The Talking Stick is a publication of the nonprofit organization, The Jackpine Writers' Bloc, Inc. It is a Minnesota collaboration of poetry, creative nonfiction and fiction and we award a cash prize in each category.The goal of The Jackpine Writers' Bloc is simple - we want to encourage and publish Minnesota writers. Everyone published in this book, and all who worked to see it come to print, have a strong connection to Minnesota.In the writing within, you will find a variety of subjects and styles. And through them all, you will find that we are writers who know the length of the winter, the heat of the summer and the short breath-taking springs and autumns of Minnesota.