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.
February 13, 1998 - Romance and glamor are words often attached both to Valentine's Day, and the heady world of publishing, although not by commentator Debby Bull. She's the author of "Blue Jelly." When she's not on book tours she lives in Chippewa Falls.
February 13, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio's Catherine Winter has this remembrance of Terry Wilkey, former Bovey police chief. Wilkey spent more than 30 years on the town's police force and the 800-some residents of Bovey all knew him. But his fame spread much farther; to the Twin Cities, even as far as Texas and North Carolina…because of Terry Wilkey, the writer.
February 13, 1998 - Romance and glamor are words often attached both to Valentines day, and the heady world of publishing.... although not by commentator Debby Bull. Debbie Bull is the author of "Blue Jelly" When she's not on book tours she lives in Chippewa Falls.
February 26, 1998 - Childhood dilemmas and adult dramas are fodder for the autobiographical essays in Jo Ann Beard's new book "The Boys of My Youth." The title is a bit misleading, suggesting tales of wild, passionate antics. But this collection of essays actually probes how relationships and experiences shape a young woman. Beard wrote most of these essays as class assignments for the University of Iowa Writing Program. She told Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cuningham the essays are proported to be fiction, but they all contain a nugget of truth.
February 28, 1998 -
March 16, 1998 - There's the "Old Farmers' Almanac," "Almanac of American Politics," "Golf Almanac" and now: the "HARP Almanac." It's the brainchild of a Saint Paul couple Fred Schlomka and Sunita Staneslow that lists just about everything imaginable about harps -- from concerts, performers and music, to carved music stands and harp insurance . As Minnesota Public Radio's Todd Moe reports, this new harpists "Who's Who" could make Saint Paul the hub of the harp world.
March 18, 1998 - Uncovering family secrets is the theme of the latest play at the Great American History Theater in St. Paul. "Conversations about Hannah" is the story of Janie, a young woman who's trying to get her grandmother to tell her stories about family members she never knew. First-time playwright Ann Schulman drew on her own family's history as Jewish immigrants living on St. Paul's West Side in the 1930's.
March 18, 1998 - As the editor of the Hungry Mind Review for the last decade and a half Bart Schneider has been examining and critiquing books by others. Now he is experiencing the other side of the literary equation as his first novel "Blue Bossa" is published.
March 19, 1998 - Minneapolis playwright Kim Hines tells the story of three prominent African American women of the time who are largely unknown to most Minnesotans. Hines has written monologues portraying the life of businesswoman Amanda Lyle, social worker Gertrude Brown, and attorney Lena Smith.
March 20, 1998 - Like a church recipe book that weaves together parishioners' favorite banana breads, cobblers and bean dips....Eleanor Ostman's first cookbook, "Always on Sunday" samples some of her favorite recipes collected during her 30 years as Food Columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Ostman's newspaper column called "Tested Recipes", generated thousands of reader contributions over the years... including a submission by former Minnesota first Lady Lola Perpich, who started a lengthy controversy when she submitted a pie crust recipe which readers couldn't seem to make work. Ostman says she eventually learned how to eyeball a recipe to figure out if it had potential.