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 16, 2004 - What compells someone to run for president? Host Gary Eichten and his guest explore the characteristics of the men who have served as commander in chief.Guest: William Doyle, president historian and author of "Inside the Oval Office: The White House Tapes from FDR to Clinton."
February 18, 2004 - A speech by William Ouchi, education researcher, professor of management at UCLA, and author of "Making Schools Work: A Revolutionary Plan to Get Your Children the Education They Need." He spoke recently at a Minnesota Meeting event in Minneapolis.
February 24, 2004 - Photographer Jim Brandenburg reflects on his friend, Paul Gruchow, who died on February 22nd, 2004 in Duluth. Gruchow was 56 years old. Brandenburg worked with Gruchow at the Worthington newspaper and later collaborated with him on several books. He says he was inspired by his friend and co-worker.
February 24, 2004 - Gruchow made countless appearances on Minnesota Public Radio. In October of 1997, he was a guest on the Midmorning program. He spoke about how the natural environment impacted him as a person.
February 25, 2004 - Author and Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent, Judith Miller, on the threat of biological warfare. She is the author of "Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War".
February 25, 2004 - What would you do if you found a pack of cigarettes in your thirteen year old daughter's school bag? Would you ever read your spouse's diary? Is either situation a big deal? A new production at Mixed Blood Theater in Minneapolis examines America's civil rights, and how they play out in our everyday lives. Bill of (W)rights is made up of ten 8 minute plays, staged throughout the theater building.
February 26, 2004 - Hour 2 of Midday: Robert Janssen is one of Minnesota's best known birders. The 71-year-old Chanhassen resident is an author and co-author of several books about birds, including Birds In Minnesota. Janssen is the former president of the Minnesota Ornithologists Union. He talked recently with Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson.
February 27, 2004 - A Great Conversations event focusing on the loss of life, loss of innocence, and the jarring blow to Americans' sense of security following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Pauline Boss, University of Minnesota Family Social Science professor and author of "Ambiguous Loss: Learning to Live with Unresolved Grief," talks with Gail Sheehy, a cultural observer and best-selling journalist, and author of "Middletown, America: One Town's Passage from Trauma To Hope." The event was sponsored by the University of Minnesota's College of Continuing Education.
March 10, 2004 - On this Midmorning, MPR’s Christopher Lyden interviews Minnesota poet Bill Holm about his book "Playing the Black Piano." The cafe in town, the disorientation of travel, and the power of music are all part of this collected work.
March 11, 2004 - Music is the subject when Minnesota author Bill Holm takes the stage at the College of St. Benedict. In books and essays like "Box Elder Bug Variations" and "Playing the Black Piano", Holm has often explored the places where language and music intersect. The Wednesday evening event is at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph.