Euan Kerr

May 18, 2024 | mprnews.org | Euan Kerr

Spider John Koerner, an influential Minneapolis guitarist and singer with an international reputation, died Saturday. He was 85. His son, Chris Kalmbach, reported the news on Facebook. The cause of death was not noted. Early in his career, Koerner played in a duo with Bob Dylan in the coffee houses near the University of Minnesota. He then rose to prominence in the blues trio Koerner, Ray and Glover.

Apr 1, 2024 | mprnews.org | Euan Kerr

A trio of bemused surfers bob on their boards in the water just off Park Point beach in Duluth. They are watching a denim clad figure in a white wooly hat tear across the sand. He’s trailing a huge kite. But try as he might Leif Enger can’t quite catch the wind. “I have a host of other kites that probably would have been better for today. But this one was so big and impressive. How can I lose?” he says with laugh. There’s some ominous kite flying in “Cheerfully I Refuse.” And some laughing.

Dec 21, 2023 | mprnews.org | Cathy Wurzer |Euan Kerr

Kelly Barnhill is known for her gift for sparkling prose, enchanting readers of all ages around the world. But, almost exactly two years ago, the Newbery Award-winner suffered a serious concussion. The author of “The Girl Who Drank the Moon,” “The Ogress and the Orphans” and “When Women were Dragon” says she has no memory of what happened that day. She does know she fell somehow and hit the back of her head. After the accident she realized to her horror she had lost her ability to write.

Dec 4, 2023 | mprnews.org | Euan Kerr

Twin Cities novelist Brian Duren has a problem. “I don’t want to stop writing until I’ve written all the books that I’ve got in my head. But I don’t know when I’m going to stop getting books [in] my head. So this might just go on, and on, and on,” he laughed. Writing often tends to be a learning experience, and Duren admits he’s learned some unexpected lessons about the craft in recent years.

Oct 13, 2023 | mprnews.org | Euan Kerr

“The Puppets of Spelhorst” tells the tale of five puppets: a king, a wolf with sharp teeth, a girl, a boy and an owl. “Characters search of a story, which is basically all of us. Not just puppets, right?” smiles DiCamillo. DiCamillo says puppets present possibility. You make the puppets tell a new tale. “And so you get to do things. And you just you do you tap into something larger than yourself. It’s that collective unconscious of story, you know.”MPR News is supported by Members.