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.
December 10, 2002 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews W. Harry Davis, prominent local civil rights activist and educator, about his autobiography, entitled "Overcoming." In it, he describes growing up in poverty, helping found the Minneapolis Urban Coalition, running a local Golden Gloves Boxing organization and serving on the Minneapolis School Board for 20 years.
December 10, 2002 - The December edition of MPR's "Voices of Minnesota" series features conversations with two of the state's most interesting literary figures. Emilie Buchwald is a founder of Milkweed Editions and the winner of this year's McKnight Foundation Distinguished Artist award. We also hear from Mary Winstead, author of the new book, "Back to Mississippi."
December 13, 2002 - Award-winning children's book author Mary Casanova takes young readers into the world of 18th century Versailles in her new book "Cecile: Gates of Gold". Casanova's previous books have mostly been set in Minnesota's north woods--a setting inspired by her own backyard near the Canadian border. Her latest book follows 12-year-old Cecile in the court of Versailles in the year 1711. Mary Casanova spoke to Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cunningham and said it was a challenge to convey the grandeur of Versailles.
December 13, 2002 - Award-winning children's book author Mary Casanova takes young readers into the world of 18th century Versailles in her new book "Cecile: Gates of Gold". Casanova's previous books have mostly been set in Minnesota's north woods--a setting inspired by her own backyard near the Canadian border. Her latest book follows 12-year-old Cecile in the court of Versailles in the year 1711. Mary Casanova spoke to Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cunningham and said it was a challenge to convey the grandeur of Versailles.
December 19, 2002 - Over the past 20 years, the memoir has become one of the most popular and influential forms of literature. Patricia Hampl is credited with pioneering the memoir with her groundbreaking work, "A Romantic Education," published in 1981. She is currently a University of Minnesota Regents professor. Eva Hoffman is the author of three critically acclaimed works of nonfiction, including her widely read memoir about the immigration experience, "Lost in Translation." She is also winning rave reviews for her new novel, "The Secret."Patricia Hampl and Eva Hoffman discuss the memoir as a literary form. This broadcast is part of the University of Minnesota's "Great Conversations" series, and is called "The Art of Remembering."
December 25, 2002 - A variety of Christmas stories -- both classic and contemporary -- read by authors and Minnesota Public Radio personalities. Selections include Truman Capote reading his story "A Christmas Memory," and a tribute to the history of Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".
December 27, 2002 - Clark Morphew, a former St. Paul Pioneer Press religion writer and Lutheran pastor, died Tuesday at his South St. Paul home. He was 64. Morphew died from lung cancer, just six months after being diagnosed. His weekly religion column was syndicated across the country by Knight Ridder News Service.
January 20, 2003 - The Minnesota State Capitol was the backdrop for several of today's Martin Luther King Junior Day ceremonies. The Capitol building is often the site of many official state celebrations. But the building is notable in its own right. A new book showcases the Capitol's architect Cass Gilbert, who designed the building in 1905. Gilbert used St. Peter's Basilica in Rome as the model for Minnesota's vast capitol dome. He also drew on his experiences studying and traveling in Europe to design the U. S. Supreme Court Building and the Woolworth Building in New York City. Minnesota historian Paul Clifford Larson examines Gilbert's European influences in his new book "Cass Gilbert Abroad: The Young Architect's European Tour. " Larson says Gilbert tried to cover a lot of ground on his first European trip.
January 22, 2003 - Minnesota film maker Patrick Coyle says his film "Detective Fiction" is getting a good response at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was shot entirely in Minneapolis and tells the story of a technical writer struggling with sobriety and writing a 1940's style detective novel. "Detective Fiction" had it's Sundance premiere this past Monday. Coyle says there's a lot of great energy in Park City, Utah.
February 3, 2003 - Coal has been admired as a precious stone, cursed as a health hazard, and hailed as the foundation of modern industry. Today, coal is the state's primary fuel for power plants. But, like most people, Barbara Freeze had never thought much about it. That changed when the former state assistant attorney general was assigned a case overseeing Minnesota's air quality laws. The case granted Freeze a unique look inside the coal industry. What she saw convinced her to quit her job and immerse herself in coal's 350 (m)million year history. Freeze's new book "Coal: A Human History" takes an in-depth look at that history and argues that the world's reliance on coal is taking a huge environmental toll. Freeze says it's hard to underestimate the impact coal has had.