May 23, 2001 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Minnesota musicians John Koerner and Peter Ostroushko about tribute CD for Bob Dylan and their personal memories of the famed musician.
May 24, 2001 - The Duluth native has seen his life and music career documented over the airwaves, on television and film and on pages and pages of print. But perhaps no single person has written as much as music historian Michael Gray. Gray's latest book, "Song and Dance Man 3: The Art of Bob Dylan” is a detailed analysis of Dylan's 40 year career.
May 24, 2001 - A profile on Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä, who has been named new music director of the Minnesota Orchestra. Report contains various commentaries and interviews about the conductor and his leadership style.
May 25, 2001 - Word of Mouth Host Chris Roberts talks with Osmo Vänskä, the Minnesota Orchestra's new music director. Osmo Vanska, of Finland, says he's honored to have been chosen to lead what he called one of the great orchestras in the world. He says one of his primary goals is to build a team spirit and intimacy among musicians to engender a feeling and sound closer to a chamber ensemble, than a huge symphony orchestra.
May 28, 2001 - If you're on your way back from a long weekend at the lake- a little sad thinking about the work week ahead- don't despair, your trip to the northwoods isn't over yet. Minnesota author Douglas Wood is out with a new book about an island on sprawling Rainy lake near the Canadian border. Wood owns the island, and the small cabin a local craftsman built there in 1925. Woods book, "Fawn Island," is a collection of essays that explores how the wilderness retreat has shaped Wood's innermost thoughts and his view of the larger world. In the book, he writes "Fawn Island is a rugged but poetic outcrop of granite in the heart of the northwoods." He told Minnesota Public Radio's Lorna Benson that his rustic cabin reflects that landscape.
May 30, 2001 - Novelist Colson Whitehead says he first heard the story of John Henry through a cartoon film shown in a grade school history class. The tale of the hammer-swinging steel-driving man who beat a steam engine appealed to him, but also left many questions, some of which he tries to answer in his new book "John Henry Days." The critically acclaimed book follows some of the people attending the celebration around the release of a John Henry stamp. It also traces the legend and its modern echoes in racial strife, labor conflict, and fear of new technology. Whitehead told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr part of his fascination with the John Henry legend is how Henry beats the steam drill, but then collapses and dies.
June 20, 2001 - Author Sue Grafton has promised to write a mystery for every letter of the alphabet. She started her series with "A is for Alibi" and has just published her 16th- "P is for Peril." The latest book pits heroine Kinsey Milhone against a bitter ex wife, troubled children, a shady business partner, and a suspicion of Medicare fraud . Grafton told Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cunningham that her main character is the key to her success:
June 22, 2001 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer talks with Mindy Ratner, host of Evening Classics on MPR, about traveling to China with the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony. The group consists of seventy young musicians traveling for a formal 2001 summer concert tour, and features performances in China's most prestigious concert halls in Beijing, Xi'an, and Shanghai.
June 26, 2001 - Most Minnesotans know what the word Minnesota means. It means "sky-tinted water." It's a combination of the Dakota Indian words "mini," which means water, and "sota," which means somewhat clouded. But do you know how your city or town got its name, or that nearby lake or river? The Minnesota Historical Society recently published the third edition of the book, "Minnesota Place Names," which explains how cities and other places got their names. Ann Regan is the managing editor of the Minnesota Historical Society Press.
July 4, 2001 - A Voices of Minnesota with two World War II military veterans. Bloomington resident Avis Schorer was an Army nurse pinned down on the beach at Anzio, Italy during one of World War II's most brutal battles. Roseville resident Ken Porwoll was an Army infantryman who survived the Bataan Death March and three and half years as a prisoner of the Japanese.