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.
April 8, 1994 - On this installment of Voices from the Heartland, Minnesota travel writer John Shepard shares an essay of what one can see on the backroads and small highways of Minnesota.
April 12, 1994 - Native American environmentalist and writer Winona LaDuke speaks at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis on the difference between indigenous and industrial ways of thinking. She also discusses feminism, environmental racism, and broken treaties.
April 15, 1994 - On this installment of Voices from the Heartland, Duluth author Michael Fedo reads Play Papa, an essay recalling a family memory on playing music.
April 22, 1994 - On this installment of Voices from the Heartland, Duluth writer Barton Sutter reads his essay God's Own Ice Rink. Sutter recounts his ice skating excursion onto a frozen Lake Superior, where he encounters black ice and an unlucky fisherman.
April 29, 1994 - On this installment of Voices from the Heartland, Twin Cities native and author Susan Carol Hauser reads Letters. The essay looks at the lost art of letters and journals, which offer younger family members a glimpse into an older generation’s life and thoughts.
May 6, 1994 - On this installment of Voices from the Heartland, Minnesota travel writer John Shepard reads an essay on his “big” impression after visiting Chicago.
May 13, 1994 - A Morning Edition conversation about "Arise: The Cultural Legacy of Meridel Le Sueur," a program of music, stories, performance art, displays, and presentations by community artists. The celebration event is held at the Foss Center, Augsburg College.
May 13, 1994 - On this installment of Voices from the Heartland, Twin Cities native and author Susan Carol Hauser reads Garden. Hauser’s essay details the thought and act of gardening.
May 20, 1994 - On this installment of Voices from the Heartland, English translator and author Kevin Crossley-Holland reads an essay about his observation on Midwest morals and sensibilities.
May 20, 1994 - Morning Edition’s Perry Finelli interviews Twin Cities freelance writer Steve Perlstein, author of Rebel Baseball: The Summer the Game Was Returned to the Fans. Perlstein discusses the ups and downs of the first year of Northern League Baseball and the St. Paul Saints.