This collection encompasses 50-plus years of interviews, readings, speeches, and reports on the vibrant literary scene in Minnesota. Not only home to giants F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sinclair Lewis, our state has an array of incredible contemporary poets, novelists, and playwrights. Their words make up majority of this collection.
Repeatedly being named the “Most Literate City in the United States,” the Twin Cities has played host to numerous visiting national writers via book tours, festivals, and lectures. Many recordings of these are also included.
This project was funded by the National Historical Publications & Records Commission.
January 31, 1997 - Pioneer Press architecture critic Larry Millett gives us a critique of the Twins' proposed new ballpark.
January 31, 1997 - "The Loon Resort and Bait Shop" opens in Bemidji tonight. Playwright Phil Holt, a Bemidji native who now lives in Minneapolis, says the play is about returning to one's hometown after many years away.
February 2, 1997 -
February 5, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio’s Mark Steil reports that county governments in Minnesota are in a financial squeeze as state and federal grants decline. They must either cut services or find new revenue sources. In southwest Minnesota, a bookmobile with a roadrunner painted on its side is directly in the path of the funding dilemma. People who use it say it's foolish to cut a service which enriches minds.
February 7, 1997 - A reading by Robert Treuer, "the Tree Farm," part of the Voices from the Heartland series.
February 7, 1997 - Ojibwe storyteller Ann Dunn lost her mother recently. It's been a painful loss, but she has found some comfort in her mother's belongings and her legacy.
February 8, 1997 - From slumber parties to the therapists couch...the short stories in Minnesota author Julie Schumacher's new book "An Explanation for Chaos" weave tales of searching for meaning in life.
February 10, 1997 - Minnesota storyteller, playwright and actor Kevin Kling says his storytelling is from personal experience. The stories use humor because Kling says humor is a solvent that helps us accept the difficulty of our lives. In our Voices of Minnesota interview, Kevin Kling talks about storytelling. Riding the 21A bus line between St. Paul and Minneapolis was the source for one of Kling's best known works. "Fear and Loving" is a new collection of Kling stories about growing up. He was recently on stage at the Jungle Theatre in Minneapolis playing one of the leads in "Waiting for Godot". Kling was born in Missouri and grew up in the Twin Cities suburbs of Brooklyn Center and Maple Grove. Minnesota Public Radio's John Rabe talked with Kling about his work.
February 10, 1997 - Minnesota storyteller, playwright and actor Kevin Kling says his storytelling is from personal experience. The stories use humor because Kling says humor is a solvent that helps us accept the difficulty of our lives. Today on our Voices of Minnesota interview, Kevin Kling talks about storytelling. Riding the 21A bus line between St. Paul and Minneapolis was the source for one of Kling's best known works. "Fear and Loving" is a new collection of Kling stories about growing up. He was recently on stage at the Jungle Theatre in Minneapolis playing one of the leads in "Waiting for Gadot". Kling was born in Missouri and grew up in the Twin Cities suburbs of Brooklyn Center and Maple Grove.
February 10, 1997 - Storyteller and playwright Kevin Kling talks with MPR'S John Rabe about life in Minnesota as material for his work.