by Taylor Blumer | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | April 29th, 2015
A world in which independent bookstores can still thrive is certainly a good one. Independent bookstores enrich their communities in many ways, partly by connecting people with local authors and fostering a unique sense of place.
This year, these unique shops get a special day in their honor.
Saturday, May 2 marks the first national Independent Bookstore Day, sponsored by the American Booksellers Association and Penguin Random House. More than…
by Taylor Blumer | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | April 1st, 2015
In Phil Klay’s short story “War Stories,” a former Marine muses “I’m tired of telling war stories.”
Although said in a numbly serious manner, the statement remains somewhat humorous in light of the fact that it is the very first line of “War Stories,” which also happens to be part of a short story collection comprised solely of – that’s right – war stories.
Klay, a veteran of the Marines who served in Iraq, doesn’t seem to be through with war stories just yet.…
by HPR Contributor | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | March 18th, 2015
The 46th Annual UND Writers Conference, “The Other Half,” will take place March 25-27, 2015 at the Memorial Union on UND’s campus in Grand Forks. The conference will feature only women authors and artists for the first time since 1973, when Gwendolyn Brooks and Mary McCarthy, among others, shared the stage. The conference will feature readings, panel discussions, book signings, workshops and film screenings. All events are free and open to the public. Free parking is available.…
by HPR Contributor | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | March 18th, 2015
By Sara Dupree
Bonnie Jo Campbell is one of the featured writers at the 2015 University of North Dakota Writers Conference. She is the author of the national bestselling novel “Once Upon a River” and the short fiction collection “American Salvage,” a finalist for the National Book Award. She has been awarded a Pushcart Prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
HPR: Animals figure prominently in your writing. Are there particular moments of interacting with…
by Särah Nour | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | January 28th, 2015
It was two weeks ago today that Adam Copeland, Concordia professor and director of theological inquiry, held a reading at Zandbroz Variety for his book “Kissing in the Chapel, Praying in the Frat House: Wrestling with Faith and College.” This event included free food, coffee and wine, along with copies available for sale.
Copeland’s book, published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers back in December, is a collection of essays written by students in their 20snationwide. For his…
by Särah Nour | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | November 28th, 2014
Music and performance poetry will come together next Wednesday at Stoker’s in the Basement (The Hotel Donaldson), where poet Kevin Zepper and pianist Terrie Manno will put on a show entitled “Lines & Notes.” This collaborative exhibition will be free and open to the public.
This isn’t the first time these two local artists have collaborated. Zepper’s Reverbnation webpage features audio and video clips of his poetry readings, including one for National Poetry Month last April.…
by Diane Miller | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | November 25th, 2014
In the early 2000s, High Plains Reader published an article by writer Greg Boose titled “Three Older Women Stand in Line to Yell at the Author James Frey when Malcolm-Jamal Warner Stops By with a Two-Liter of Cherry Coke Under his Arm.”
Years down the road, Boose published the piece on his website and the one-and-only No. 1 bestselling author of “A Million Little Pieces,” James Frey, contacted Boose to say he enjoyed the piece.
Today, this Minnesota State University Moorhead grad…
by Särah Nour | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | November 19th, 2014
Last year, Fargo author Ryn Pitts released her first book, “Deadly Benefits,” a murder mystery that utilizes her background in pharmacy, health administration and insurance, as well as her Scandinavian background (with her proudly Finnish heroine, the pharmacist Heli Harri).
The plot revolves around Christine Runyan, a young mother stricken with Crohn’s disease, who dies in the intensive care unit at the fictional Swedish Hospital in Fargo. Fearing a malpractice lawsuit, Dr.…
by Särah Nour | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | October 30th, 2014
Starting Nov. 5, the Spirit Room will be holding Dharma Book Club meetings every Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. The club will discuss one chapter a week from “Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change” by Pema Chödrön. Copies are available at Zandbroz Variety.
“Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change” is a self-help book about maintaining peace of mind under trying circumstances. Rather than hiding from the chaos of everyday life, Chödrön encourages readers to embrace…
by Särah Nour | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | August 21st, 2014
On Saturday, August 23, starting at 1 p.m., accomplished triathlete Melanie Carvell will be hosting a book signing at Zandbroz Variety for her memoir/self-help book, “Running with the Antelope: Life, Fitness, and Grit on the Northern Plains.”
This book chronicles her humble upbringing in the small town of Mott in southwestern North Dakota during the 1970s. Now a six-time All American, Carvell credits her athletic endurance to the challenging weather of the Great Plains area. Her…
The vibrant life of Ashley Lake Hamilton came to a sudden end on the Sunset Highway between Airway Heights and Fairchild Air Force Base on Thursday, December 10, 2020.Ashley was born on a beautiful Monday afternoon, June 2, 1980,…
By Michael M. Miller michael.miller@ndsu.eduThe late Mary Lynn Axtman, native of Rugby, ND, who dedicated many hours for GRHC, shared this message about ornaments from Joseph S. Height’s section on Christmas in his book,…
Thursday, March 19, 4:30- 8 pm1609 19th Ave N, FargoCass County Soil Conservation District is hosting their annual Ladies’ Ag Night supper event. This event has a goal of bringing together multiple generations of women involved…
Last New Year’s Eve I found myself using the cheer “Here’s to 2020 vision” as I clinked glasses with my friends. 2020 was going to be my year.. Or so we all thought. I originally started to think that 2020 vision wasn’t…
By Ed Raymond fargogadfly@gmail.comWhere Do We Belong in God’s Universe?In the 16th century the dominant religious “theory” was that everything on the planet from God down to minerals and rocks were links in the Elizabethan…
To say that this year’s Bartenders Battle was the best display of talent in the six years since its creation would be an understatement and a disservice to not only the bartenders who made it into the competition, but also the…
Reviving Rural Grocery Stores in North DakotaBy Annie PrafckeFargo, ND – On October 7th, Gov. Doug Burgum awarded Milnor Market and the Forman grocery store project Main Street Awards, as part of an initiative led by the Office…
When we were growing up we often found ways to rebel against our parents, some more nonsensical than others. Not all of us decided to use those methods as inspiration for the name of a band. Bismarck-based band Spite Nap decided…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail27 December 2020Alicia Coombs is an archivist and the head of business affairs for the American Genre Film Archive in Austin, Texas. Outside of watching and collecting movies, she likes to drink…
By Jill FinkelsonWe’ve been hearing the word Unrest a lot lately. Unrest in the streets. Unrest in the capital. Unrest in our own homes as we struggle to hunker down in the face of the unseen pandemic. People are restless. They…
By Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comDrag shows, for me, feel like a celebration of artistry, esthetic, music, and camaraderie. With a dash of confetti thrown in.The local drag community is a close-knit family. Giving back to affiliated…
by Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comAdam Quesnell's last show at The Cellar beneath the Front Street Taproom in Fargo was in early September of 2018. He was embarking on a seminal move from Minneapolis to LA. As always, his comedy was…
by Jill Finkelsonjsfinkelson99@gmail.comFar North Spirits, located up in Hallock, MN, is the northernmost distillery in the lower 48. They may be young in the distillery world but the farm and the spirit reach far into the past.…
by Laurie J Bakeremsdatter@gmail.com Part of modern yoga is participating in the world around us. We live in a time of upheaval in society and nature, and of great suffering in humans of all ages. Most of us perceive this suffering…
By Ashlee Nordquisthpr@hpr1.comI've come to the conclusion that not everyone understands why my brother and I went on ventilators for covid and what that means. As I survived and my brother SO FAR is improving, I can make jokes and…
By Will Blockaredsheep@gmail.comEDITOR'S NOTE: Will Block grew up around a therapist. The year 2020 has been mind-bending beyond belief. We need some humor in all this darkness. HPR reached out to Will and he delivered. Don't…