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.
April 5, 2011 - MPR’s Euan Kerr talks with St. Paul poet Jim Moore about collection "Invisible Strings." Moore reads from book.
April 15, 2011 - MPR Presents "Writing Minnesota," a special program highlighting Minnesota writers and authors. Program showcases some of the exciting literary work coming out of the state.
August 1, 2011 - Euan Kerr interviews Minnesota poet Robert Bly about his collection "Talking into the Ear of a Donkey." Bly reads from book. Segment also includes commentary about Bly from fellow poets Jim Lenfestey and Garrison Keillor, and wife Ruth.
August 23, 2011 - Governor Mark Dayton announced Joyce Sutphen, a college professor who lives in Chaska, will serve as the state's next poet laureate.
September 23, 2011 - MPR’s Euan Kerr profiles Korean poet Ed Bok Lee and Vietnamese American spoken word artist Bao Phi. The poets respective works explore the Asian American experience - with a very Minnesota perspective.
September 29, 2011 - On this edition of Art Hounds, a look at Jon Hassler Theater's production of "Pinocchio;" the Weisman Art Museum re-opening; and poet Seamus Heaney visiting Minnesota.
April 16, 2012 - MPR’s Marianne Combs reports on two of the Pulitzers announced that have Minnesota connections. Kevin Puts won a 2012 Pulitzer in Music for "Silent Night: Opera in Two Acts" that premiered at the Minnesota Opera. Also, poet Tracy K. Smith won a Pulitzer for "Life on Mars," published by Minneapolis' Graywolf Press.
April 20, 2012 - The 2012 winner of the Laurence O'Shaughnessy prize for Irish poetry is Gerard Smyth. The prize is given annually by the Center for Irish Studies at the University of St. Thomas. Smyth is visiting the St. Thomas campus and stopped by MPR's studios. He shares a poem from his collection “The Fullness of Time” - and it includes a nod to Minnesota's own Robert Bly.
May 14, 2012 - MPR’s Euan Kerr profiles Twin Cities native Maya Washington, who uses a short film she created about a deaf performance poet to challenge elementary school students to think about - and perform poetry.
May 18, 2012 - Is life better for an African American artist today living in the Twin Cities than it was twenty or thirty years ago?