Tell Me a Story!

When I was little, I loved to have a book read to me. Once when I was ill for many weeks in the 4th or 5th grade, my mother read “Gone with the Wind,” “Jaws,” and “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” to me. I think she was as bored as I was sick. She may or may not have done some editing in her reading, and I enjoyed every minute of those books.

Turning Pages is a beloved strip of programming here at KWMR. You can tune in most any weekday and hear a reader, someone talking about books and literature, film, chatting with authors, or other such programming. And on Thursday’s (except the 5th Thursday) Howard Dillon reads for an hour at 4 PM.KWMR must seek permission for any piece of published literature that is to be read, and many of these permissions do not include the ability to archive the programs (which is why some are very temporal). The permissions for literature are even more strict than those for music. Some read pieces are in the public domain, and some publishers have a relationship with KWMR and are quite easy to work with.

Lyons once asked me to read for her when she had to be away on short notice. I do enjoy reading aloud, so I jumped at the chance. She and Janet Robbins had previewed the book, but I had not read it, and had only heard bits while listening at work. In I go, striving to read with care, enunciating and attempting some interesting pronunciations.  Then came something I was completely unprepared for; the killing of the elephant. My god, it hit me like a train and I began to cry while reading this particularly sad and heart-wrenching part of the story. I had to back off, go to music, dry my eyes and gather myself together before I could continue.

Sometimes I read particularly funny things to my husband, and I’m not sure why reading aloud will illicit the type of laughter that you just can’t stop, nose running, eyes watering, gasping for breath laughter because something is just so funny or outrageous. When reading the same material to myself, I must just crack up like that inside.

Thank you to Janet Robbins, Lyons Filmer, Neshama Franklin, Joy Maulitz, Sally Phillips, Kerry Livingston, Myn Adess, Pat Holt, Doris Ober, and all of those that have come before, for gracing the airwaves, and allowing us to have a story told to us.

Jeffery Manson, our new Program Director is keen to keep Turning Pages alive and well, and broadcasting on the KWMR airwaves. And Lyons Filmer will continue to read and explore other facets of literature along with the crew on Turning Pages. We hope to continue this tradition of celebrating literature well into the future!

On Thursday, February 13 Jeff hosted a podcast producer and then a poet in a “Turning Pages” spot. You can check it out HERE! Tell us what you are interested in hearing!
   

Amanda Eichstaedt
Station Manager and Executive Director