Madison BookBeat Stu Levitan, Andrew Thomas, David Ahrens, Cole Erickson, Lisa Malawski

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski talks with Robin and Joan Rolfs about their book Hearthstone: America’s Electrical National Treasure.Joan and Rob have been enthralled with Hearthstone since the 1970’s when theymoved to the Fox Cities. Joan developed a successful Interior Design program at FoxValley Technical College in 1971.In 1986, Joan was contacted by a member of The Friends of Hearthstone Board andinvited to become involved with the restoration of Hearthstone. Rob was also invitedbecause of his background in electronics and electricity. Realizing the Edisonconnection and the historical importance of the house, the Rolfs accepted.In 1990, they were given the task to develop the Hydro-Adventure Exhibit in the lowerlevel of Hearthstone. The exhibit increased public awareness of the role of electricity indaily lives and the transformation which occurred in society as a result of Thomas A.Edison’s inventions and Henry Roger’s vision for implementation.Hearthstone contains all the original architecture and electrical light fixtures from whenthe home was built in 1882. The Rolfs worked with the Edison National Historical Parkin Orange, NJ and one day during their visit met Chad Shapiro, a collector and historianof early lighting. He shared his knowledge and provided the Rolfs with copies of originalBergmann lighting catalogs from 1882-1884.Approximately thirty years later, as the Rolfs researched the hanging light fixtures(electroliers) and wall sconces, they concluded the majority of these light fixtures werethe original Sigmund Bergmann fixtures dating to 1882. The significance of thesefixtures is they are the earliest surviving examples of Bermann electroliers and sconcesin the world! This inspired the Rolfs to write Hearthstone: America’s Electrical NationalTreasure.In this episode, Lisa discusses the Rolfs passions for all things Thomas Edison, theirvolunteerism at Hearthstone, antique phonographs, records, writing and their sharedlove for research.

In her fourth collection, Driftless Area-based poet Nikki Wallschlaeger (https://www.theshipmanagency.com/nikki) further proves herself as a singular poet of astonishing emotional depth and formal range. Hold Your Own is a steadfast search for peace, self-acceptance, and pleasure in a world that makes those basic rights an everyday challenge for Black women. It was published in May 2024 by Copper Canyon Press (https://www.coppercanyonpress.org/).Nikki joins host Sara Batkie for a conversation about getting the right rhythm, the joys of working with books every day, and the natural beauty of her home state.Nikki Wallschlaeger’s work has been featured in The Nation, Brick, American Poetry Review, Witness, Kenyon Review, Poetry, and others. She is the author of the full-length collections Waterbaby (Copper Canyon Press, 2021), Houses (Horseless Press 2015), and Crawlspace (Bloof 2017), as well as the graphic book I Hate Telling You How I Really Feel (2019) from Bloof Books. She is also the author of an artist book called “Operation USA” through the Baltimore-based book arts group Container, a project acquired by Woodland Pattern Book Center in Milwaukee.

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski talks with Richard Sweitze (https://www.richardsweitzer.com/)r about his book ODE The Scion of Nerikan. Richard is award-winning author and longtime morning radio host. He received his Master’s of Arts degree in Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.Richard is the author and publisher of ODE The Scion of Nerikan which was published in 2023. The book is about an immortal monster who is searching for a way to die, and the little girl who gives him reason to live...for a little longer.Richard created an ODE Bingo card which he hands out at book signings and there is a tiny independent book store near his home that he places these cards in. Some of the boxes on the Bingo card ask the reader if they threw the book, hugged the book. laughed, cried and more.Richard always wanted to publish his books traditionally, but after three false starts working with literary agents, he decided to publish his own book. The agents he had worked with offered some great advice, but he felt the story was drifting away from the adventure which he created. When Richard is not writing, he hosts a popular morning radio show in central Wisconsin. He has been with this show for more than thirty years.In this episode, Richard reads from his book, discusses self-publishing, marketing, artificial intelligence, going to school at age thirty, being a radio host and his love of fantasy.Lisa thanks Richard for his message to the audience: Try something new even if it’s scary. Take that course, make that change. Be afraid and do it anyway.

Richard Scott Larson's debut The Long Hallway (University of Wisconsin Press, April 2024) is a lyrical memoir that expresses a boy’s search for identity while navigating the darkness and isolation of a deeply private inner world. Growing up queer, closeted, and afraid, Richard Scott Larson found expression for his interior life in horror films, especially John Carpenter’s 1978 classic, Halloween. He developed an intense childhood identification with Michael Myers, Carpenter’s inscrutable masked villain, as well as Michael’s potential victims. In The Long Hallway, Larson scrutinizes this identification, meditating on horror as a metaphor for the torments of the closet.Richard joins host Sara Batkie for a conversation about the masks we wear, the horrors of suburbia, and finding the right home for your work.Richard Scott Larson (https://richardscottlarson.com/) is a queer writer and critic. His debut memoir, The Long Hallway, was published by the University of Wisconsin Press. Born and raised in the suburbs of St. Louis, he studied literature and film criticism at Hunter College and earned his MFA from New York University.He has received fellowships from MacDowell and the New York Foundation for the Arts, and his work has been supported by residencies from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Vermont Studio Center, Paragraph Workspace for Writers, La Porte Peinte, and the Willa Cather Foundation. He’s an active member of the National Book Critics Circle, and his writing has been recognized twice by The Best American Essays.

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Andrew Thomas speaks with Priti Srivastava about their novel The Nagini Anarchy, self-published in 2023.Priti Srivastava lives in Madison, Wisconsin with their best friends working to create inclusive spaces so that one day everyone will feel as though they belong. When Priti isn’t working or doing chores, they enjoy playing video games, making their friends laugh, eating samosas, and sitting quietly. Priti loves to connect with readers - check out thechaihouse.org (thechaihouse.org) to learn more or to request a virtual visit with your book club.The Nagini Anarchy is the fourth novel set in the world of The Chai House. As readers we follow three protagonists–Ana, Prem, and Jani–as they encounter the effects of a patriarchal society intent on environmental destruction for material gain. While each character’s narrative occurs in three distinct time periods, storylines begin to blur and intersect as the novel gains momentum. At the novel’s center is a stepwell. Designed as a place for weary travelers to find fresh water and rest, it also serves as an enduring nature preserve, particularly for snakes, against encroaching development. Tended to by the mercurial Manassa, the stepwell becomes both a place of mystery and supernatural transformation as the characters learn to shed their pasts just as a serpent sheds her skin.

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski talks with Rachel Wernerabout her children’s book, Moving and Grooving to Fillmore’s Beat and her cookbook,Macro Cooking Made Simple.Rachel is a model, an author, a poet, a book reviewer, the founder of The Little BookProject, a freelance writer and digital medical consultant, teaching artist, certified holisticnutritionist, certified yoga instructor and mindfulness practitioner. Rachel has a daughternamed Phoebe and a dog named Butter.Moving and Grooving to Fillmore’s Beat is a beautiful story about the historical FillmoreDistrict in San Francisco, CA. It teaches children about the Fillmore District’s creativelegacy and names some of the famous artists at the Fillmore such as Carlos Santanaand Maya Angelou.Macro Cooking Made Simple has fifty plus recipes for clean eating and healthy living.Rachel has always had a love-hate relationship with food. Rachel was diagnosed withan eating disorder at the age of 19. Exploring the creative process of eating was acomplete game changer for Rachel in regard to her health and her career.In this episode, Rachel shares two of her poems and reads one of her daughter’spoems.Lisa thanks Rachel for sharing her many talents, and for always being curious in allthings.