Duluth musician Gaelynn Lea speaks with us about her new music memoir, her advocacy for accessibility, and song writing vs. prose writing.

It Wasn't Meant to Be Perfect (Algonquin Books)

Gaelynn's memoir recommendations

Waking by Matthew Sanford

Patriot by Alexei Navalny

The Autobiography of Ben Franklin

Follow Gaelynn

https://violinscratches.com/

Creative Living for Every Body with Gaelynn Lea

@gaelynnlea on Instagram

@gaelynnlea on YouTube

Angela Pelster, director of Hamline University's creative writing programs and author of The Evolution of Fire: Essays on Crisis and Becoming discusses her Canadian roots, braided essays (yay or nay?), and the Twin Cities' amazing creative nonfiction community.

Links and recommendations:

The Evolution of Fire (Milkweed Press)

Angela Pelster on Facebook

@angelapelsterwiebe on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/angelapelsterwiebe/

Jennifer Eli Bowen's The Book of Kin

Deborah's 2025 round-up of MN book recommendations, including Kathryn Nuernberger's Held

The Artist's Way

University of Minnesota's Esther Freier Lecture

Courtney Kocak, a Jackson, MN-born and Los Angeles-based podcaster, comedian, screenwriter, and author talks with us about the southwestern Minnesota prairie, the business of writing, and how she prioritizes her art above everything else. Kocak's debut memoir Girl Gone Wild is out on April 1 (no foolin') from Trio House Press.

Girl Gone Wild

courtneykocak.com

Deborah's recommendation:

Courtney's podcast The Bleeders

Paul Gruchow's essay "What the Prairie Teaches Us"