Michael Greenberg, who wrote a searing and much-praised account of his daughter's sudden onset of bipolar disorder, will be featured in Talking Volumes in February 2009, followed in May by renowned poet Rita Dove.
Greenberg's book, "Hurry Down Sunshine," was published in September and already has been sold in 14 countries and excerpted in O, the Oprah Magazine.
"In its detail, depth, richness, and sheer intelligence, 'Hurry Down Sunshine' will be recognized as a classic of its kind," wrote Oliver Sacks in the New York Review of Books. "What makes it unique is the fact that so much here is seen through the eyes of an extraordinarily open and sensitive parent -- a father who, while never descending into sentimentality, has remarkable insight into his daughter's thoughts and feelings, and a rare power to find images or metaphors for almost unimaginable states of mind."
Greenberg, who lives in New York, is a columnist for the Times Literary Supplement. He interweaves his family's heartbreaking story with that of James Joyce, whose own daughter suffered similarly.
Rita Dove is the final writer in the 2008-09 Talking Volumes season. Her remarkable career includes winning the Pulitzer Prize in poetry in 1987 (for her book "Thomas and Beulah"), being named Poet Laureate of the United States in 1993 and publishing eight books of poetry. Dove, who has long taught at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, will talk with Minnesota Public Radio's Kerri Miller about her life and work, and her most recent publication of poems, "American Smooth." Both authors will be profiled in the Star Tribune.
Talking Volumes hosted novelist Richard Russo on Oct. 7 and will feature novelist Wally Lamb on Nov. 20. The series is sponsored by Star Tribune and Minnesota Public Radio in collaboration with the Loft Literary Center.
Claude Peck • 612-673-7977
