibuishi says drawing always came natural to him, but writing was a craft that took him years to develop. He was born in Japan and was brought over to the U.S. by his mother at age three. He says the abandonment of his father would later serve as inspiration for the plot in his graphic novel series, “Amulet.” Kibusihi says he’s learned to use life experiences to create emotionally powerful narratives.

Yet, there are times when Kibuishi still gets writer’s block. When running empty on ideas, he says he simply turns to doodling as a quick remedy — a tip he shared with about 30 school children at a drawing workshop on Saturday in the Douglas Public Library.

Young, aspiring cartoonists came prepared to pitch their grand story ideas. Xander Love, an 11 year-old student from Juneau Montessori School, showed Kibuishi personal sketches of pirate ships and robots.

“I think he (Kibuishi) found the perfect match between steampunk and fantasy,” Love says.

Kibuishi says because the graphic novel industry is still relatively new, he often gets asked to teach workshops on how to break into the business. He says educating the next generation of writers and illustrators is important for the industry’s survival.

“I’m hoping that all the work that I do has some element of teaching in it,” Kibuishi says.

While in the capital city, Kibuishi also made stops at Alaska Robotics and the 2015 Alaska Library Association Conference in Centennial Hall. He’s in the process of working on the last three books in his “Amulet” graphic novel series and recently signed a new book deal with Scholastic Graphix.

Kibuishi says he thinks the characteristics of a successful artist are a fruitful curiosity, steady determination and a little bit of that magic known as talent.

Beau Schooler, chef at the Rookery Café in Juneau, has been nominated for the “Rising Star of the Year” award by the prestigious James Beard Foundation.

“The awards are kind of like the Oscars of the food world. It’s a pretty big deal. It’s about the highest you can get as far as recognition wise and awards in this particular field,” says Schooler.

Back in the fall of 2013, KTOO ran a story profiling Schooler. He described the kind of menu that has gotten him noticed.

“We pickled some grapes with chai tea and we’re doing that with corn flakes and blue cheese. Then we got that bacon panna cotta–we’re doing that with passion fruit and avocado. Rachel is searing off duck livers to make a duck liver whipped cream and we’re going to put that on top of a gruyere cupcake.”

Schooler found out about the nomination yesterday on Facebook. He says the whole thing is still surreal.

“Anyone can nominate anyone. How I actually ended up on the semifinalists’ list–I have no idea. I really don’t think I should even be there,” he says.

According to the foundation’s website, they received some 35,000 nominations. Those have been whittled down to 21 categories with 25 semifinalists in each. Being a semifinalist is big deal, but Schooler says he’s had help.

“I’m really happy for myself and all of the cooks that have worked with me: Travis Hotch and Rachel Barill and Linkus Swinson are my core guys that have helped me get everything where it’s been going. I’m glad that we as a team can get some recognition for what we’re been doing,” he says.

Each of the 21 categories will be narrowed down to 5 finalists in March, and the winner will be selected in Chicago in April. Schooler says the winner gets a plaque and a medal—but he’d just be excited to go eat food in Chicago.

The Juneau Arts and Humanities Council’s Wearable Art show is this weekend at Centennial Hall. Now in its fourteenth year, the theme is “Juxtaposition” and artists have been preparing for months. This will be artist Bobbi McCutcheon’s fourth year–her pieces can take up to a year to create and are made by hand, one bead at a time.

Tickets are sold out for both shows but 360 North with broadcast the event on Thursday, February 19 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, February 21 at 9 p.m.

 

The Juneau Arts and Humanities Council’s Wearable Art show is this weekend at Centennial Hall. Now in its fourteenth year, the theme is “Juxtaposition” and artists have been preparing for months. This will be artist Michelle Morris’s third year and her piece is called “Southeast Struggle.”

 

Tickets are sold out for both shows but 360 North with broadcast the event on Thursday, February 19 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, February 21 at 9 p.m.