Matt Kliewer
HPPR Radio Readers Book Club ContributorMatt Kliewer, originally from Cimarron, Kansas, is a professor of humanities. He holds a doctoral degree in English literature from the University of Georgia. His scholarly writing has appeared in The Georgia Review and Transmotion. Additionally, he served as an editorial assistant for the anthology When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry.
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How do we come to terms with the people and events in our life that defy convention? How do we navigate the complexities of love, trauma, and grief as we narrate our own journeys? -
To end this set of readings with Plainwater by Anne Carson feels perfect. If not perfect, well, it still feels. Carson, once described by Bruce Hainley as “a philosopher of heartbreak” doesn’t just mix genres in her works but calls into question linguistic and cultural bedrocks that inform our reading of the continuity of human experiences. -
I was incredibly excited when I learned that we would be reading a futurist novel for this section of the HPPR book club. From Afrofuturist Octavia Butler’s novel to Anishinaabe artist Lisa Jackson’s virtual reality art experience Biidaban: First Light, I’ve always appreciated speculative fiction ... -
Two years ago, in what now looks to be a great feat of prescience, my wife recommended I read a new book that was abuzz in the Social Sciences, Lucas Bessire’s Running Out: In Search of Water on the High Plains. At the time, I think I met the recommendation with a fair amount of skepticism. -
After reading the first thirty pages of Elmer Kelton’s The Time It Never Rained, I thought I had this book and its subsequent beats pegged. Kelton’s protagonist, Charlie Flagg, would, if you’ll forgive the pun, weather a massive drought, refusing government assistance, all while his neighbors greedily lapped up handouts in lieu of hard work.
