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 10, 1989 - Barry Morrow, a Saint Paul native who won an Academy Award for the screenplay "Rain Man", speaks to the Screenwriters Workshop in Minneapolis about his craft and career.
October 23, 1989 - Bill McKibben, author of "The End of Nature," talks about our global environment--the damage already done, and the prospects for the future.
November 11, 1989 -
November 25, 1989 - Picturing Minnesota, 1936-1943 by Robert L. Reid
December 1, 1989 - MPR’s Stephen Smith interviews journalist Tim Giago, publisher of the Lakota Times. The Pine Ridge Reservation paper focuses on Native stories and Native rights.
December 30, 1989 -
January 5, 1990 - Carl Sagan, author and astrophysicist, speaking at a Washington D.C. conference co-sponsored by the AMA National Initiative for Science and Technology. Sagan’s address was titled "Education: Strategies for Change," and dealt with the dangers of a scientifically illiterate population.
March 16, 1990 - Mainstreet Radio’s Leif Enger takes a tour in northern Minnesota on the Northwest Regional Library bookmobile. It’s a bumpy ride for those in the vehicle, but a worthwhile trip for the many readers within the rural expanse.
March 23, 1990 - Garrison Keillor talks about his show "The Monthly Meeting of the Moon Club of New York" and answers listener questions.
March 26, 1990 -