May 2, 1978 - MPR’s Bill Siemering profiles Minnesota poet Robert Bly. Program includes Bly reading from his book This Body is Made of Camphor and Gopherwood at Augsburg College, followed by an interview with Siemering.
May 3, 1978 - University of North Dakota in Grand Forks hosted the 9th annual Writers Conference in March 1978. MPR’s Arts and Cultural Affairs reporter Nancy Fushan attended the conference and presents this, the first of three programs, with an overview on the theme of conference “Literature as Lamp and Mirror.”
June 10, 1978 - MPR’s Kate Williams talks with Minneapolis poet Jerri Alexander, who shares poetry from her book Hurt Comes and Goes: Poetry of a Black American Woman.
August 24, 1978 - Author James Michener speaks before the National Press Club, discussing the state of the novel and talks extensively about many contemporary American writers.
September 14, 1978 - MPR’s John Ydstie talks with Minnesota author Frederick Manfred. Manfred participated in a symposium in Moorhead that explored the effects of place on a writer's works.
October 23, 1978 - The 150th anniversary of the birth of the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy is celebrated in a special radio profile produced by Radio Moscow. Includes readings from Tolstoy's works.
November 13, 1978 - MPR’s Nancy Fushan interviews May Sarton, Belgian American novelist, poet, and memoirist. Sarton discusses the act of solitude that helped her create her best writing. Segment includes Sarton reading one of her poems.
November 15, 1978 - MPR’s Kim Hodgson visits poet Bill Holm’s residence in Minneota, Minnesota. Holm talks about his small town and the people who live there.
January 15, 1979 - MPR’s Nancy Fushan Interviews Minneapolis poet Keith Gunderson, who talks about his work 3142 Lyndale Ave. So. Apt. 24: Prose Poems and writing poetry. Segment also includes Gunderson reading his poetry.
January 15, 1979 - Alex Haley discusses his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Roots: The Saga Of An American Family at a National Press Club luncheon. He wrote most of the novel in a Club office.