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 18, 1997 - MPR’s Greta Cunningham talks with poet Donald Hall about his wife and fellow poet Jane Kenyon, who passed away in 1995. Hall reads Kenyon’s poem “The Needle.”
February 13, 1998 - A Westminster Town Hall Forum address by former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove. Rita Dove's speech is entitled "The Poet's Voice."
March 24, 1998 - MPR’s Euan Kerr interviews Minnesota poet Susan Carol Hauser about her book “Sugartime: The Hidden Pleasures of Making Maple Syrup with a Primer for the Novice Sugarer.”
May 11, 1998 - MPR’s Art Hughes reports on a highway dedication of James Wright’s poem “The Blessing.” It was written after a ride with his friend Robert Bly as they pulled their car off the road and encountered a pair of horses.
September 3, 1998 - MPR’s Lynette Lyman profiles Cambodian poet U Sam Oeur. Lyman also reports on a perfomance of his work in the Twin Cities.
February 19, 1999 - MPR’s Katherine Lanpher talks with poets Robert Bly and William Duffy about their adventures in poetry - both then and now.
April 14, 1999 - A sampling of readings at Minneapolis Public Library in celebration of 1999 National Poetry Month. More than a dozen local luminaries read their favorite poems for a lunchtime audience.
April 30, 1999 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews German poet Ursula Duba about her book "Tales From a Child of the Enemy." They also discuss the impact of war and atrocities on youth, and what’s happening to Serbian and Kosovar children.
November 4, 1999 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews gay poet Mark Doty about his book “Firebird: A Memoir.” Doty reads a selection from the book, recalling how the lyrics to Petula Clark's song "Downtown" gave him hope.
November 16, 1999 - New York poet Molly Peacock reads on the issue of privacy.