Madison BookBeat
by Stu Levitan, Andrew Thomas, Sara Batkie, David Ahrens, Lisa Malawski
<p>Madison BookBeat highlights local Wisconsin authors and authors coming to Madison for book events. It airs every Monday afternoon at 1pm on WORT FM.</p>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
10/24/2022
Email Addresses
1 available
Phone Numbers
0 available
Recent Episodes
April 14, 2025
I Choose Joy: AJ Romriell on Wolves, Loving Yourself, and Exiting the Mormon Faith
In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Andrew Thomas speaks with <a href="https://www.ajromriell.com/">AJ Romriell</a> on his debut memoir <a href="https://uwpress.wisc.edu/Books/W/Wolf-Act">Wolf Act</a> (University of Wisconsin Press, 2025). Wolf Act is a “memoir in essays,” and these essays take on a variety of forms. The work is divided into three different Acts, and each act is made up of chapters that are both interlinked but can also stand on their own as well. While the majority of the prose is narrative nonfiction, there are a number of chapters that include lengthy lists, definition entries like you would find in a dictionary, as well as passages that mirror a kind of Mormon liturgy and educational upbringing. As the title suggests, wolves are a central metaphor throughout the work, and Romriell seamlessly weaves in references to wolves from mythology, fables, fairy tales, and religious beliefs as a way of processing his exit from the Mormon faith and his intentional turn towards self-love and joy. AJ Romriell is a storyteller, photographer, and educator. His memoir Wolf Act is about his experience growing up queer and neurodivergent in the Mormon religion; it earned first prize in the Utah Original Writing Competition and was a finalist for the Writers’ League of Texas Manuscript Contest. He is a 2025 Pushcart nominee, and his essays, stories, and poems have been featured in Electric Literature, The Missouri Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Black Warrior Review, Brevity, New Delta Review, and elsewhere. He has been the recipient of the Vandewater Prize in Poetry, the Kenneth W. Brewer Creative Writing Award, and the Ralph Jennings Smith Creative Writing Endowment, and his work has been shortlisted for Ploughshares’ Emerging Writer’s Contest, CRAFT’s Hybrid Writing Contest, and the Black Warrior Review and New Ohio Review contests for creative nonfiction.
April 7, 2025
New Wisconsin Poet Laureate Brenda Cárdenas on the mysteries and rewards of language
On this edition of Madison BookBeat, host Sara Batkie chats with Wisconsin Poet Laureate Brenda Cárdenas about her new position and the exciting plans she has in the works during her service. Brenda Cárdenas was born and raised in Milwaukee and has also lived in Beaver Dam, Appleton, Menasha, and Fond du Lac. She obtained her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Writing (Poetry) at the University of Michigan. She recently retired from a 35-year career teaching Creative Writing to students at every level from seventh graders to doctoral candidates. From 2007 to 2024 she taught Creative Writing and U. S. Latino/x Literatures at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. A former City of Milwaukee poet laureate, Cárdenas has authored two full-length books: <a href="https://redhen.org/book_author/brenda-cardenas/">Trace</a> (Red Hen Press) and Boomerang (Bilingual Press). She has also authored or co-authored three chapbooks: Bread of the Earth/The Last Colors, Achiote Seeds/Semillas de Achiote, and From the Tongues of Brick and Stone. Her three-year term as Wisconsin Poet Laureate began on January 15, 2025 and runs through December 31, 2027. Brenda will be doing many events and workshops throughout the state during her Poet Laureate term. You can see a full list by visiting her website <a href="https://www.brendacardenas.net/">here</a>.
March 17, 2025
Sitting down with Madison Public Libraries Director Tana Elias
<a href="https://www.cityofmadison.com/news/2024-03-21/tana-elias-selected-as-madison-public-library-director">Tana Elias</a> has more than three decades of experience at the Madison Public Library. After one year in the role, she’s “just settling in” to the position as Director of the MPL. Elias sits down with Madison Book Beat host David Ahrens for a conversation about the history, funding, services and evolution of the Madison Public Library system, which has nine libraries in the city, operates the mobile Dreambus service, and is now building an “Imagination Center” on the north side. Elias and Ahrens also take up the changing role of libraries in the digital age. Contrary to the notion of a library dealing in books only, today’s Madison Public Libraries function as a community hub and resource — giving everything <a href="https://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/collection/special-collections/madison-public-library-seed-library">from seeds</a> <a href="https://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/spaces/bubbler">to art</a> to yes, digital and physical books to the community. They also discuss the threat of losing federal funding, and the <a href="https://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/anniversary">significant milestone</a> for MPL coming up this year: 150 years of service.
Legal Disclaimer
Pod Engine is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected with any of the podcasts displayed on this platform. We operate independently as a podcast discovery and analytics service.
All podcast artwork, thumbnails, and content displayed on this page are the property of their respective owners and are protected by applicable copyright laws. This includes, but is not limited to, podcast cover art, episode artwork, show descriptions, episode titles, transcripts, audio snippets, and any other content originating from the podcast creators or their licensors.
We display this content under fair use principles and/or implied license for the purpose of podcast discovery, information, and commentary. We make no claim of ownership over any podcast content, artwork, or related materials shown on this platform. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
While we strive to ensure all content usage is properly authorized, if you are a rights holder and believe your content is being used inappropriately or without proper authorization, please contact us immediately at hey@podengine.ai for prompt review and appropriate action, which may include content removal or proper attribution.
By accessing and using this platform, you acknowledge and agree to respect all applicable copyright laws and intellectual property rights of content owners. Any unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or commercial use of the content displayed on this platform is strictly prohibited.