February 7, 1985 - MPR’s Lisa DeRemee reports on local reactions as the town of Sauk Centre prepares to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Sinclair Lewis’ birth. The “hometown son” has a complicated relationship to area, as his famous book Main Street provides a less than stellar fictional portrait of town and its residents.
February 14, 1985 - MPR’s Doug Hamilton speaks with local English professor and poet Michael Dennis Brown on the state of modern love poetry today. Brown speaks on poetry’s decreasing popularity in comparison to other forms of media and expression. He also talks about his expectations for the future of poetry and how he hopes it evolves and grows with the world’s changes.
February 18, 1985 - MPR’s Kate Moos profiles Minnesota’s second poet laureate, Laurene Tibbetts. Segment includes brief interview and reading.
September 30, 1985 - Evelina Chao, an American violinist of Chinese descent and member of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, talks about writing her novel Gates of Grace, which tells the story of the emigrate Chinese experience in America.
February 22, 1986 - MPR’s Mark Heistad interviews John Wright, professor of Sociology at University of Minnesota, about the institution’s acquisition of largest private collection of Afro American literature and life in the country.
February 28, 1986 - As part of the West Suburban Black History Month celebration, Dr. Maya Angelou visits Twin Cities and speaks at a meeting held by the Hopkins School District about the role literature plays in the lives of all people.
May 8, 1986 - Midday presents the late John Ciardi delivering an address called "Why Read?" Following speech, a segment of New Letters on the Air with Ciardi reading some of his poetry (The Collectors; The Glory; Happiness; For Myra, John L. and Benn; Mutterings; Obsolescence; Habitat; and Perversity).
May 29, 1986 - On this Midday program, Paul Gruchow is interviewed and answers listener questions about the Minnesota prairie and his book, Journal of a Prairie Year.
June 27, 1986 - MPR’s Beth Friend profiles Ann Miller, a local romance writer. Miller details the varying types of the genre, from category romance writing to mainstream fiction. Miller’s novel, Notorious, is highlighted in Good Housekeeping magazine.
August 16, 1986 - MPR’s Euan Kerr reports on Will Weaver’s book Red Earth, White Earth. The novel is set along the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota and highlights the conflicts between white farmers and native Ojibwe in northern Minnesota. Kerr interviews the author and a literary agent about the book.