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.
November 21, 1983 - Richard Ojakangas and Charles Matsch, authors of Minnesota Geology, answer questions on Minnesota.
November 22, 1983 - Robert Cromie talks about the latest books with some famous authors.
November 28, 1983 - Sol Gordon is interviewed about his new book Raising a Child Conservatively in a Sexually Permissive World, and author Dawn Sangrey chats about her new book, Lifestyles.
November 29, 1983 - Elizabeth Hall Janeway, author and women's movement activist, speaking at Minnesota Meeting in St. Paul. Janeway’s address was on the topic "Women's Rights as Human Rights." After speech, Janeway answered audience questions. Janeway is currently at work on a book on the axioms of power titled, "Improper Behavior." Her other works include "Cross Sections from a Decade of Change" and "Man's World, Woman's Place," among others. Janeway is a graduate of Barnard College where she is a trustee. She has been a visiting professor at Yale University and UCLA. Minnesota Meeting is a non-profit corporation which hosts a wide range of public speakers. It is managed by the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
December 15, 1983 - Edwin "Ed" Meese, III (born December 2, 1931) is an attorney, law professor, and author who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan Gubernatorial Administration (1967-1974), the Reagan Presidential Transition Team (1980), and the Reagan White House (1981-1985), eventually rising to hold the position of the 75th Attorney General of the United States (1985-1988).
December 23, 1983 - Truman Capote reads his story "A Christmas Memory"Narration by Truman Capote with music.
January 3, 1984 - Part Two of the George Orwell radio biography, "In Search of Poverty".The years 1927-1936 are covered. Scenes in Paris and London find the hopeful writer in search of a subject. As Orwell matures as a writer, his social commitment growns. He marries Eileen O'Shaugnessy.
January 30, 1984 - Twin Cities poet Roseann Lloyd reads from her work as part of a series of readings presented by COMPAS. She read in conjunction with novelist Alice Walker at The Saint Paul Hotel.
March 2, 1984 - John R. Borchert and Judith A. Martin, co-authors of the book "Legacy of Minneapolis: Preservation Amid Change", answer listener questions about efforts to preserve the city's heritage of architecture and design.
April 20, 1984 - Twin Cities community theater is discussed by Sarah Lawless of the Children's Theater and Jack Reuler of Mixed Blood Theater.