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.
August 23, 2011 - Governor Mark Dayton announced Joyce Sutphen, a college professor who lives in Chaska, will serve as the state's next poet laureate.
August 25, 2011 - Local humorist, author, and playwright Kevin Kling shares a tale of taking a visiting cousin to the Minnesota State Fair. It is quite a day.
September 2, 2011 - Garrison Keillor, the host of public radio's A Prairie Home Companion, joins MPR's Gary Eichten on the Carousel Park Stage at the Minnesota State Fair to share stories and answer questions from the audience about his long career as a broadcaster and author.
September 16, 2011 - On this Midday, two guests talk about 50 years of the Minnesota Vikings. Writer Jim Klobuchar, who covered the Vikings from day one, September 17, 1961, joins Midday to talk about the history of the team and the game of football? Following that, a conversation with Tommy Mason, Minnesota Viking’s first player.
September 23, 2011 - MPR’s Euan Kerr profiles Korean poet Ed Bok Lee and Vietnamese American spoken word artist Bao Phi. The poets respective works explore the Asian American experience - with a very Minnesota perspective.
October 12, 2011 - Horror, science fiction and fantasy books have long been popular, but now an increasing number of novelists known for literary fiction are getting in on the act. Is it a recognition of the sales potential, or a desire by writers to explore different genres?
November 11, 2011 - On this special Veterans Day Midday program, a remembrance of legendary radio dramatist Norman Corwin with a short documentary on his career, and excerpts from his masterpiece, On a Note of Triumph, which remains the most listened to radio drama in U.S. history. Later in the hour, author Tim O'Brien reads and discusses his critically acclaimed short story collection on the Vietnam War, The Things They Carried.
November 18, 2011 - In the 1940s, the stories of two fictional Minnesota girls named Betsy and Tacy became a sensation. Author Maud Hart Lovelace based the stories on her own happy childhood in Mankato in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This month HarperCollins is publishing a new Betsy-Tacy Treasury. The collection includes the first four books of the ten book series. Over the years, the stories have inspired generations of devoted fans. Today those fans can visit the Betsy-Tacy Society in Mankato and tour the childhood homes of Lovelace and her best friend. The society's president is Susan Brown and she joins me now from Mankato. Welcome! Maud Hart Lovelace was born in Mankato in 1892. She based the character of Betsy on herself. She was a stickler for historical accuracy-- how accurate a portrayal are the books of growing up at the turn of the century in Minnesota? What was Maud like as a girl growing up in Mankato?
November 28, 2011 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews James Hormel, the first openly gay U.S. ambassador, about his memoir "Fit to Serve." Hormel details the fight to become U.S. Ambassador was a long and ardous process but he says it was worth it.
December 2, 2011 - Jerry Dennis and Darby Nelson have written about lakes, great and small. What do we most value about lakes and what should be done to protect them? Guests: Darby Nelson: Author of "For Love of Lakes." Aquatic ecologist and professor emeritus, Anoka-Ramsey Community College. Served three terms as Minnesota State Representative. Former board president, Conservation Minnesota. Currently on the board of the Freshwater Society.