"Life on the Upper Mississippi" - Performance by Patricia Hampl with Dan Chouinard October 9, 2008

Hampl is Regents Professor and also McKnight Distinguished Professor at the University of Minnesota where she teaches fall semesters in the MFA program of the English Department. She first won recognition for A Romantic Education, her memoir about her Czech heritage and has gone on to establish herself as an influential figure in the rise of autobiographical writing in the past 25 years as her work has appeared in many publications, including The New Yorker, Paris Review, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Best American Short Stories and Best American Essays.

Dan Chouinard is a Minneapolis native who plays, tours and records regularly with an ever-expanding roster of local and national performers. As a pianist, accordionist and occasional storyteller, Dan regularly creates special programs for Minnesota Public Radio which blend storytelling, interview and music. Two recent shows, "Cafe Europa" (2005) and "Mambo Italiano" (2006) have been aired on Twin Cities public televison and broadcast statewide on MPR. He is also called on to work the occasional "A Prairie Home Companion" show with Garrison Keillor

Official Website: http://www.ias.umn.edu/CityRiverBridge.php