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Literature

• Talking Volumes season finale: Monica Ali
  Author Monica Ali is considered one of the best young novelists in Britain. Her latest novel, "In the Kitchen," is about the efforts of a chef to succeed in a once grand restaurant, despite huge pressures at home and a murder. Kerri Miller talked with Monica Ali on the stage of the Fitzgerald Theater May 19.Midmorning, May 24, 2010
• These storytellers are rockstars
  Every third Sunday of the month, a group of "Gen Y" yarn spinners regale audiences with edgy tales of woe, wisdom and awkward situations. They call themselves the Rockstar Storytellers.May 21, 2010
• Rin Tin Tin, chickens and Susan Orlean
  Animals interest writer Susan Orlean. Chickens and mules show up in her writing for the New Yorker lately. That fascination extends to Orlean's latest writing on the life of Rin Tin Tin.Midmorning, May 20, 2010
• Azar Nafisi on Iran and human rights
  Author and activist Azar Nafisi says the repression in Iran goes beyond the holding of the three American hikers. She talks about how the Iranian regime tries and occasionally fails to stifle creative expression.Midmorning, May 20, 2010
• Lee Child on the craft of crime fiction
  Author Lee Child has written many books where his character, retired military policeman Jack Reacher finds himself in countless dangerous situations. In the most recent installment of Reacher's adventures, he's stuck in a South Dakota blizzard with a killer closing in.Midmorning, May 18, 2010
• The hard-won success of "The Help"
  Kathryn Stockett's novel "The Help" was the surprise literary success of 2009. After 60 agents rejected her manuscript, the first-time author's book has now been on the New York Times best-sellers list for 56 weeks.May 4, 2010
• All aboard Jim Lehrer's new novel, "Super"
  They called it the train of the stars. The Super Chief was a streamlined flagship of the Santa Fe railroad. It ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, and pampered its often famous passengers in luxury and discretion.May 3, 2010
• Anchee Min's personal view on 'The Good Earth' author
  Writer Anchee Min's latest novel, "Pearl of China," details the life of Nobel Prize-winner Pearl S. Buck. In the early 1930s Buck wrote "The Good Earth," and other books about life in China. Min says while much has been written about Buck's life, it's never been from a Chinese perspective.April 29, 2010
• New reasons for boys to read
  A recent study from the Center on Education Policy shows that boys' reading performance lags behind their female peers. It's not the boys' fault, some authors say, but the fault of books that rarely reflect boys' lives.Midmorning, April 23, 2010
• Minn. Book Awards honor local writers, advocates
  Carolyn Holbrook, a longtime advocate of arts in education, received special recognition Saturday night at the Minnesota Book Awards, for her contributions to Minnesota's literary community.April 18, 2010
• Anna Quindlen explores life's sudden changes
  Anna Quindlen's new novel "Every Last One" grew out of her feeling that many of the people around her believed they could protect themselves from life's random acts.April 16, 2010
• A mother's quest to save her son
  Randi Davenport struggled to find treatment and a new diagnosis for her autistic son after he developed psychotic behavior during his teens. The mental health system she encountered was willing to accommodate his developmental disability or his psychiatric diagnosis, but not both.Midmorning, April 15, 2010
• Richard Powers' science-inspired literature
  Novelist Richard Powers was among the early few to have his genetic makeup mapped. His latest work of fiction asks if there were a gene for happiness, should we rid ourselves of discontent?Midmorning, April 14, 2010
• Minnesota native talks about winning the Pulitzer Prize
  T.J. Stiles, a native of Minnesota and a Carleton College graduate, won a Pulitzer Prize in the biography category for his book "The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt." He spoke with MPR's Cathy Wurzer.April 13, 2010
• Newsmaker: One hundred years after Twain's death
  A century later critics still consider Mark Twain as one of the greatest American humorist of his age. His classic novel "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was lauded for its stunning narrative and social criticism, yet is still banned from a number of libraries for its crude use of vernacular.Midmorning, April 13, 2010

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