ReEntry Lab
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reentrylab.org
ReEntry Lab
@reentrylab.org
200 followers 780 following 58 posts
Building bridges between writers & other artists leaving incarceration and arts & literary communities ready to receive them. Based in Minneapolis & St. Paul, Minnesota.
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reentrylab.org
12th Annual Transformative Justice and Abolition Criminology Conference: February 13th, 2026. Panel of scholar-activists, artist-philosophers, poets, and abolitionists discussing a wide range of topics.

Register: savethekidsgroup.org/feb-13-2026-...

FB event page: www.facebook.com/share/1AM1cX...
Promo graphic with text, which reads "12th Annual Transformative Justice and Abolition Criminology Conference, February 13, 2026. Via Zoom, public, free, and recorded. Register at https://savethekidsgroup.org."
February 6, 2026 at 10:51 PM
reentrylab.org
Please join us on Tuesday, March 3rd, at 7:00pm, at @moonpalacebooks.bsky.social, for our next 5×5 Reading, featuring five fantastic artists: Rosetta Peters, Ashe Jaafaru, Cecily McMillan, Lester Batiste, and Lt. Sunnie.

Each featured artist will take five minutes to share work.

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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, 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 6, 2026 at 7:47 AM
reentrylab.org
Isha Camara (she/her) is a Gambian-American poet and visual artist from South Minneapolis, Minnesota. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Masters at Randolph College in Creative Writing. Her work has been featured in MUZZLE Magazine, Poets.org and…

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Photograph of Isha Camara, a dark-skinned Black woman. In this photo she is wearing a black top, dark denim pants, and a patterned black-and-white hijab. She is seated in front of a red background. Her eyes are surrounded by colored stars and she has a serious expression, looking directly at the camera. 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, February 3rd, 2025, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Ari Tison, BakiBakiBaki, Jeffrey Dorr-Slowey, Heid E. Erdrich, and Isha Camara.
January 21, 2026 at 9:30 AM
reentrylab.org
Author of nine books of poetry and prose Heid E. Erdrich (she/her) is a curator and teacher. Erdrich edited the anthology New Poets of Native Nations and co-edited the newly published Boundless: Abundance in Native American Art and Literature. She served as the inaugural Minneapolis Poet…

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Photograph of Heid E. Erdrich, a light-skinned Ojibwe woman. In this photo, taken outdoors in front of a blurry winter background, she stares at the camera, and wears long reddish, brown, and white hair; a maroon turtleneck; long beaded earrings; and a slight smile. 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, February 3rd, 2025, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Ari Tison, BakiBakiBaki, Jeffrey Dorr-Slowey, Heid E. Erdrich, and Isha Camara.
January 19, 2026 at 9:30 AM
reentrylab.org
Jeffrey Dorr-Slowey (he/him) is a 46-year-old Indigenous father. He is the principal and owner of Amik Agabow Consulting, LLC, as well as a community organizer with TONE UP and an inaugural fellow with the Just Lead Fellowship. …

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Photograph of Jeffrey Dorr-Slowey, an Indigenous man with medium-brown skin. In this photo he has a slight smile and is wearing glasses and an earring, a haircut with very short sides and a long curly top, and a mustache and soul patch. Jeffrey Dorr-Slowey (he/him) is a 46-year-old Indigenous father. He is the principal and owner of Amik Agabow Consulting, LLC, as well as a community organizer with TONE UP and an inaugural fellow with the Just Lead Fellowship. He is working hard for systematic change and liberation for self and community. 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, February 3rd, 2025, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Ari Tison, BakiBakiBaki, Jeffrey Dorr-Slowey, Heid E. Erdrich, and Isha Camara.
January 17, 2026 at 9:30 AM
reentrylab.org
BakiBakiBaki (they/them) is an Afro-indigenous multidisciplinary artist who believes freedom lives at the crosscurrents of art and spirituality. Through zines/self publishing and puppetry BBB leads community workshops, …

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Photograph of BakiBakiBaki, an Afro-indigenous person with medium-brown skin. In this photo they are wearing a jean jacket and a particolor vest, long twining braided hair, a knit white cap, and a wide smile; they are holding up index and middle fingers of their left hand. BakiBakiBaki (they/them) is an Afro-indigenous multidisciplinary artist who believes freedom lives at the crosscurrents of art and spirituality. Through zines/self publishing and puppetry BBB leads community workshops, builds moments of expression, and crafts both personal and community altars. They have worked with institutions like the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and The Walker Art Museum as well as is an artist in residence at Public Functionary. 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, February 3rd, 2025, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Ari Tison, BakiBakiBaki, Jeffrey Dorr-Slowey, Heid E. Erdrich, and Isha Camara.
January 15, 2026 at 10:38 AM
reentrylab.org
Ari Tison (Bribri) (she/her) is an award-winning poet and the author of YA hybrid poetry & prose novel Saints of the Household (FSG/Macmillan), winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the Amelia Walden Award, and a finalist for the William C. Morris Award.

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Photograph of Ari Tison (Bribri), an Indigenous woman with light brown skin. In this photo she is wearing long black straight hair, a long-sleeved black shirt, and white pants; she is seated and leaning forward, right elbow on knee, resting her chin on her right palm, half-concealing a half-smile. 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, February 3rd, 2025, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Ari Tison, BakiBakiBaki, Jeffrey Dorr-Slowey, Heid E. Erdrich, and Isha Camara.
January 13, 2026 at 10:01 AM
reentrylab.org
Please join us on Tuesday, February 3rd, at 7:00pm, at Moon Palace Books, for our next 5×5 Reading, featuring five fantastic artists: Ari Tison (Bribri), BakiBakiBaki, Jeffrey Dorr-Slowey, Heid E. Erdrich, and Isha Camara.

Each featured artist will take five minutes to share work. …

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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, February 3rd, 2025, 7 pm.” Small photos of each of five readers, labeled by name: Ari Tison, BakiBakiBaki, Jeffrey Dorr-Slowey, Heid E. Erdrich, and Isha Camara.
January 13, 2026 at 8:16 AM
reentrylab.org
Please join us on Tuesday, January 6th, at 7:00pm, at Moon Palace Books (@moonpalacebooks.bsky.social), for our next Gathering and Open Mic. This gathering will feature a narrative interventions lab, facilitated by Kyle "Guante" Tran Myhre (@guante.info), hosted by @davigray.bsky.social….

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Flyer with text reading: “Better Things - a gathering for social change. Moon Palace Books, 3032 Minnehaha Avenue, January 6th, 2025, 7 pm.” Main section of flyer reads, "Narrative Interventions Workshop followed by Open Mic, facilitated by Kyle 'Guante' Tran Myhre."
December 9, 2025 at 11:17 PM
reentrylab.org
Better Things is a series of events sponsored by the ReEntry Lab, in partnership with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop and Moon Palace Books. The ReEntry Lab is an organization working to connect writers and other artists leaving incarceration to a community that’s ready to receive them.

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Photograph of Jen Bowen, a white woman with shoulder-length wavy brown hair. In this photo, she wears a half-smile and a black top and looks to the side, out of frame. Photograph of Tyra Payer, a Native nonbinary person with short dark hair. In this photo they are wearing yellow earrings, a black button-down shirt, and a wide smile. Text reads: Tyra Payer (they/them) is a member of the Turtle Mountain Ojibwe tribe, from Belcourt North Dakota. Tyra is a writer and entrepreneur who has a background of storytelling and Indigenous food systems. Outside, you can find Tyra vending at the farmers market or in the garden.
December 1, 2025 at 6:30 AM
reentrylab.org
Light refreshments will be served; masks are required at @moonpalacebooks.bsky.social and are available on-site. This is a free event.

For more info, see https://reentrylab.org/better-things/.

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Photograph of Sun Yung Shin, a Korean-American woman with long black hair and freckled cheeks. In this photo she is wearing a black and white mottled blouse, bracelets, large ring earrings, and a subdued friendly expression. 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. 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.
December 1, 2025 at 6:30 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
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