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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. Listen to Ask a Bookseller to find your next favorite book.

Big Books and Bold Ideas

Big Books and Bold Ideas is a weekly series hosted by Kerri Miller every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

Sign Up for The Thread® Newsletter

Sign up for The Thread newsletter to get reading recommendations from Kerri Miller and other bookworms around the MPR newsroom. Find reviews for new releases, as well as hidden gems you may have missed.

Talking Volumes

Talking Volumes is an annual event series featuring notable authors in conversation about their new books. Presented by MPR News and The Minnesota Star Tribune. 

Two poets share the stage

Two poets share the stage

Galway Kinnell and Josephine Dickinson talk about how poetry connects people of different nationalities and experiences. Kinnell reads from "Strong is Your Hold," Dickinson, from her collection of poems, "Silence Fell." Their Talking Volumes appearance was recorded April 12 at the Fitzgerald Theater.

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How Minnesota found its poetic voice

How Minnesota found its poetic voice

For decades Minnesota poetry has been characterized by images like cornstalks and writers such as Robert Bly. But as a new poetry anthology shows, today's Minnesota poets mix diverse politics and heritage with prairie soil.
by Sea Stachura

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Walter Mosley's advice

Walter Mosley's advice

Mosley's newest book features no characters, no unsolved murders, jury trials or plot of any kind. This time, the novelist says, it's your turn.
by Tom Crann

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Author Louise Erdrich rejects UND honor over 'Sioux' nickname

Author Louise Erdrich rejects UND honor over 'Sioux' nickname

Erdrich grew up in North Dakota and has an American Indian heritage. The offer of an honorary degree means "a great deal" to her, Erdrich said, and she would happily accept it but for the school's Fighting Sioux logo.

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The world on a camel's back

The world on a camel's back

The bookmobile that travels between nomadic villages in Kenya moves on four legs. The author of a new novel based on the real life Camel Bookmobile talks about her effort to bring even more books to the African bush.

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Victoria Redel writes how a war ripples down the generations

Victoria Redel writes how a war ripples down the generations

Victoria Redel's new novel "The Border of Truth" weaves together at least three stories to tell a very American tale.
by Euan Kerr

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Irish poet Sean Lysaght receives O'Shaughnessy Award

Irish poet Sean Lysaght receives O'Shaughnessy Award

Poet Sean Lysaght is in St. Paul to receive the 11th O'Shaughnessy Award for poetry. The award is given each year by the Center for Irish Studies at the University of Saint Thomas. It recognizes contributions to the art by an Irish poet.

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The elusive gift of grace

The elusive gift of grace

Essayist Anne Lamott's latest book returns to the theme that spirituality can be both difficult and rewarding, but never offers easy answers.

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Can poetry heal?

We all know ill-chosen words can hurt. But can well-chosen words heal? Or at least give us insight into the healing process?
by Tom Crann

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Discovering a young poet

Discovering a young poet

When Galway Kinnell, one of the great American poets of our age, first heard Josephine Dickinson, he was immediately drawn in by her work. MPR's Kerri Miller explains why.

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