The Vibe Shift Has Reached the Midwest

On June 1st, I rolled out of bed and opened Twitter. A mutual had reposted a flier for a book launch in Detroit. I’d heard about plenty of dissident art events related to the Dimes Square crowd in New York, and acquaintances had conducted literary salons in DC, but nothing yet here in the Pleasant Peninsula.

Unless you’re an oddball internet addict, you likely don’t know what Dimes Square is and “dissident lit” probably isn’t on your radar. Dimes Square refers to a downtown New York arts and literary scene composed of “post left” women and their hopeful “dissident right” suitors.

The scene formed around 2018 and really took off post-pandemic, centering on Anna Khachiyan and Dasha Nekrasova’s podcast “Red Scare” and Adam Friedland’s “CumTown.” What makes it interesting is not necessarily its devotion to Nietzsche or Camille Paglia, but its disregard for liberal pieties and rebellious attitude that rejects the policing of speech by both left and right. For example, they say “gay” and “retarded” proudly, usually followed by a knowing chuckle.

Whether or not the podcasts are good or the auto-fiction interesting, the fact that it is “dissident” is indicative of a broader cultural shift: people are throwing out the oppressive attitudes of pre-approved opinions. They are starving for something titillating, transgressive, or even truthful.

So far, dissident lit has stayed in New York City. When I heard it was coming to Detroit, I knew I had to be there.

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The Polka Dot Bar in Hamtramck. The book of the night was a collection of short stories entitled “Lizard Brain,” published by Tragickal. There’s not much information about Tragickal available on their website, just some “totally sick” graphic design and a stubborn refusal to define itself, brave enough in a world dependent on legibility for approval.

Hamtramck isn’t a very hipster part of town. The formerly Polish neighborhood has in recent years become a colony of Dearborn, with shop signs in Arabic and burkas galore. I had no idea what to expect, but I hoped for the best: something interesting.

I arrived at 7:30 p.m. and surveyed the scene. Some people were still setting up the sound system as I made my way to the bar and grabbed a beer. As I perused covers at a merch table in the back, a tall woman with white-blonde hair came up and introduced herself. With a slavic accent, she explained that she was the graphic designer responsible for the covers I was perusing.

“Why was the event in Detroit?” This sort of thing usually happens out on the coasts. She confessed that it was out of convenience since many of their writers were from the Midwest or Canada.

I ventured to the back patio for a smoke. About 15 others stood out back in the light rain, smoking cigarettes and making hesitant small talk. I met two brothers. One in workman’s clothes smoking Marlboro reds. The other was in all black and had a trimmed beard. We struck up a conversation about being from Metro Detroit. They were departed Dutch Christians. I found that out because when I don’t know what to talk about, I talk about Catholicism.

The brother in all black’s “partner” was hosting the event. She used to work for a nonprofit that helped transgender and non-binary writers. I was surprised to find that out, but dissident doesn’t always mean right wing, and in the Midwest it’s still a little edgy to be so socially progressive.