I hunt therefore I am

So maybe in your family it's fishing or maple syruping or skiing.... but in all families we have certain traditions or rituals that we hope will continue long after we are gone.

Award winning Bemidji writer Will Weaver has just published his memoir called "The Last Hunter: An American Family Album". Will's book is a sojourn through his life - connecting the stories of his youth with his adulthood, all through the lens of hunting. Will grew up near Dorset, MN... he writes of a place he knew well there:

"A railroad cleaved through our family of farms. It separated Gerry's place from mine, but the crossing, with its slivered planks and tire-burnished bolts, was a meeting spot, and the railroad bed a boy's highway. Almost daily we walked it west a mile to our grandfather's place and sometimes beyond, to the edge of town two more miles away. East took us two miles to Dorset, a town of thirty or so with a lumberyard, bait shop and cafe. Beyond Dorset was uncharted territory - the edge of the earth - so we settled for a candy bar or an ice cream cone at the cafe in Dorset, then turned back. " Chapter 6, page 55 of "The Last Hunter"

Will will be signing books on Sunday December 12th at the Village Bookstore in Grand Rapids from 2-4pm. He's also my guest this week on Realgoodwords!

20th Annual Sinclair Lewis Writer's Conference Coming Up!

I talked with author Will Weaver this week on Realgoodwords. He's going to be the keynote speaker at the 20th annual Sinclair Lewis Writer's Conference in Sauk Center (where the infamous book Main Street was set). Will is known for his short stories, adult novels and young adult novels as well as the award winning independent film (Sweetland) that was based on Will's short story, "A Gravestone Made of Wheat". Will's keynote address will be about audience.

Minnesota mystery writer William Kent Krueger will also be there, his talk will be about how to use suspense. Krueger has been a guest on Realgoodwords in the past, and I'll be talking to him later this fall about his latest in the series about Cork O'Connor, "Heaven's Keep".

Also speaking is Minnesota author Wang Ping. She will speak about writing short stories. Wang Ping was awarded a 2009 McKnight Artist Fellowship for creative prose from the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis.

Milkweed Editions editor Daniel Slager will also be presenting at the conference in Sauk Center. His talk will be about the future of books.

The 20th Annual Sinclair Lewis Writer's Conference is Saturday October 10th from 8:30-5:30. For more information click here.

A Strength that Goes Beyond Reason

William Durbin transports us to Finland and the land of Sisu in his new novel for young adults "The Winter War".

In 1939 Stalin decided to invade Finland - he thought that Red Army would march into Finland, take over the country in 5 days or - at the most a week - but the Finnish people put on white camouflage uniforms and ended up fighting through one of the coldest winters in Finnish history for 105 days and actually held the Red Army at bay for that long.

If you missed the interview, tune in Sunday at 9am, CST or check the archive. You'll also hear a conversation with Will Weaver of Bemidji about his latest project "Saturday Night Dirt" the book and Team Weaver, the stock car racing team.

Sisu is a Finnish term that could be roughly translated into English as strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity.

I asked author William Durbin to describe the character of the Finns both on the Iron Range of Minnesota and the Finns in 1939 as the Soviet Union invaded. He said "sisu".

"Sisu defines not only the Finns of the Winter War but the Finnish character that first settled in the stump and rock farms up here in Northern Minnesota - with that ability to just work really hard and to do the best they can to survive. That's what the Finns had to do during the Winter War - they were outnumbered 4 to 1 - 100 to 1 in tanks - without aid from NO other countries in the world, and STILL they were able to resist this huge Russian military machine."

I have some Finnish in my heritage, and I'd like to think that some of that Sisu has rubbed off - I see it in my grandma, in my mom - a strength that goes beyond reason.

Then again, my dad, a proud Norwegian-American, had that same strength and spirit. We lost my dad last week and these days have been some of the stump-iest and rock-iest my family has ever seen...

I'm hoping this Sisu will pull us through. That even though we really don't want to go on without my dad, we'll keep on farming - we'll keep on working hard and figure out how to survive, just like our ancestors did.

Minnesota Book Award Winners

From the Star Tribune

Awards honor Minnesota authors
Among this year's Minnesota Book Awards winners were a beer brewer, a daughter of St. Paul and a daughter of Beijing.
By SARAH T. WILLIAMS, Star Tribune
Last update: April 13, 2008 - 12:14 AM

Judges for the 20th annual Minnesota Book Awards celebrated the state's immigrants, its teachers and scholars, its prime crime writers and, well, its beer brewers on Saturday night.
About 700 people attended the ceremonies at the Crowne Plaza Riverfront, sponsored by the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library and hosted by TPT and MPR's Cathy Wurzer.

"These are not the Oscars," said Deborah Keenan, winner of the poetry award, in a nod to her fellow finalists. "Comparing one book to another is like walking in a blessed orchard."

Here are the winners in eight categories:
Children's literature: "Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat," by Lynne Jonell (Holt). A girl discovers that she and her parents are being drugged by her nasty nanny, and she and her animal friends must foil the plot. What the judges said: "Lots of fine details and great sympathetic characters -- even the mean ones."

General nonfiction: "The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot," by Charles Baxter (Graywolf). The acclaimed fiction writer and essayist explores the hidden overtones and undertones in fiction. What the judges said: "Absolutely stellar explication of texts."

Genre fiction: "Thunder Bay," by William Kent Krueger (Atria). The seventh book in the Cork O'Connor series takes the protagonist into Canada, where he tries to locate the son of his friend, an Ojibwe healer. What the judges said: "Beautiful book that resonates after reading."

Memoir and creative nonfiction: "The Florist's Daughter," by Patricia Hampl (Harcourt). The author revisits her childhood as she experiences her mother's death. What the judges said: "Eloquent, bittersweet and consistently well-written."

Minnesota: "Land of Amber Waters: The History of Brewing in Minnesota," by Doug Hoverson (University of Minnesota Press). The certified beer judge and award-winning homebrewer tells the story of the state's beer industry. What the judges said: "Combines entertaining style and attractive, high-quality design."

Novel and short story: "The Last Communist Virgin," by Wang Ping (Coffee House). A window into the rapid transformation of an ancient culture, from New York City's Chinatown to the streets of Beijing. What the judges said: "Stories are compelling and balance social, cultural as well as literary appeal."

Poetry: "Willow Room, Green Door," by Deborah Keenan (Milkweed). Three decades of the poet's work, addressing love and rage, vulnerability and authority, distraction and focus. What the judges said: "Genuine, honest and original, the poems build on one another."

Young-adult literature: "Defect," by Will Weaver (Farrar, Straus and Giroux): A boy deals with features he was born with that are terrifying to some and magical to others. What the judges said: "Memorable imagery combined with a tender-hearted view of an underrepresented voice."
Other honors: Don Leeper, founder and president of BookMobile, won the Kay Sexton Award for lifelong contributions to Minnesota's literary community; Jill Kalz won the Readers' Choice Award (by a vote of more than 7,000) for "Farmer Cap" (Picture Window), an illustrated children's tale of an eccentric farmer who likes to plant spaghetti and popsicles, and Jody Williams won the Book Artist Award for excellence throughout a body of work (showing at St. Paul Central Library, 90 W. 4th St., through April 20).

The annual awards program is a project of the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, along with the library and mayor's office. For more information on the judging process, other sponsors and a complete list of finalists and winners since 1988, go to http://www.thefriends.org/.
Sarah T. Williams is the Star Tribune books editor

The Minnesota Book Awards

Minnesota mystery writer Mary Logue will be on Realgoodwords coming up on April 9th. Her latest Claire Watkins book "Maiden Rock" is up for a Minnesota Book Award. The awards ceremony (I mean GALA!) will be on Saturday April 12th in St. Paul at the Crowne Plaza Hotel - Riverfront at 8pm.

Other past guests on Realgoodwords/KAXE who are nominated for this year's Minnesota Book Award:

Will Weaver's "Defect"

Alison McGhee's "Falling Boy"

William Kent Krueger's "Thunder Bay"

Kevin Kling's "The Dog Says Ha!"

Patricia Hampl's "The Florist's
Daughter"

Catherine Watson's "Home
on the Road: Further Disptaches from the Ends of the Earth"

Doug Hoverson's "Land of
Amber Waters: The History of Brewing in Minnesota"

Annette
Atkins "Creating Minnesota: A History from the Inside Out"

Lorna Landvik's "The View from Mount Joy"

Congratulations to all the nominees!

some notes on tonight's Realgoodwords

Tonight is a fun show; you'll hear my conversations with Jon Scieszka and Carl Brookins. If you missed it, check out the archive. Jon Scieszka (which is as hard to spell as it is to pronounce "cheska") made me laugh a lot....he's a funny guy who thinks kids are the funniest things ever. You see that in his writing with a very distinct sense of humor. He's the new ambassador of young people's literature for the Library of Congress and is serious about getting kids to read. They couldn't have picked a better guy for the post in my opinion.

You've got to check out his website; it's hilarious!

He's got a special website for parents and kids for the Trucktown series too, along with a blog.

Jon mentioned some of his favorite children's books authors - including Adam Rex, Mo Willems and Brian Selznick.

We also talk about how to get kids reading, and how to get boys reading especially. We talked about Minnesota author Will Weaver's latest endeavor - a series of novels for middle-high school age boys about the life of a stock car racer called "Saturday Night Dirt". Will's got lots of information on his website and a blog on writing as well.

My other conversation on Realgoodwords is with Minnesota mystery author Carl Brookins, as part of The Big Read of Dashiell Hammet's "The Maltese Falcon". Carl's latest, the first in a series, is called "Bloody Halls". Carl and I talked alot about the process of writing...

"My detective in "The Case of The Greedy Lawyers", Sean Sean, just showed up in my office one day with a stack of files and said to tme that he had these stories he thought he wanted me to tell. One of the things that happens to people when they get what's called writer's block - I don't think it really is writer's block - it's when the characters refuse to do something that the writer is trying to get him to do that is out of character."

"I hear these voices and when the characters come to me sometimes I don't know where they are going. I sometimes say that I write these stories to find out what's going to happen just like the readers do...The reader and the writer have a contract -
you bring certain expectations to the book - I as the writer bring certain expectations. It's not a question of who wins - it's a question of whether I'm successful in writing the kind of a book that
will get A reaction from you - it may not be the reaction that I necessarily want, but some kind of reaction . To be ignored is the worst thing."
Carl also mentioned his favorite, first mystery as a kid, Freddy the Pig.