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.
November 27, 2003 - In a special annual program hosted by Minnesota Public Radio's John Birge, Giving Thanks combines traditional fare with unexpected delights. This year, the program features Wendy Wasserstein, Donald Hall, and highlights from the Broadway production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town.
November 28, 2003 - Mainstreet Radio's Tim Post reports on the new tale "Old Turtle and the Broken Truth" from central Minnesota author Douglas Wood. The turtle reappears 11 years after its first appearance.
December 1, 2003 - Minnesota children's author Mary Casanova is out with a new picture book that takes readers on a journey with a girl and her dog. "One-Dog Canoe" features animals that live near Casanova's home in Rainy Lake in northern Minnesota. "One Dog Canoe" is featured on the Minnesota Humanities Council's list of 17 books parents and children should read together. Casanova says her latest book was inspired by growing up as one of ten children. She says like the young girl in her story--she was always searching for some "alone time."
December 1, 2003 - Minnesota children's author Mary Casanova is out with a new picture book that takes readers on a journey with a girl and her dog. "One-Dog Canoe" features animals that live near Casanova's home in Rainy Lake in northern Minnesota. "One Dog Canoe" is featured on the Minnesota Humanities Council's list of 17 books parents and children should read together. Casanova says her latest book was inspired by growing up as one of ten children. She says like the young girl in her story--she was always searching for some "alone time."
December 2, 2003 - In the weeks prior to his fatal car crash in August, hockey icon Herb Brooks was working with local author Ross Bernstein on several projects, including a book about great coaches in the state. Bernstein had seen Brooks the morning of his death, and was devastated by the loss. As Bernstein talked with people in the days that followed, he realized how deeply the coach had affected those who knew him -- and knew of him. So a second book was born. "Remembering Herbie: Celebrating the Life and Times of Hockey Legend Brooks" has just been published. Bernstein says the range of people who wanted to take part were a testament to Brooks' influence.
December 4, 2003 - Harold Kushner, Rabbi Laureate of Temple Israel in the Boston suburb of Natick, Massachusetts, is probably best known for his 1981 international best seller, "When Bad Things Happen to Good People." But he's also written a number of other popular books, including "Living a Life that Matters," "Who Needs God," and "After the Darkest Hour the Sun will Shine Again: A Parent's Guide to Coping With the Loss of a Child." His latest book takes a somewhat different approach. It explains why the well known 23rd Psalm, "The Lord is My Shepherd," has proved so helpful to so many in times of distress. Rabbi Harold Kushner spoke last month at Wayzata Community Church at an event sponsered by Bookcase of Wayzata. He explained that he took a different approach to writing his latest book.
December 23, 2003 - The holidays often trigger the brightest of memories and the happiest of emotions. But, as writer Nanci Olesen explains, those memories can also bring on emotions that clash with the tenor of the season.
January 9, 2004 - A Macalester College professor who wrote a book about a 17th Century King in India is now worried about his collegues there who are being harrassed for helping him write the book. Professor Jim Laine wrote about an Indian King named Shivaji who established a Hindu Kingdom in the city of Pune in 1674. The Kingdom was located between two Muslim Kingdoms and Shivaji became a symbol of Hindu independence. Earlier this week, Hindu extremists in Pune rioted at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute where Laine did much of his research and some of those he acknowledged in the book for helping him have been subject to personal attacks. Joining us on the line is Macalester professor Jim Laine.
January 15, 2004 - A broadcast of Talking Volumes at the Fitzgerald Theater. Katherine Lanpher talks with former Minnesotan Jean Harfenist about her debut novel, A Brief History of the Flood. The book chronicles a girl's growing up in a troubled family.
January 23, 2004 - A Twin Cities speech by Abigail Thernstrom, author of "No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning". Thernstrom says this is the central civil rights issue of our time. She spoke Thursday at the Center of the American Experiment.