Craft: Exploring Creativity

Blogger and food writer Sarah Lohman won not one but two 2024Ohio Book Awards: the Ohio Book Award in Nonfiction and the Reader’s Choice Award for her book Endangered Eating: America’s Vanishing Food. The Ohioana Library will present the Ohio Book Awards at the 83rd Annual Ohio Book Awards Celebration on October 29th, where you can meet the award winners. Lohman also wrote Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine, which argues that eight flavors unify American cooking: black pepper, vanilla, curry powder, chili powder, soy sauce, garlic, msg, and sriracha. I was only able to find six in my kitchen, but maybe you’re a more adventurous cook than I am? Listen in to hear Sarah’s judgement on my taste.

The first song I heard by Dar Williams was a transcendent version of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” that my late wife played for me.

“Listen to this,” she said, “It’s awesome.”

It was.

Spare, moody, reflective: Dar’s version highlights the powerful lyrics of the song.

My recent conversation with Dar showed me that her cover was the tip of the iceberg. Williams sings; writes poems, songs, and books; and gives talks that brings people together.

She’s been releasing music since her first album in 1990 and turned to prose with 2012’s publication of the children’s book Amalee. Among other topics, we discussed her 2017 book What I Found in a Thousand Towns, which explores the concept of ‘positive proximity’ in rebuilding communities. Through examples like Phoenixville’s transformation with Blob Fest, she described how social connections can revitalize towns. Williams also shared insights on songwriting from her latest book How to Write a Song That Matters, which she views as How to Write a Song That Matters To You.

Her songs do. Check her out.

Dar Williams will be in town on November 8 with Six String Concerts

Singer-songwriter Ruth Moody will be in Columbus on September 27 with Six String Concerts. We discussed her new solo album “Wanderer,” her first in a decade, which reflects on motherhood, grief, and love. The album, recorded in Nashville, is deeply personal and resonates with her audience through its emotional vulnerability. She details the challenges of balancing motherhood with her career, including the difficulty of touring with a young child and the need to write in short, focused intervals. Moody also shares her journey of learning various instruments, including piano, guitar, banjo, accordion, and bodhrán, and her experience collaborating with Mark Knopfler.

Poet George Bilgere, aka, Our Man in Berlin, drops by to discuss his latest, Cheap Motels of My Youth, which began at a café in Berlin and won the Rattle Magazine chapbook contest. We talk about his writing process, family, and approach to poetry in the digital age. He reads several of his poems, providing a fascinating glimpse into his creative life, largely brought on by being in Berlin (ok, I may be exaggerating here for reasons that will become clear when you listen to the podcast). For more from him, visit his radio show Wordplay and his recently launched Poetry Town, an online poem-a-day series.

 Comedian Steve Hofstetter‘s videos have over a billion views on Instagram. His book, Ginger Kid, was a top five pick on Amazon and debuted at number one in its category. Hofstetter will be appearing at The Funny Bone in Columbus on Thursday, May 23rd. Listen in as we discuss his comedy style, views on cancel culture, comedy evolution, why he always has a show in Florida in the spring, and why a comic only needs 20,000 people.

Singer-songwriter Deirdre McCalla has a musical journey spanning five decades and a very successful recent album, Endless Grace, to bring to her Six String Concert on May 11. We talked about the the inspiration behind her hit song “Shoulder to the Wheel,” her journey in folk and Americana music, and her plans for a retrospective album in 2025 featuring new songs and acoustic versions of past hits. Listen in and then join her on May 11.

Poet, essayist and Ohio State University faculty member Zoë Brigley grew up in Wales, reading books by and about authors. She felt a particular draw toward the fascinating and controversial life of feminist icon Mary Wollstonecraft. Brigley’s most recently published book is a collection coauthored with Jenny Mitchell and Roy McFarlane called Family Name. In it, Brigley explores the life of this pioneer via found poetry in Wollstonecraft’s writing and Brigley’s own poetry. She delves into Wollstonecraft’s life, relationships, and contributions to women’s rights.

Dr. Jillian Scudder, an astrophysicist and Oberlin College Associate Professor of physics and astronomy, discusses her journey through space, dinosaurs, and volcanoes and explains cosmic wonders such as why the Milky Way smells of rum and raspberries, the dimming of the universe, and diamond rain on Neptune. Also stay tuned for her upcoming graphic guide to the universe in 2024. Meet Dr. Scudder at the 2024 Ohioana Book Festival on April 20, when Craft host Doug Dangler will be hosting live podcasts!