WFIU: Books and Literature

L.S. Ayres & Company: Elegance in Indianapolis

Adam Schwartz — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:08:17 +0000

Kenneth L. Turchi's book tells the story of about L. S. Ayres & Company--a store that brought elegance and style to the Midwest.

New Memoir Describes Life As A Post-World War II Refugee

Adam Schwartz — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:49:49 +0000

Bloomington author Erika Stevenson discusses her memoir, Fighting for Road Apples, that describes her struggles as a post-World War II refugee.

‘Ethnographic Detective’ Adrienne Kaeppler Visits IU

Adam Schwartz — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:00:12 +0000

We speak with anthropologist Adrienne Kaeppler, who spent forty years tracking down the objects of a short-lived 18th century museum.

Kurt Vonnegut’s Life in Letters

Adam Schwartz — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:48:03 +0000

A book of letters by novelist Kurt Vonnegut over a six-decade period shows his mastery of comic language, warmth toward his children, and fury at banned books.

Spoken Word At The Fourth Street Festival

George Walker — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 12:00:09 +0000

Poets, playwrights, novelists and short story writers put their words on stage at 4th Street.

The Art of Espionage Fiction With Former Spy Gene Coyle

Adam Schwartz — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:50:19 +0000

Former spy Gene Coyle, now a professor and spy novelist, talks with Adam Schwartz on the art of the spy novel and recommends some of his favorites in the genre.

The Horror Of Carrying On: Coake’s Modern Gothic Debut

Yaël Ksander — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:05:53 +0000

Christopher Coake's debut novel You Came Back is a bona fide ghost story channeled through the experience of grief.

Charles Cushman’s America: All The World’s A Sunny Day

Yaël Ksander — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:43:03 +0000

Amateur photographer Charles Cushman's color images of mid-century America provoke us to look differently at a place we had only known in shades of gray.

Showers Brothers: Bloomington’s Go-Figure Success Story

Yaël Ksander — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:33:46 +0000

Everyday life in Bloomington in the 1850s was a drama of scarce water and free-range pigs. The allure for prospective entrepreneurs was not obvious.

She Knows What She Is: Mary Hamilton’s Short Short Fiction

Rachel Lyon — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:00:55 +0000

"The shorter the story is, the more is at stake with every single word, every single image that you choose, and there’s really no room to take a breather."

Ming Holden And The Survival Girls

Rachel Lyon — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:30:08 +0000

One of the most touching moments I had with them when I went back and worked again with them in December was asking them all to draw their ideal future. Five of the six girls present that day drew community centers.

For Him, Yiddish Was A Craziness

Adam Schwartz — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:00:22 +0000

An interview with the director of a new documentary film about Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem, whose stories inspired the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof.

Writer Rigoberto Gonzalez: Across Genres, Across Communities

Rachel Lyon — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 23:00:41 +0000

"I wanted to write in proximity to these lives because they are part of my community. So many of their anxieties were anxieties that I shared."

Artist In The Making: Kelsey Adams And Tony Ardizzone

Rachel Lyon — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:00:38 +0000

"What does it mean to live? It means to be alive. It means to dance because you can. It means to celebrate."

Artist In The Making: Introducing Kelsey Adams

Rachel Lyon — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:21 +0000

"There's some of me in every character I write--male, woman, no matter the age--there's a little bit of me in there."

Julia Karr: The ‘Truth’ About Writing For Young Adults

Rachel Lyon — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:00:15 +0000

"Girls should have the ability and the education and the information to make logical choices themselves about what they want to do with their bodies."

The Indiana Town ‘Where Heaven and Earth Are Close’

Adam Schwartz — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:47:07 +0000

A new book tells in words and images the story of of the Indiana town where "Heaven and Earth are close together."

Artists In The Making: Bre’Anna Robinson’s Audio Diary

Rachel Lyon — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:48:04 +0000

"I’ve made time to listen to NPR every morning, hoping to hear his voice on the radio, so I can go over to the canvas still in the corner of my room and begin to paint."

A Meissner Legacy: A Preview

George Walker — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:35:23 +0000

Just like a plumber or any other crafts person you have to have tools.

A Home Of Her Own: Reclaiming ‘A Latter-Day Frontier’

Yaël Ksander — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:00:01 +0000

Nancy Hiller and Kendall Reeves' A Home of Her Own is an anthology of radical tales of female reinvention, disguised as a coffee table book for decorators.

A Life Like This: Sallyann Murphey’s Bean Blossom Dreams

Rachel Lyon — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:06:47 +0000

Sallyann Murphey might be a Londoner by birth, but her writing about Brown County is part of the legacy of American transcendentalists like Thoreau and Emerson.

IUPUI Prof’s New Book: ‘Becoming Ray Bradbury’

Adam Schwartz — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:18:33 +0000

The development of science-fiction and fantasy author Ray Bradbury is chronicled in a new book by IUPUI professor Jonathan R. Eller.

Unearthing Dracula

Annie Corrigan — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:11:17 +0000

Throughout the next hour, we will explore the evolution from the Dracula character in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel to the many movies featuring the Count, and the very real historical figure who is now inextricably linked to the father of all vampires, Vlad Tepes.

Artist In The Making: Introducing Bre’Anna Robinson

Rachel Lyon — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:01:10 +0000

"You're taking something from your head that is you, you're putting it on paper and you're creating this world. People read that, and they know who you are."

Harry Geduld’s Comically Surreal Stories

Adam Schwartz — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:00:05 +0000

WFIU's Adam Schwartz attends a reading of IU professor emeritus Harry Geduld, who reads a selection of his strange, funny, savage tales.

Break Away Books: The Literary Memory Of The Midwest

Rachel Lyon — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:00:06 +0000

"Writers are tenders of the necropolis—people who take care of the city of the dead."

The Happy Benefits To Writing Their Lives

Rachel Lyon — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:03:59 +0000

"You see this incredible blossoming in these young women, as writers and as girls who are really thoughtful, and who have something to say about the world."

Nate Powell Builds His Graphic Novel ‘Empire’

Annie Corrigan — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:34:15 +0000

Bloomington was represented at this year's Comic-Con International by award winning graphic novel author Nate Powell who was peddling his new book "Any Empire."

When Words Do Not Suffice: Literary Sketches At The Lilly

Yaël Ksander — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:00:02 +0000

Quirky artifacts—from Sylvia Plath's childhood sketches to Amiri Baraka’s decorated agenda book—offer alternate routes inside the minds of literary giants.

How Bean Blossom Bloomed: A History Of The Festival

David Brent Johnson — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:06:49 +0000

The tale of the world's longest-running bluegrass music festival.

The Enduring Relevance Of The Pastoral Tradition

Yaël Ksander — Tue, 24 May 2011 17:05:22 +0000

“I knew as a child that something had happened in my family that severed something vital,” the poet explains. “It was that my parents’ parents, who were born on farms, had to leave them, in order to participate in a money-based economy. I’ve always felt it was my obligation to repair that in some way.”

In The Limelight For April 28, 2011: National Arts News

Rachel Lyon — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:16:26 +0000

A look at what's in the headlines this week in national arts news.

In The Limelight For April 26, 2011: Local Arts News

Rachel Lyon — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:43:43 +0000

A look at what's in the headlines this week in local arts news.

April Showers IU Faculty With Guggenheims, Pulitzer

Yaël Ksander — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:08:00 +0000

A neuroscientist, a literary scholar, and a poet at Indiana University have received Guggenheim Fellowships; the latter tapped as Pulitzer finalist.

In The Limelight For April 19, 2011: Local Arts News

Rachel Lyon — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:35:13 +0000

A look at what's going on this week in local arts news.

The Wandering Book Artists Come to Bloomington

Adam Schwartz — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:42:55 +0000

king handmade books for 35 years. Now they’re touring the country showing their books and single-sheet broadsides and giving classes in the book arts.

In The Limelight March 31, 2011: National Arts News

Rachel Lyon — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:29:27 +0000

A look at what's in the limelight this week in national arts news.

Butler Basketball And The Big Dance Of Life

David Brent Johnson — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:48:32 +0000

As the Butler men's basketball team makes a return trip to the NCAA Final Four this weekend, a new book by a Butler creative-writing professor takes a look back at the profound excitement that surrounded last year's remarkable run. "It seemed to be about the stories we tell ourselves," says author Susan Neville, "and stories coming to life."

In The Limelight For The Week Of Feb. 7, 2011

Rachel Lyon — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 22:03:18 +0000

A look at what's going on this week in local arts news.

IU Student Writes A ‘Gateway Drug’ Novel

Adam Schwartz — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:21:47 +0000

When her Mexican-American students told Ashley Hope Pérez they couldn't find a novel that told their story, she wrote it. The IU doctoral student speaks to Adam Schwartz about her soon to be published novel What Can't Wait.

Hoosier Writers Gone Wild

Adam Schwartz — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:30:57 +0000

Artworks’ Adam Schwartz speaks with Bill Peschel, author of Writers Gone Wild, a collection of anecdotes of great writers at their worst behavior.

Ghost Storytelling Series: “Voodoo” Told By Stephanie Holman

Annie Corrigan — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 11:00:34 +0000

"Mr. and Mrs. Decker had had marital spats for a number of months, and a little cooling off time was needed..."

Ghost Storytelling: “Monster In The Forest” By Mary Frasier

Annie Corrigan — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 11:00:37 +0000

"Once long ago, human beings wandered through the great forest and gathered food. Until one day – a monster came and began to prey upon the human beings..."

Ghost Storytelling Series: “An Easy Gig,” Told By Josh Wolf

Annie Corrigan — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 11:00:00 +0000

"Gabe thought that the baby was pretty good. In fact, as babysitting gigs went, this was a really easy one..."

Ghost Storytelling Series: “Sam’l” Told By Lisa Champelli

Annie Corrigan — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:00:34 +0000

Folktales are perfect material for storytellers because, Champelli explains, you have license to change things up a bit. "They have been tweaked over the years, and tellers have added bits and pieces here and there.”

The Sounds Of Rumi

George Walker — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 11:00:49 +0000

David Haberman is a faculty member in IU’s Department of Religious Studies although he has actually taught about the verses of Rumi, his connection with the concert is musical. “I heard my son play guitar in one of Sulai’s concerts. That hooked me."

Adam Langer’s New Book: Conning The NYC Publishing World

Adam Schwartz — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:03:38 +0000

WFIU’s Adam Schwartz speaks with Bloomington author Adam Langer about his fourth novel, The Thieves of Manhattan.

The Land, The Author: The Rachel Peden Revival

David Brent Johnson — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:00:43 +0000

A Bloomington farm wife's mid-20th century books are coming back into print and popularity.

How Beethoven Had ‘Big Guns Aimed At The Future’

Adam Schwartz — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:53:24 +0000

I think Beethoven was distilling everything that he was, everything that he had within himself, as a human being and as an artist, and giving them to us, to posterity.

The Embroiderers Of Ninhue: Stitching Community In Chile

Yaël Ksander — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:00:00 +0000

In the midst of the volatility rocking her native Chile in the early 1970s, Carmen Benavente sought to create community with a few simple stitches.