MPR has had a keen ear for capturing the words and meter of poetry. Minnesota is home to many nationally renowned poets, city and state poet laureates, spoken word artists, and individuals young and old that have simply created work for the sake of the form. The state is also a magnet for poets all throughout the world. Here is a wonderful breadth of those readings, speeches, thoughts, and histories of the poet.
July 17, 1993 - MPR’s Chris Roberts reports on the poetry scene in the Twin Cities by visiting local performance venues. Roberts interviews organizers and poets and gets their take on Minnesota’s poetry revival.
August 7, 1993 - A reading of Walt Whitman's poem "When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer."
September 4, 1993 - Paul Gruchow’s poem “Autumn,” read by J.H.
September 18, 1993 - Minnesota poet Joe Paddock provides an environmental commentary on the essense of the land.
September 29, 1993 - Poet Tracy Barkis reads her poem titled "I Set Myself Free," which addresses violence against her.
October 12, 1993 - MPR’s Euen Kerr talks with Native American poet Jamison Mahto about poetry and cultural misconceptions. Mahto reads "The Blue Apache" from his book “Blues For Franklin Avenue: A Collection of Poetry.”
October 15, 1993 - A Voices from the Heartland Q&A with Duluth poet Barton Sutter. Feature includes Sutter reading of “Taconite Harbor,” and a discussion on his poetry collection “The Book of Names.”
October 20, 1993 - MPR’s Joe Follansbee interviews former Minnesota U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy who shares a poem on deer hunting, equinox, and views of poets.
October 23, 1993 - Twin Cities poet Michael Dennis Browne reads "Potatoes, October."
November 1, 1993 - A reading from an anthology of poems, “Mouth to Mouth: Poems by Twelve Contemporary Mexican Women,” published in 1993 by Milkweed Editions (Minneapolis, MN). Excerpt is from an introductory narrative and poem written by poet Isabel Fraire.