A literary icon signs off

Sad news for the Iowa and Iowa City literary scene: “Live from Prairie Lights,” the author reading series broadcast across the state, will be ending in December after an 18 year run.

Iowa Public Radio is discontinuing the program because of low ratings. Even though “Live” has a very loyal following, the dedication of listeners — and the potential literary enlightenment of thousands — is not convincing enough to keep IPR execs from pulling the plug.

The elimination of “Live” by IPR is yet another sad example of the corporate conglomerization of public radio across the country, sacrificing regional and local flavor for nationally packaged programming, cost effectiveness, and ratings. Here is what the IPR website has to say about the decision:

In a continuing effort to bring interesting authors and literature of note to our statewide audience, Iowa Public Radio will be reshaping some of its book-related programming at the beginning of the year. As part of this effort, "Live from Prairie Lights" will conclude its 17-year run at the end of 2008.

As host, Julie Englander enjoyed being a bridge in the relationship between author and audience. Her program, in conjunction with Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City, showcased the latest talents of established and new writers from Iowa and around the world.

Iowa Public Radio remains committed to Iowa's relationship with the literary community, and is excited to utilize Julie's talents in other facets of IPR's local programming. She will begin hosting "The Exchange" on most Mondays, interviewing authors with a connection to Iowa, or that will be traveling to the state. She will also serve as the producer for "Morning Edition," assisting Al Kern in the local presentation of our highest rated program. Julie will also help produce "The Exchange" and "Talk@12," assisting hosts Ben Kieffer and Katherine Perkins.

Julie has interviewed hundreds of authors over the years including Michael Cunningham, Susan Sontag, Norman Mailer, Tobias Wolff, Richard Price, Michael Chabon, Sarah Vowell and Garrison Keillor, to name a few. We look forward to that experience and knowledge reaching a greater audience on "The Exchange," enabling more people to engage in the conversation.

Iowa Public Radio also looks forward to partnering with Prairie Lights Bookstore in future programming and new media opportunities.

I’m unconvinced of IPR’s “continuing effort” since they are, in fact, eliminating one of the programs that brought “interesting authors and literature of note to our statewide audience.” It’s an ironic decision, and I know the website statement is just PR bullshit. IPR is, though, just moving the program in studio; the only apparent difference will be that “The Exchange” won’t be broadcast live from PL. Although, notice how all the authors IPR lists regarding Julie Englander’s experience are nationally renown and well selling. I worry the less known authors trying to make a name for themselves, or writers of niche projects, will be ignored for the sake of ratings. A large media corporation is not only more selective and conscious of audience trends, but also less inclined and committed to present a variety of genres and styles than an independent book store. (I’m unsure who was responsible for scheduling the appearances, but I bet the publishers contacted PL for the exposure.) One of my writing dreams was to read on “Live at Prairie Lights.” It looks like, for the time being, that dream will never come to fruition.

The readings will go on — there are tons of readings at PL that are not broadcast — but Thursday nights will no longer have the titillating aura of being “on air.” (I just learned, though, that after I left Iowa City the show’s timeslot was changed. The readings were taped and broadcast on Saturday and Sunday nights, so “Live from Prairie Lights” has not been “live” for sometime.) I always relished that feeling when I attended “Live.” Every sound in that small, crowded area on the second floor was pumped all over Iowa by thousands of watts. It was all unrehearsed and completely vulnerable to human error and action; anything could happen and people were listening. It gave me a tense, expecting sense of suspense and I wondered, “What if the author screws up? What if someone steals the mic and starts screaming ‘Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!’?” The in store audience was always cordial and attentive at the readings I was at, but I knew there was always the possibility of someone interrupting the whole thing for a short, obscene, political rant. Was there a few second delay? It was hard to tell, but I believe there was.

Who am I to complain about the cancellation of “Live”? I’m the reason why it’s being taken off the air. Although I went to readings, I never listened to the show when I wasn’t there. I doubt I’ve even listened to the online broadcasts since moving to California. Just now I’m checking out the “Live” WSUI page and the archive listings, mostly out of guilt. Check it out. The archive goes back to 2001, around the time I started attending, and I’m having fun looking for the readings I was at. My last was on July 25, 2006, when Jason Roberts read from his book A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became History’s Greatest Traveler, “a biography of James Holman, a dedicated traveler who lost his sight at 25 but refused to let blindness keep him at home.” Looking over the list of shows I’m kicking myself for missing a few, like Michael Perry’s November 3, 2006 reading. I recommend listening to the April 28, 2004 show, when Frank Conroy read from his collection of essays, Time and Tide: A Walk Through Nantucket.

It looks as though the last edition will be (taped) on December 10th so I won’t be there in time to attend. I’ll definitely be listening in, though. It’ll be sad to hear it sign off.