The WRUV Reader: An anthology of Vermont writers

by The Best Vermont Authors, Lisa Schnell, Antonello Borra

The iconic radio station WRUV has been on the air since 1955, when it first began broadcasting out of its smoke-filled studio at the University of Vermont in Burlington. Over the years, programming has ranged from the conventional to the absurd, from pleasant to downright disturbing. The WRUV Reader reflects this spirit in a selection of stories, poems, essays and drawings that could only have come together on this quirky college radio station. The collection showcases the work of guests featured since 2009 on Writers@WRUV, a weekly jamboree of Vermont authors, famous and obscure. They include Vermont state senator and novelist Philip Baruth, who re-imagines Burlington as a theme park dedicated to Phish, the local tripadelic band made big; Major Jackson, poetry editor of the Harvard Review, who chases after the freest poem in the world; and Tina Escaja, whose moving, Spanish-English poems of women and language reach into the ether through her smart-phone-scannable barcodes. Chris Evans, a.k.a. DJ Daddo, a journalist and fiction writer, started the reading series in 2009 to bring greater exposure to beginning and established Vermont writers. The show continues to air weekly on WRUV, with podcasts always available at wruvwriters.net.

242 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2012

Reviews

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an anthology of different writers who all have some connection to Vermont--either being born there, having moved there, or having lived there at some point. Because that's pretty much all that unites them, there is a wide range of styles and subjects in the anthology. Some pieces I really liked, and some didn't work as well for me.