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.
July 11, 2003 - In this edition of Word of Mouth - Mainstreet Radio’s Tom Roberston profiles the writers of the Northwoods, including novelist Will Weaver; writer Kevin McColley; poet Susan Carol Hauser; and non-fiction writer Kent Nerburn / MPR’s Chris Roberts profiles Nathan Keeper’s “Fully Commited” comedy / St. Paul poet Paul Dickson reads a poem on highschool / Arts-round-up
July 18, 2003 - Acclaimed writer and Minnesota native, Patricia Hampl, is perhaps best known for her memoirs. She focused on reading and writing memoirs and the importance of auto-biographies to help us understand the past in a recent speech at the Minnesota Historical Society. Her books include "The Summer House", "2 for 5", and "Virgin Time." Hampl has a new book coming out next year called "The Silken Chamber." She's also working on two new books--a collection of short stories and a new memoir, about her mother and father. It's called "My Mother's Daughter."
July 24, 2003 - The prosecutor in a high-profile Duluth murder case 26 years ago says tests of DNA on an old envelope confirm the prosecution's case. From the beginning, authorities suspected Roger and Marjorie Caldwell of entering Glensheen mansion and killing Duluth heiress Elisabeth Congdon and her night nurse Velma Pietila. As Elisabeth's adopted daughter, Marjorie Caldwell, stood to inherit a substantial sum from Congdon's 8 million dollar estate. Roger Caldwell was convicted of the murder and Marjorie was aquitted. She was later convicted of arson in an Arizona case and is still serving time. Caldwell committed suicide in 1988, but maintained innocence in his suicide note. John de Santo, one of the prosecutors in the murder case, has just co-authored a book called "Will to Murder." He says new evidence proves the couple's guilt.
July 28, 2003 - We discuss the history, attraction, and future of the Great Lakes. We'll cover the natural history of the lakes and the people who live there, as well as the forests along the water. Jerry Dennis, naturalist and author of "The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas".
August 1, 2003 - Writer and humorist Calvin Trillin is widely regarded as one of America's finest writers. Since the early 1960s, his work has appeared in the New Yorker, The Nation, and Time magazine. He's written three memoirs, two of them best sellers. He's written about topics from cuisine and culture to school desegregation. In all, he's written 22 books, including his latest: "Feeding A Yen: Savoring Local Specialties from Kansas City to Cuzco." We hear a speech by Calvin Trillin about a humorist's view of writing and reporting.
August 4, 2003 - The Minnesota Fringe opened over the weekend: dozens of shows dotted around Minneapolis. They range from the sublime to the ridiculous and they're proud of it. One of the more anticipated shows opens tonight. Playwright and storyteller Kevin Kling's latest foray is called simply "Baseball, Dogs, and Motorcycles." Kling was developing the piece two years ago when he was badly injured in a motorcycle accident. He told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr it basically about the three subjects he can talk about forever. He'll tell stories about the joys and frustrations of being a Twins fan, his enduring love of bikes, his new basset hound and the importance of Wiener dogs in his life. Kevin Kling opens his new show "Baseball Dogs and Motorcycles" at the Hey City Stage in Minneapolis this evening. It's part of the Minnesota Fringe Festival.
August 4, 2003 - The Minnesota Fringe opened over the weekend: dozens of shows dotted around Minneapolis. They range from the sublime to the ridiculous and they're proud of it. One of the more anticipated shows opens tonight. Playwright and storyteller Kevin Kling's latest foray is called simply "Baseball, Dogs, and Motorcycles." Kling was developing the piece two years ago when he was badly injured in a motorcycle accident. He told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr it basically about the three subjects he can talk about forever. He'll tell stories about the joys and frustrations of being a Twins fan, his enduring love of bikes, his new basset hound and the importance of Wiener dogs in his life. Kevin Kling opens his new show "Baseball Dogs and Motorcycles" at the Hey City Stage in Minneapolis this evening. It's part of the Minnesota Fringe Festival.
August 6, 2003 - MPR’s Greta Cunningham interviews author Verena Andermatt Conley about her book "The War Against the Beavers." It tells the tale of leaving the city for a rustic cabin in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
August 13, 2003 - Commentator Hans Eisenbeis has noticed a spate of stories over the past few months involving Minnesota children and their vulnerabilities. Some have died, others critically injured, others still simply vanished. It's got him thinking about death and his daughter Phoebe.
August 14, 2003 - Minneapolis' Brave New Workshop theater claims to be the longest-running satirical comedy theatre in the country, and to celebrate its forty-fifth birthday the theater is bringing in a writer who's likely to take issue with that distinction. Jeffrey Sweet is the resident playwright of Chicago's Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theatre, which has produced ten of his shows including "Flyovers", "American Enterprise", and "The Value of Names." He conducts workshops for writers and has written two books about writing plays. He's also written the history of Chicago's Second City theater, a troupe he contends has even deeper roots than the Brave New Workshop. He'll spar with Dudley Riggs at the Brave New Workshop's anniversary celebration tonight. He says troupes like Riggs' and Second City carry on the one of the true purposes of theater.