Collection
Minnesota Books and Authors
This collection encompasses 50-plus years of interviews, readings, speeches, and reports on the vibrant literary scene in Minnesota. Not only home to giants F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sinclair Lewis, our state has an array of incredible contemporary poets, novelists, and playwrights. Their words make up majority of this collection.
Repeatedly being named the “Most Literate City in the United States,” the Twin Cities has played host to numerous visiting national writers via book tours, festivals, and lectures. Many recordings of these are also included.
This project was funded by the National Historical Publications & Records Commission.
2,203 Collection Items
- North Star Journey: 'A phenomenon': A new book features contemporary Latin artists in Minnesota
MPR’s Alex Cipolle reports on Latin Art in Minnesota: Conversations and What’s Next, a hardcover art tome featuring in-depth interviews with 12 Minnesota artists who have roots in Central and South America, from Mexico to Chile.
- 'Nothing about my book that is anything but love': Minneapolis author responds to Texas book list
All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews Minneapolis activist and writer Junauda Petrus about her book The Stars and the Blackness Between Them being placed on a potential banned books list in Texas. The book is the story of two black girls from very different backgrounds finding love and happiness in a world that seems determined to deny them both.
- Ghosts, murder, forbidden love roam northern Minnesota in Ojibwe writer's new novel
MPR’s John Enger interviews Native American author Dennis Staples about his first novel, This Town Sleeps. The story depicts the struggle of a gay Ojibwe man to accept a Native tradition where he rarely felt at home, while escaping a reservation he could never quite leave. It is told through the eyes of a twenty-something narrator, who bears a striking resemblance to Staples himself.
- Josie Johnson's memoir details life of a gracious fighter
MPR’s Marianne Combs presents a profile of Josie Johnson, renowned local civil rights activist. Feature includes interview with Johnson about her life and book, and comments from Vernon Jordan and Walter Mondale, amongst others. Johnson’s memoir is titled "Hope in the Struggle."
- Minnesotan writer captures father's love in new picture book
MPR's Marianne Combs interviews poet Bao Phi and illustrator Thi Bui about their children's book, A Different Pond, a 2018 Caldecott Honor Book. The book depicts a father and son going on early morning fishing trips to a pond in Minneapolis, and a father's story about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam.
- The highs and lows of Garrison Keillor's career
MPR’s Euan Kerr joins All Things Considered host Tom Crann to look back at Garrison Keillor’s storied career amidst allegations of inappropriate behavior.
- What does it mean to live a good life, the Ojibwe way?
MPR’s Euan Kerr profiles Ojibwe writer Linda LeGarde Grover. The two talk about her collection of essays Onigamiising. The title is an Ojibwe name for the place she has always considered home…Duluth. There are themes running through the writing, like the Ojibwe concept of living a good life.
- Poet, performer J. Otis Powell‽ dies at 61
MPR’s Marianne Combs profiles J. Otis Powell‽, a well-respected local poet, playwright, and performer, who died on August 28th, 2017. Those who knew him say he was an uncompromising artist, a provocateur, and perhaps most importantly, a mentor to generations of other writers and performers.
- Bao Phi bares his soul in "Thousand Star Hotel"
MPR's Marianne Combs interviews poet and spoken word artist Bao Phi about his new book of poetry, Thousand Star Hotel, in which he reflects on his youth living in Minneapolis and discusses the legacy of trauma. This segment also includes excerpts from the book read by Phi.
- For the poet Bao Phi, a violent past is never far away
MPR’s Marianne Combs profiles Vietnamese American spoken word artist Bao Phi, who talks of the how racial trauma affects both his poetry and life. Phi also discusses his collection, Thousand Star Hotel.