Writer's Block

Between Exile and Memory: Women Writers and NDSU Press

April 22nd, 2021

By Suzzanne Kelley, Editor-in-Chief

https://www.ndsupress.org

When four gentleman scholars came together seventy-one years ago to establish the North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, they might have been hard-pressed to imagine that in the 21st century, a slate of women authors and their lady publisher would take the lead in delivering—as designated by the mission of the press—scholarly knowledge and…

Lajimodiere releases book of poetry

November 14th, 2020

North Dakota State University Press has recently announced the release of its latest poetry collection, “His Feathers Were Chains” by Denise K Lajimodiere. This book is currently available from NDSU Press, Amazon, Baker & Taylor, and local independent bookstores. The title was inspired by a welded statue of a Native American warrior riding a horse, which is featured on the cover.

“Feathers” is divided into five sections: “Broken Glass Dreams,” “Identity,” “His Feathers…

On the Ephemerality of Things: Thoughts on the Demise of a Small Literary Press

May 5th, 2020

by Debra Marquart
marquart@iastate.edu

A few years ago, I was giving a talk at the Fargo Public Library about researching and writing my book, The Horizontal World, which is a memoir about growing up a rebellious farmer’s daughter on a North Dakota wheat farm. In the 1970s, I was a college student at Moorhead State University and then later a Fargo-based road musician. I wanted to come back to the library to express my gratitude for their services, which kept me alive during a period…

Local Writer Explores the Sinister Side of Snowmen

December 23rd, 2019

Darrin Albert holding a copy of Snowcrow. photo courtesy of John Showalter

Winter has once again set in and Fargo is covered in an all too familiar blanket of snow. While the white stuff is considered the bane of drivers and businesses, it does come with some simple pleasures. There’s a stark beauty to seeing blankets of white cover the ground and hearing it crunch underfoot. And of course, there are snowball fights and building snowmen. They’re innocent enough pastimes, or are they? In local writer, Darrin Albert’s new novel “Snowcrow,” Frosty…

A spoon full of sugar: New poetry from Sarah Kobrinsky

November 20th, 2019

Sarah Kobrinsky

Former Fargo-Moorhead resident Sarah Kobrinsky has recently released her first full collection of poetry, Nighttime on the Other Side of Everything, published by New Rivers Press. The book is divided into three sections, each with a different theme and flavor.

“I tend to write things that are superficially funny but there’s always something darker going on,” Kobrinsky says. “You know the saying, ‘A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down’? That’s the first section. The…

Literary scholar retraces route of famous author

October 30th, 2019

Henry Gurr at Coleman Museum Ellendale

By Ken Smith
kelandsmith@gmail.com

“There it is! Ellendale!”
“A water tower, groves of trees and buildings among them in the morning sunlight. I’ve just given in to the shivering which has been almost continuous the whole trip. The watch says seven-fifteen. A few minutes later we park by some old brick buildings. I turn to John and Sylvia who have pulled up behind us. ‘That was cold!’ I say. They just stare at me fish-eyed.”
“The town is clean and fresh and unlike the one…

The Price is right

October 16th, 2019

Victoria Price with her father Vincent Price

Vincent Price was a man of many hats. Known to many for his film and television career best known for portraying an array of villains. Along with that, he was an art collector and advocate, a gourmet chef and most importantly a father. His daughter Victoria Price has followed in his footsteps as a woman of many talents, she’s a speaker, lover of the roads less travelled, an interior designer, and writer, and part of her mission is to share her father’s legacy with both HPR and…

A Renaissance Mallman Breaks into Writing

October 9th, 2019

Mark Mallman press photograph 2019

Minneapolis-based musician Mark Mallman is extremely prolific. Since his stint with short-lived band The Odd in 1998, he has released eight full-length studio albums, with the most recent being 2016’s “The End is Not the End.” He has a well-earned reputation as being one of the Twin Cities’ must-see live acts and his own star on the wall outside First Avenue, and for good reason.

As well as prolifically recording albums since his debut almost two decades ago, there are points…

‘The necessary business of writing’

July 31st, 2019

Emily Vieweg - photograph by TwinFlame Visuals

During the next few months, local poet Emily Vieweg will be hard at work on her first full-length book of poetry. With two published chapbooks, a Master of Fine Arts in writing, and an endorsement from our local arts community, it’s safe to say Vieweg is heading towards a promising writing career.

“Over the past several months I have pulled together poems, done some editing and formatting, all the necessary business of writing,” Vieweg says. “Luckily I have connected with a…

The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves: James Han Mattson’s First Novel

July 7th, 2019

James Han Mattson

After spending his high school years in Grand Forks, James Han Mattson is now a published author of the novel “The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves.” He will be in North Dakota July 10-11 for book readings in Fargo and Grand Forks, and is also is conducting a young writers' workshop.

Born in Seoul, Korea, Mattson moved to Grand Forks from central Wisconsin when he was ten and graduated from Grand Forks’ Central High School.

His first novel, “The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves,” tells…