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.
March 25, 1975 - An interview with writer Pierre Delattre speaking about the Beat Poetry community in California.
May 20, 1975 - MPR reporter Bill Siemering talks with poet Robert Bly about the philosophy of mother conscience and the advantages offered if the human race were to get back to this particular way of meditation.
June 25, 1975 - James Reston, poet and former director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, speaks about the poetry of Mao Tse Tung.
June 29, 1975 - Poet Robert Bly reads his poems and the works of others in a talk given at Saint John's University Forum. Bly also gives his viewpoints on life and his philosophical impressions.
July 21, 1975 - John C. Rezmerski comments on poetry readings as part of Minnesota Poetry Out Loud.
July 21, 1975 - John C. Rezmerski comments on current state of poetry in education system and the purpose of Minnesota Poetry Out Loud.
September 4, 1975 - MPR’s Bill Siemering presents a feature on the Poetry Out Loud program in Minnesota. Siemering interviews John C. Rezmerski, the coordinator of poetry readings in local communities, who highlights the importance of poets in conversation with their audiences.
September 17, 1975 - MPR’s Bill Siemering interviews Marisha Chamberlain, St. Paul's Poet in Residence, about her experience teaching poetry to mentally handicapped communities.
October 10, 1975 - When harvest time arrives in the northern plains farmers go into the fields to harvest the crop. This story is primarily a montage of sounds of the harvest including combines, farm machinery, and a farmer’s reflections.
November 6, 1975 - MPR’s Bill Siemering interviews Marisha Chamberlain about her experience in Poetry Out Loud and the subject of poetry in general.