Secrets of the City

Wanda Gag, if only because her name sounds like a bondage freak in a Sakerman novel.

What are the criteria? My favorite baseball writer, Mark Harris, wrote his first novel (The Southpaw) while pursuing a doctorate in American Studies at the U. His second novel (the classic Bang the Drum Slowly) opens in a snowy Minneapolis before Henry drives down to Rochester to pick up Bruce at the Mayo clinic. So I’ll nominate him if he’s eligible.

Her name actually rhymes with “Bog,” Bob. And she definitely belongs.

I read “Main Street” for the first time a few weeks ago. It’s actually really great. I thought it was old enough and the subject matter dry enough that it might be kinda boring.

I nominate the guy who scrawled “Fetus Jerky” on the side of the Highland Park Planned Parenthood clinic.

If Charles Baxter counts he should definitely make the cut.

Robert M. Pirsig.

Has Neil Gaiman lived here long enough? Can we claim him? Charles Schulz should count as well.

Jon Hassler, Lois McMaster Bujold and Louise Erdrich. Yo, thanks for all the good readin.

Oh, and Tim O’Brien.

I’ll toss Kate Dicamillo’s name into this hat.

Erdrich: I always want to think of her as a North Dakotan writer. Kurtis, are you Minnesotan or North Dakotan writer?

Trivia note: Erdrich’s Dad was a frequent substitute teacher at my high school. We were pretty psyched whenever we found out “Super Sub” was coming to class ’cause it meant a day of mostly talking, no classwork and Ralpg just telling stories.

Fygar, I’d consider myself a Minnesota writer since i’ve lived here longer, especially since I wasn’t born in either state (Air Force kid, moved a lot, no feeling of belonging anywhere, etc.) But the book ostensibly set in rural Minnesota is based more on North Dakota, esp. all the flooding stuff.

How about Kent Nerburn? Spiritual, earthy, an eye for the journey.

Has anyone here read Frederick Manfred, Thomas McGrath, Meridel LeSueur?

Speaking of writers, a good site to read is http://discussions.mnhs.org/collections/category/150-best-minnesota-books/

Nick Schenk of Mpls wrote Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood’s new film. Not set in MN, but features  Hmong community.

Here’s a link to his credits. Okay, now I’m just wasting time on the internet.

I do want to see Gran Torino. Is it out yet? Anyone seen it?

I want to see it as well. apparently the barber shop scenes were filmed @ my old mid-90’s neighborhood barber shop in Royal Oak, MI.

Nick Schenk of Mpls wrote Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood’s new film. Not set in MN, but features Hmong community.

The Strib profile of him last weekend says the book was set in Minneapolis, but they switched it to Detroit for the movie because Michigan offered the producers $XX million in production cost rebates.

I’m getting a sense of online deja vu!

Well actually there is no book this is an original screen play.

There was a sneak preview last night and it opens in the Twin Cities this weekend.

I’m excited for it, looks good to me.

Bob, the endless discussion of Diable Cody for her film covered the same ground over and over. I guess if Nick was a stripper it would be ok.

I was reading through a seemingly local asian forum and the posters there indicated they were excited to see hmongs in a film. Not that this is indicative that it will go over well across the board, but…
Many of the posters were hoping that it might increase awareness of the large Us hmong communities..

Yeah, just realized driving in to work Dougie that I mistyped. I should have said the original screenplay, not book.

Not a big deal just wanted to clarify.

Eugene McCarthy was both a political writer and a poet.

MN Writers’ Hall of Fame? It certainly seems to me that one of our finest poets, Robert Zimmerman, should be inducted as a charter member.

Just to piss of Maz:

Robert Bly

Do you earn a living by writing?

Rat, that is the new sneaky form of spam.

I’m so naive.

Well, I think it just started yesterday, and Max deletes the stuff quickly. Unless he’s wasted. Which he clearly is right now, or this would already be gone.

We need to get the trolls back. When there is not enough posting early in the day, Max figures his day is over and starts drinking. His moderating starts going to shit and here we are.

He’s so immoderate in his moderating. Such a shame.

Tim O’Brien for sure. He went to school at Macalester College (was in the same class, 1969, as Charles Locks who wrote, Greater Trouble in the Lesser Antilles, another local writer but perhaps one book is not enough to get into the Hall of Fame). O’Brien’s Vietnam stuff is great. There are books written about O’brien so I guess that makes him Hall of Fame material!!

Who was that wonderful writer back in the 40s-50s-60s(?)who wrote about the Boundary Country and lived in a cabin in the woods….Sigmund….Sigurd Olson! Yes?
How about adding him to your list?

Sigurd Olson didn’t start publishing his work until the 1950s. His first book, Songs of the Wilderness, was the June MNRead selection, so he’s already considered to in our Hall of Fame.