February 6, 1997 - In case you haven't noticed, this is Sweeps Week, when all the commericial broadcasters bring out the programming they think will bring them the biggest audiences and the biggest advertising dollar. Here's a sample of what Channels Four and Five were offering yesterday.
February 6, 1997 - The films of Kenji Mizoguchi are known for their long takes, compassionate view of women, and uncompromising social realism. But the problem is that his films are not that well known. Mizoguchi, considered one of the most important directors of all time, was born at the turn of the century in Tokyo. He died in 1956, having made as many as 86 movies. On Friday, the Walker Art Center and the U-Film Society begin showing a selection of Mizoguchi. We asked Marlena Gonzales Tamrong, an associate film curator at the Walker, and Kinji Akagawa, a Japanese-born artist and teacher, into the studio to help us understand Mizoguchi's films and their impact. Marlena Gonzales Tamrong is an associate film curator at
February 7, 1997 - Midday examines aviation safety with pilot and author John Nance, a commercial pilot and a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force Reserves. He's written a number of aviation thrillers, the most recent, Medusa's Child. Nance also answers listeners call-in questions.
February 7, 1997 - MPR’s Dan Olson reports on a University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestra performance of the music of Roy Harris, Rimsky-Korsakov… and “Beijing Drum,” a piece of new music by a Chinese composer Zhou Long written for the pipa, an instrument similar to a lute.
February 7, 1997 - MPR’s Chris Roberts profile sisters Julia and Irina Elkina, one of Russia's more prominent duo-piano teams. The immigrated to Minnesota, and now call Minneapolis their home. One advantage they may have over other piano duos, is they also happen to be identical twins.
February 7, 1997 - A reading by Robert Treuer, "the Tree Farm," part of the Voices from the Heartland series.
February 10, 1997 - Minnesota storyteller, playwright and actor Kevin Kling says his storytelling is from personal experience. The stories use humor because Kling says humor is a solvent that helps us accept the difficulty of our lives. In our Voices of Minnesota interview, Kevin Kling talks about storytelling. Riding the 21A bus line between St. Paul and Minneapolis was the source for one of Kling's best known works. "Fear and Loving" is a new collection of Kling stories about growing up. He was recently on stage at the Jungle Theatre in Minneapolis playing one of the leads in "Waiting for Godot". Kling was born in Missouri and grew up in the Twin Cities suburbs of Brooklyn Center and Maple Grove. Minnesota Public Radio's John Rabe talked with Kling about his work.
February 10, 1997 - Master potter Richard Bresnahan wages a one-man campaign from his central Minnesota studio to tout the beauty and usefulness of clay pottery. Today in our Odd Jobs segment, we talk to the Collegeville potter who designed and built the nation's largest wood-fired kiln at Saint John's University, and the pottery studio on the edge of campus. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum visited Bresnahan in his earth-toned studio rich with the smell of indiginous clays, where he was starting his day preparing slip, the watery clay mixture vital for throwing good pots.
February 10, 1997 - Storyteller and playwright Kevin Kling talks with MPR'S John Rabe about life in Minnesota as material for his work.
February 12, 1997 - David Foster Wallace is best known for the giant novel "Infinite Jest", which, despite its daunting length, was apparently popular enough to be released in paperback recently. Wallace has also been writing non-fiction essays, which are now collected in a much less-imposing book.