Daily Iowan

Issue date: 1/25/07 Section: 80 Hours

Stackable plastic chairs arranged in rows on green carpet. An author idling near the front of the room. A petite woman - probably wearing a pantsuit - holding a microphone, about to give an introduction.

If you pay any attention at all to Iowa City's writing world, you probably know where we are: upstairs at Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., waiting for a reading to begin.

"Live From Prairie Lights," hosted by Julie Englander, has been an Iowa City and a local public radio staple for almost 16 years. Although there are other popular literary radio programs around the country - Michael Silverbatt's "Bookworm," from KCRW in Santa Monica, for instance - "Live from Prairie Lights" was unique in one special respect: The show had been the only American radio program to broadcast its guests' words live.

But following changes at Iowa Public Radio, for the first time since the show began, this week "Live From Prairie Lights" is no longer "live." At least not in quite the same way as it was before. Englander calls the new format "live to tape." Paul Ingram, the Prairie Lights buyer who books many of the authors who read, says it's "live enough."

Scheduling changes have given "Live from Prairie Lights" a new time slot on weekend nights - episodes recorded during the week will be broadcast at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturdays and at 7 p.m. on Sundays. "The Story," a syndicated interview show from North Carolina, nabbed the WSUI show's old time of weekdays at 7 p.m.

Nobody really knows what's going to happen now that listening at home is no longer a fail-safe option for people who want to hear a reading. "People might want to hear the reader in person, and we might get larger crowds to do that," said Ingram from behind his desk on the independent bookstore's ground floor.

Englander gives no sign of being perturbed in the slightest by the developments. "I feel fine," she said with a smile. "It's basically going to be business as usual.

"Nothing was wrong with the program itself," she continued - the changes were systemwide, designed to make content more consistent across the Iowa Public Radio network. "Live from Prairie Lights" had been inconsistent in the past because although readings were always at 7 p.m., they were scheduled on different nights of the week according to touring authors' schedules; that will change with the regular weekend time slot.

There were, of course, advantages to the show's old live-to-air format. Lan Samantha Chang, the head of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, noted the show's particularly great impact on young writers in her speech at the "Live from Prairie Lights" 15th anniversary program last April. As a student in the workshop, she recalled thinking, "Yes, my parents may want me to be in law school right now, my old friends may not understand what I'm doing here, either, my dog is waiting by my desk to be taken for a walk, and I may be underwhelmed by what I have written today. But here in Iowa City, there are people who know what I am doing is worthwhile. And in the evenings, after another bewildering day at my desk, I can leave the house and join my kindred spirits at a 'Live from Prairie Lights' reading, or, if I'm feeling antisocial, I can listen to the radio broadcast … and hear the proof that my draft one day might become living poems or stories."

But the new show will also have more flexibility than the old. No longer tied to the hour-long radio show, "if we have a particularly strong bond between author and audience, we can let [a reading] go longer," Ingram said. "And I think that's important because I can remember sometimes feelings constrained. I see more good than bad."

The advent of "Live from Prairie Lights" increased the popularity of the readings and brought the attention of the major publishers. The change in time slot will also bring "Live from Prairie Lights" to stations across the state - when prompted, Englander can rattle off a minute-long list of call letters and frequencies in a perfect radio voice. If listeners are willing to stay home on Saturday and Sunday nights to listen to readings, the show's audience should increase. Although the young writers Chang mentioned as being particularly influenced by the show may not sacrifice their weekend nights to public radio, the show may gain listeners from other demographics.

Englander puts the change in the overall context of a dynamic show. "It changes with each author in some ways, because of what they bring to it and the different genres they bring to it … We started in 1991, so we're taking it into the next level," she said with a laugh. "And, of course, when you continue on with anything, there's gonna be changes. But: Go with the flow."

Although neither Englander nor Ingram had any direct input in the developments in the show's format - Todd Mundt, the new director of content and media for the Iowa Public Radio system, made the decision - all they seem to be asking is that listeners to give it a chance, and offer their feedback. Ingram said the change had already inspired some negative comments. "We've had some customers call up in a panicky state saying, 'Oh, it's going to be terrible,' and I say, 'It might not - just wait, wait.' "

"We want to hear from listeners," Englander said. "I know that management is responsive to the public. That's what public radio is all about."

E-mail DI 80 Hours Editor Jenna Sauers at:
jenna-sauers@uiowa.edu

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Want to know more?

Find out about upcoming readings at Prairie Lights Books' website.

Listen to archived readings by authors such as Anne Proulx, Michelle Tea, and Zadie Smith at the "Live From Prairie Lights" site.

See WSUI's full programming schedule at its website.

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