The perilously high Red River in Fargo is all over the news today. The National Guard is on the ground there, patrolling the 43-foot-high dike for leaks and breaches. Several neighborhoods have been evacuated, as have jails and hospitals. The river is expected to crest tomorrow. One of my coworkers said today that she can’t read or listen to anything about Fargo without thinking about Flood Stage and Rising, published by the University of Nebraska Press in 2005. The author, Jane Varley, lived in Grand Forks, North Dakota, which is also on the banks of the Red River. In 1997, … Continue reading Flood Stage and Rising

I was flipping through the March 23 issue of the New Yorker last night and happened upon a poem by Terese Svoboda, titled Mom as Fly. For those of you unfamiliar with Svoboda, she is the author of Tin God, which was published by the University of Nebraska Press in 2006. Her short story collection, Trailer Girl and Other Stories, will be released as a Bison paperback this fall. And her poem is on the New Yorker Web Site. In addition, I have two interesting bits of general publishing news for our readers this Friday: 1. Publishers Weekly Online had an … Continue reading Terese Svoboda in the New Yorker, Kiyosaki book free online, and oddest book title award

Like a lot of native Nebraskans, I remember a few spring mornings when my parents woke us kids in what felt like the middle of the night and loaded us into the family minivan so we could see the Sandhill Cranes. I remember watching the sunrise from the car, and I remember how quiet it was along I-80 until we reached the birds. I remember talking to my friends at school about their own family trips to see the cranes; to grow up in rural Nebraska was to make your own family migration – perhaps not every year, but at … Continue reading The University of Nebraska Press and the Sandhill Cranes

One hundred sixty three years ago this May 12, the Donner Party left Independence, Mo., and set out toward California. I imagine that this time of year 163 years ago, the members of the Donner Party were already busily making preparations for the journey they expected would last just four months. And contrary to popular belief, the Donners were prepared for that trip. They had all the necessary staples – loads of food, good, sturdy transportation, warm clothes. Tamsen Donner, wife of party leader George Donner and the subject of Gabrielle Burton’s new book Searching for Tamsen Donner, also brought … Continue reading Searching for Tamsen Donner in the L.A. Times