Autumn in the Middle West of the United States

I had cause recently, to look at the weather forecast for my home city of Lincoln, Nebraska (though I'd do it without cause as well; Midwesterners are like that about weather).  Supposed to be uncommonly warm, hot even, into next week, the first week of October.  As a general rule, early October can be counted on to bring unmistakably autumnal weather to the northern great planes, although since my undergraduate days some fifteen years ago, it seems to be staying hotter longer.  Still, Lincoln does tend to get the cool mornings and evenings and the dry sunshine of fall by this time of year irrespective of daytime highs.  And while weather of almost any sort can be a powerful evocator, I think it's autumn in the midwest (however warm) that will always break my heart.  The smells, or actually the lack of them, the light, the feel of the air, the early darkness, the ancient rhythms of the harvest, playoff baseball, pumpkins, apples, brown grass, firewood, silence.  Autumn in the midwest was always the time when I wanted to fit in, when I looked around me and thought, yes, I want to be a part of this, I want to try.  But of course, I never found a way.  Brown grass and apples happen everywhere in autumn, but there's a particular quality to it all in the Midwest, owing to the sparseness and openness of the land, and it's that quality which, no matter where I am in the world, will always remind me of what I wanted to keep and couldn't.

Stone Street interview with Mischa Iossel

Episode III of Stone Street available now.  In this episode I spoke to Mikhail Iossel, writer, professor of American literature, and founder of the Summer Literary Seminar series, which this year was held in Vilnius.  Professor Iossel was born in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) and left the Soviet Union for Boston in 1986.  He later received a master's degree from the University of New Hampshire, and a Stegner fellowship from Standford.  He has taught at the University of Minnesota, NYU, and St. Lawrence College, and now teaches at Concordia University in Montreal.

So have a listen.  Professor Iossel has terrific stories and insights about his experiences which he shares in the free mode of a natural storyteller.  His memories are alternately powerful and hilarious (and occasionally both at the same time).  His book of short stories is titled, Every Hunter Wants to Know.

Stone Street, Pt. II

The second installment of Stone Street is now available.  For this hour I spoke with Jeannine Oppewall, the Oscar-nominated production designer of such films as The Bridges of Madison County, L.A. Confidential, Catch Me if You Can, and Seabiscuit.  Jeanine is a wise, wise woman who has spent an amazing life thinking seriously about big questions, and I only hope our interview here offers some sense of her great insight, wit and passion.  Enjoy.

Also, we think we've gotten a few things ironed out re: subscribing to the podcast via iTunes, so if you were frustrated in your attempts to sign up the first time, do give it another go.

In our next Stone Street podcast, I'll talk with Mikhail Iossel, founder of the Summer Literary Seminar series, currently taking place in Vilnius, about language, literature, and leaving St. Petersburg in the 80s.