****
The Cedar-Riverside neighborhood in Minneapolis, also known as the West Bank because of its location by the Mississippi River, is a rich cultural and artistic mixture of people. Butterflies and Tall Bikes, a new book by Minneapolis-based author Jamie Schumacher, captures the robust diverse activity and history of the neighborhood.
“The butterfly is synonymous with migration and the immigrant community. And that being a part of the West Bank connection as well. It includes a variety of interviews with West Bank residents and business owners and staples of the community. All of those things were just a part of this collection of stories.“
KFAI’s Dixie Treichel reports for MinneCulture. Click on the SoundCloud link to hear the story.
Schumacher weaves personal narratives throughout the work.
“This is one of the first neighborhoods I hung out in after moving to Minneapolis. Hard Times is where I would hang out after shows. It’s where I studied when I went back to school for my master’s degree and the U of M so I got most of my studying and research homework done on the West Bank. And then I worked for ten years as the Executive Director of the West Bank Business Association. I still keep talking to folks and there could be another five books written about the West Bank and they would all be super interesting and fascinating ‘cause everybody that works here is great.”
MinneCulture on KFAI is made possible by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
