In this video clip, author and artist Kade Twist introduces his book Marginal Equity and reads the first section, “project abstract.” Marginal Equity is a book-length poem that parodies the form of a corporate/governmental prospectus—complete with opportunity statement, deliverables, and budget—all while exposing their smooth rhetoric, exploitative intentions, and empty promises. Kade L. Twist’s critique of and unavoidable complicity with capital (in the form of suburbia, beer cans, and minivans) sits powerfully in relation to his knowledge of the land, his Cherokee elders, and all that comes from his own ethical desires. The last line of the poem sums it up beautifully: “this is what / i must do / it is my / ceremony.”
Throughout his artistic practice, Kade L. Twist combines re‐imagined tribal stories with geopolitical narratives to examine the unresolved tensions between market-driven systems, consumerism, and American Indian cultural self‐determination.
Marginal Equity is available through Publication Studios, a network of small publishers throughout the world that print and bind books by hand. This on-demand model of production makes books available internationally without invoking the shortcomings of international shipping. Of course, it doesn’t simply produce books, but also brings people together through the shared experience of reading.
This book launch was also made possible by the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI), who hosted Kade as their 2017 Improvisor-in-Residence. During this event Kade also premiered a collaborative vocal work titled “That’s Just Indians Being Indians,” which he envisions as a generative, socially-engaged sound piece. The Improviser-in-Residence program is a partnership between Musagetes and IICSI, bringing improvising musicians into meaningful, sustained contact with local residents of all ages and musical persuasions in Guelph and the surrounding areas.
