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.
September 1, 1973 - Minnesota poet Robert Bly lectures about the importance of reading poetry aloud, starting with Homer, and “feeling” poetry vs. knowing it.
September 6, 1973 - Poet Jim Moore compares Walt Whitman's The Role of the Poet with the poetry of Tom McGrath, specifically McGrath’s Letter to an Imaginary Friend. Moore reads aloud from both poems.
September 23, 1973 - A broadcast of regional poets Thomas McGrath and Mark Vinz speaking at IMAGINATION 1973 in Fargo, North Dakota. McGrath and Vinz also read poems to the audience.
November 19, 1973 - This MER Special presents a tribute to famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who passed away on September 23, 1973. Program contains various readings and commentary of Neruda’s work, performed by Robert Bly and others.
July 15, 1974 - An interview with Stanley Kiesel, Minneapolis Public Schools' Poet-in-Residence, about inspiring children and introducing them to poetry.
August 4, 1974 - MPR’s Steve Monroe reports on Poetry Out Loud caravan in Minnesota. Caroline Vogel and poets from around the state speak to the strength of the poetry communities in Minnesota.
September 19, 1974 - Poet Nikki Giovanni, one of the leading voices in the black artist movement, talks about current affairs on the third anniversary of the Attica uprising. She was in Moorhead for a poetry reading on the Concordia College campus.
October 9, 1974 - A documentary on the Southwestern Minnesota tour of ‘Minnesota Poetry Out Loud. The event is a week-long caravan of Minnesota poets operating out of Camden State Park, south of Marshall, giving formal and informal readings at the end of July 1974.
October 19, 1974 - D. Smith presents a profile of Black poet Ramona Austin. Feature includes reading by Austin at opening and close of segment. There is also a short interview, where she discusses her thoughts on poetry and how race plays into her writing.
February 23, 1975 - MPR’s Bob Potter presents a program on a book collection of local poets titled The Broken Glass Factory.