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.
October 30, 2004 - Tomorrow is Halloween--the perfect time to curl up with a new spooky story. A man being swallowed alive by an Irish bog is the first scene in Minnesota author Erin Hart's new novel "Lake of Sorrows."
October 30, 2004 - Tomorrow is Halloween--the perfect time to curl up with a new spooky story. A man being swallowed alive by an Irish bog is the first scene in Minnesota author Erin Hart's new novel "Lake of Sorrows."
November 4, 2004 - J.D Lundgren is a hunter -- like hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans. And fall means hunting season. But it's also a time to remember his father, and the last time they hunted together.
November 11, 2004 - In honor of Veterans Day, we remember the Minnesotans who took part in World War II and the lesser-known stories of those who stayed behind and worked on the home front.Guests: Dave Kenney is author of "Minnesota Goes to War: The Home Front during World War II."
November 11, 2004 - Much has been said of the people who fought in the battles of World War II, but what about all the ones who participated in the stateside war effort? A new book examines the history of the Minnesota home front during what former Sen. Eugene McCarthy called "the last of the 'happy' wars."Guests: Dave Kenney is the author of several books on Minnesota history. His latest is "Minnesota Goes to War: The Home Front during World War II."
November 18, 2004 - A Minnesotan won the National Book Award today for Young Adult Literature. Pete Hautman's latest book, "Godless", is about children in a small town who invent their own religion. He accepted the award this morning in New York city -- at a ceremony that also featured a tribute to famed young adult novelist Judy Blume. We reached Pete Hautman before he returned to Minnesota. He said his award might not make it home at all.
November 18, 2004 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer has a conversation with Duluth writer Barton Sutter about his book "Farewell to the Starlight in Whisky." Sutter explores a wide range of topics: among them, politics, sobriety, the Minnesota wilderness, and love.
November 19, 2004 - From golfing in the arctic circle to 22-day roller coaster marathons, acclaimed sportswriter Steve Rushin is out with a new book on extreme recreation. "The Caddie was a Reindeer" is a compilation of Rushin's tender odes to his old favorites like basketball and hockey, as well as off-the-wall explorations of off-the-map sports. What drives a person to go zipping through the mountains of Germany at 180 miles per hour, anyway?Guests: Steve Rushin writes the popular "Air and Space" column in Sports Illustrated. Minnesota native.
November 22, 2004 - Renowned Minnesotan science writer William Souder is out with a new book on a man who made important contributions, not only to the world of ornithology, but also the world of art: John James Audubon. In "Under a Wild Sky," Souder paints the picture of a deeply complex and conflicted Audubon, who failed at a number of endeavors before stumbling upon the career that made him famous.Guests: William Souder's previous book was called "A Plague of Frogs."
December 3, 2004 - Amy Tan, author of the bestselling novel "The Joy Luck Club," paid a visit to the Commonwealth Club of California this fall to discuss the relationship between her life and her work. She talked about the lessons she learned from her Chinese-American mother, her best friend's murder and her more recent battle with Lyme disease.